TOMY’s James Wing and Matt Jordan, and Nextoy’s Alex Fuhrer, discuss bringing something new to the games aisle with Human Controller

Guys, it’s great to catch up! Let’s talk about Human Controller – how would you pitch the game?
Matt Jordan, Senior Product Designer, TOMY: It’s a game in which you literally get to control another human being to do silly stuff! One player wears this vibrating headset and visor… Another player controls them through an app. It comes with 30 games, as well as a ‘free play’ mode where you can play Human Controller however you want to.

James Wing, Director of Development & Project Management, TOMY: It’s about doing incredibly simple and silly tasks – but in a difficult way! Of course you think you can do these simple challenges… Until you’re blindfolded and being controlled by someone else via an app and a vibrating headset!

Can you describe one of these simple tasks?
James: You might just have to walk across the room and sit down on a chair. You can’t see, but the vibrations on your head are telling you how and when to move. Everybody’s looking and laughing because you’re being controlled by your friend or whoever! So there’s always a bit of apprehension around how effectively they’re controlling you. It makes for an interesting dynamic between controller and the controlled.

Let’s dig into how this works. The headset has pads at the front, to left and to the right. And there’s an option to make them all vibrate at once. So depending on the game, feeling a vibration on the left of your head might mean turn left, at the front might mean walk forward…
James: Yes – and those controls differ game-to-game. If you’re sitting still, the left and right vibrations might mean lift your left arm or right arm. In a game that doesn’t use your arms, it might mean use your left leg or your right leg. It’s a clear, clean interface and has lets us create a variety of different games.

Human Controller is a higher-priced game, but we believe in the positioning of that as it delivers an amazing new experience no other game can offer. It comes with a lot of games and it’s got a lot of tech in it. It can’t just be a one-hit wonder – it’s not a £9.99 card game. We want people to love the experience and come back to it again and again.

It’s a skill game, a party game and an entire games system all at once. What are some of the opportunities – and challenges – around launching something totally unique?
James: There are two sides to it. The innovation is one thing and TOMY is incredible at identifying innovation and stimulating it internally. This really is a unique product and exactly the sort of thing TOMY wants to be part of.

Then there’s how we talk about Human Controller and try to lead people through that by discussing previous experiences. “Hey, if you like this, you’ll like this.” That’s where the comparisons with VR headsets and the familiarity of the games that Matt’s created are useful. But we also have to stress that Human Controller is unlike anything you’ve played before. What could be a marketing challenge is actually something that can fuel intrigue.

And I imagine there are plenty of other games you can create for this?
Matt: Absolutely. We had a bank of around 50 or 60 games that we whittled down for launch. There’s a breadth of things we could do with this after launch. It’s app-driven now, but could do a controller-driven version for a younger audience? Could we connect several devices to a single controller, so one player controllers several people? Could we make it a team game? This version has three motors and four controls… What happens if we add to that in the future? The only limitations we have right now relate to the price point, but I feel it can be anything we want it to be.

James: The beauty of the app means we can enhance it live when it’s in the market. If people come up with an incredible game for Human Controller – great, we can share those instructions with the community. Equally, as we launch this across several markets, we can react if one type of game takes off in a specific region.

Matt: We hope to cultivate a community around the Human Controller game system. It’s a very social game in the sense that I can see people recording videos of players in action! If we have an environment where people can share videos of – or instructions for – games they’ve made up, we can post them and feed it back into the app. It’s a nice ebb and flow of community engagement – that’s the dream scenario.

Is Human Controller indicative of what you’d like to see from inventors moving forward?
James: It represents what we mean when we say: “We’re looking for something really different”. It could be different in the card space, or an innovative dice game… But yes, this kind of uniqueness is something we look for.

Does this kind of project also energise and fuel creativity in-house?
Matt: Hugely. This has got everybody fired up, and that excitement and passion ripples through the office – from our design team to marketing and sales.

James: Human Controller is incredibly innovative, and it’s the kind of inventor item that spurs us on to want to innovate more. And that’s across all our categories, be it toys, games, arts and crafts, outdoor, bath toys… It’s exciting.

—–

Human Controller came to TOMY via Nextoy – Alex Fuhrer tells us how…
Nextoy works closely with Rubik’s, and I often find myself searching for innovative concepts for the high-end cube collector market. During one of these explorations, I stumbled across an interesting mechanism… While the initial Rubik’s-related idea proved too complex, it sparked a conversation with the inventor. This connection eventually led to him disclosing the Human Controller to us.

We review a lot of inventions, and this one clearly offered a fresh perspective on play. There was something inherently funny and engaging about it, but it needed refinement and a clearer sense of direction. Through a lot of brainstorming and collaboration, we identified what was missing and worked to evolve the concept.

TOMY proved to be an ideal partner because of the early enthusiasm we received from their team. What sets them apart is their ability to handle ambitious, tech-forward projects. Their expertise – from product design to development of the app – took Human Controller to an entirely new level.

–

To stay in the loop with the latest news, interviews and features from the world of toy and game design, sign up to our weekly newsletter here

More Recent Interview

“Each piece has a mind of its own”: Alexander Neumann on the origins – and future – of his stacking game, Misfits

“There’s so much potential…” Misfits creator Alexander Neumann discusses his ambitions for the stacking game.

Stefan and Susanne Feld on developing a child-friendly version of The Castles of Burgundy with The Sandcastles of Burgundy

Ravensburger’s modern classic The Castles of Burgundy is getting a child-friendly spin-off. Designers Stefan and Susanne Feld tell us more.

“Innovation around meaningful play is one of our main drivers”: MAGNA-TILES’ Rick Keuter discusses new launches and key focuses

Rick Keuter – Head of Product Development at MAGNA-TILES – discusses new launches, innovation and connecting with inventors.

“We could make this play pattern aspirational again!” Make It Real’s Dominique Roy on the origins of the Polish & Shine Tumbler

Make It Real’s Dominique Roy on developing the Polish & Shine Tumbler and Swift Clicks Bracelet Maker.

Casdon’s Alex Reynolds takes us inside development of the company’s Build-a-Bear Stuffing Station

Alex Reynolds – Casdon’s Global Head of Research, Development and Licensing – on their exciting new ranges from Build-a-Bear Workshop, Heinz and Toxic Waste.

ToyPal’s Sami Samiee on transforming toys into storytellers with AI

ToyPal Founder Sami Samiee introduces his AI-infused product that transforms a child’s favourite plush toy into an engaging storyteller.