GestureWorks' Gameplay Virtual Controller (Video).

Windows 8 tablets, with the exception of Razer Edge, aren't good for gaming. Most PC games are designed with a keyboard, mouse or a gamepad. Although Civilization V and other select titles feature multitouch controls that are designed for the Surface Pro enthusiast, the majority of games are simply unplayable without peripherals. The solution? Find an intermediary.
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GestureWorks Gameplay promises to ease tablet owners' gaming problems on the move by creating a virtual touch interface that simulates keyboard and mouse inputs. The program lets users build custom multitouch controllers that include virtual joysticks, dpads, buttons, and even mappable swipe gestures. It's an interesting proposition particularly when you think about the effort Android and iOS gamers put in to avoid using touchscreens. We spoke with the company to take a short look at beta versions of the application.

GestureWorks CEO Jim Spadaccini greeted us with the ThinkPad Helix. His son was also there, playing through Castle Crashers on his Windows 8 device. The lower portion of Spadaccini's tablet was covered with an electronic directional pad and tiny buttons. These were superimposed on the game as native controls. Spadaccini made it appear easy and fun to play with them, however, he stopped us from jumping into a game. He wanted to show us how to set the system up.

Gameplay's menu is easy to navigate. It splits its main screen into profiles which can be downloaded, as well as an array of layouts that have been saved locally. The community currently has around 50 profiles available for download, but editing or creating a new one is a snap. Spadaccini simply tapped the edit button on Castle Crashers to pull up the same layout as the one displayed on his son's nearby slate. With just a few taps we were able to add and move or resize buttons. Buttons can be mapped to any input from a mouse or keyboard, and the virtual joystick can be added for direct cursor control. There's also an option for gestures that allows users to translate commands into swipes, pinches or flicks and we were informed that motion control options would be added in the future which will allow the use of accelerometers to steer driving games. Users can save the profile from here, but if they aren't satisfied, the layout can be changed in game.

After creating a profile users can connect the layout with the program it was created for. This allows users to launch multiple games simultaneously using the custom control setup. Launching Castle Crashers alongside our host's young son was easy as pressing a play button and the game's simple controls were well-suited to the touchscreen configuration. Spadaccini described Castle Crashers as the program's "sweet spot," and they worked like charm. Portal 2 and Borderlands 2 were a bit different -- although GamePad gives you an easy way to access the main commands of the game, it was difficult to manage the entire game with our fingers. We also ran into some issues with the virtual joypad, which emulates an unsteady mouse input, instead of an actual analog joystick input. Despite these glitches we were able solve a few of GLaDOS's maniacal tests with relatively easy and were informed by GestureWorks that the mouse emulation will improve prior to the software's final release.

Gameplay isn't the perfect app however it appears to be at the very least a good one: it fulfills a need, lives up its promises, and does it all with an intuitive and easy to use interface. Its touchscreen gamepads will never replace a physical one however, they do provide Windows 8 tablets with a mobile gaming experience that would otherwise be inaccessible without extra hardware. That said, it does have one compatibility issue: it is only compatible with games that use DirectX (that means no Minecraft, sorry kids!) If you have an Windows 8 tablet, a Steam backlog, and don't mind that compatibility issue, GestureWorks Gameplay just might be the right choice for you. You can sign up for the beta on the website of the company, or wait for the full version will be available on November 5th for $14.99.