The Consumer Electronics Show is a playground for a mind-boggling spectrum of technologies, many of which will affect the way we play games now and in the future. New tablets, displays, speakers, headsets, software and much more that connect to gamers and the technology they use every day are sprinkled through the almost 2 million square feet of expo space. Let’s take a look at a handful of some of the more interesting technologies I ran across while burning calories and putting miles on my feet during CES.

Ten One Design Products

Of Ten One Design’s various Apple-related products at its booth, by far the most unique product to me was the Fling Analog Game Controller. Fling is a see-through analog controller that affixes to the face of the iPad’s screen by way of suction cups, literally turning the screen into a controller. When playing with the thumbstick on the controller, control was effortless and smooth, even if it takes some getting used to. The fact the controller auto-centers ensures the gamer won’t slide their avatar or vehicle into oblivion in one direction when they let go of the controller. Since the controller mechanically takes the place of gesture controls, it’s compatible with most iPad games. A two pack of Fling iPad controllers will run a gamer about $38.

Flix on a Stix

OK, this company sounds like it backs a product or service suited for the Netflix crowd, going by its pleasingly musical title. That’s only marginally true. What Flix on Stix makes possible is secure, encrypted downloading of all sorts of content, from movies, books, television shows and, yes, games, to anyone with a flash drive, which are now as bigger than life in their file storage capabilities and common as candy (especially at trade shows). The file transfer is described as a secure Internet connection with a proprietary encrypted technology to transfer the selected file to the person’s drive. The content can then be viewed on a PC, Mac, a Flix-enabled game device or any TV with a flash port, the Flix firmware or a dedicated set-top box. Content managers should love the possibilities with this service, because the Flix-downloaded content simply disappears after a set period of time, and for the consumer, it’s convenient for the same reason: no reason to return any hard goods that will simply delete themselves after a set period of time.

N-Control

N-Control had an external adapter, the Avenger, that affixes to a standard Xbox 360 controller and looks like an exoskeleton inspired by H. R. Giger. The controller is housed in a shell but includes a stabilizing tripod, tensions straps, extended triggers that extend connect to individual buttons and sticks that are designed for high-sensitivity interaction with a game. It’s one of those enhancement products you’ll have to try before you buy and feel it to believe it, but to me, even holding it and adjusting the extended controls felt like fine-tuning an alien guitar — which is admittedly pretty cool.

Aiken Labs

I’ll chalk this up as one of the more innovative motion control concepts I’ve seen. Aiken Labs has it in mind to turn you into a human controller. No, not with full-body motion recognition like Kinect, but instead with three-axis accelerometer, magnetometer and gyroscope motion-capturing Velcro-attached boxes that attach to your limbs. These boxes can radio back up to 24 motion capture points to a wireless base station, which can capture signals at up to 50 feet. In case adopting of full-body motion capture through hardware doesn’t catch on right away, the Aiken Labs system offers mouse, keyboard and joystick emulation. What reveals the open potential for this system is its compatibility with PC, Mac, Linux and even mobile devices, so you can take your motion capturing experiences on the road. Perhaps, eventually, players may be able to duel each other head to head when using this system? The possibilities are ready and waiting for developers and players, if they’re willing to absorb the $300 cost for two sensors and a base station.

Razer

Razer never lacks for new stuff to show at a tradeshow. Whether it’s new mice, headsets or keyboards, they always find new ways to tweak their trademark look, feel and snake-related branding on their gear. However, they did come out with something a little bit off the beaten path for CES, although it puts them in competition with a lot of hardware manufacturers: Switchblade, a fold-out 7-inch gaming tablet with a multi-touch screen and changeable keys depending on the game that’s being played. Curiously, few hard specs were available that Razer would talk about, nor was a price point or release date for it established. But the fact Razer put it out on display says something for their confidence in their concept.