Human - Computer Interface
Human - Computer interface, refers to the interaction between a human and a computer.
Interface devices include any kind of computer that a human can interact with, which is pretty much every computer, whether it be a portable gaming machine, a tablet, a laptop, a PC, and lots of other kinds of machines.
As mentioned previously, human computer interface refers to the interaction between a human and a computer, so with a console, this interaction is done with the controller and the screen most of the time. Below is a labelled picture of a PC, some of the things that you interact with will be labeled with how you interact with it, and what that action does.
Now you have a basic understanding of what human computer interaction is, lets get to some more advanced concepts, such as ergonomic design, button configurations, user centered design and portability.
Ergonomic Design
Through the image above you can tell that the Xbox 360 controller is made to fit human hands, and be as comfortable as possible, this kind of design is called ergonomic design and ergonomic design is design that is made to be comfortable to humans. We can see if we compare this picture of an Xbox 360 controller being held to a picture of a keyboard being used, that an Xbox controller is more ergonomically designed. This is because the holding position of the Xbox controller looks more like your hands normal resting position than when you are using a keyboard.
Button Configuration
Button configuration refers to both what the buttons do and where they are, buttons are placed in specific places for specific reasons, and on this website/ document I will be explaining both computer button/ key configuration as well as controller button configuration.
Keyboards
Let's start off with keyboards, most of, if not all of you viewing this site, even if it only is you... you know who you are... will know what a keyboard is and what it is for as well as the configuration of the keys. Qwerty keys are the accepted normal for keyboards and have been for a long time now. They are used by everyone that uses a personal computer, and can be found in other places, such as an addition to the Xbox pad, you can attach a small keyboard to it, in order to be able to type faster on your Xbox, and this keyboard is a qwerty keyboard. I suggest that most if not all computers have qwerty keyboards, specifically because they're popular and people have gotten used to the positioning of the keys over the years, so they haven't been changed because I believe no one wanted them to be. In terms of button configuration and replacement of commands, I'm not sure if it's possible to replace commands in normal keyboard use, but it is definitely there in lots of games. The replacement of commands to different keys in order to make them quicker and easier to access for you, may help and make it easier, but it won't make it much easier, because there is nowhere you could put keys to make it as ergonomic as a controller. Okay, a qwerty keyboard is not the most perfectly ergonomically designed thing, but it is rather simple looking compared to if all of these keys were scattered around on a controller; on the keyboard all of the keys are in sight, which is important because there are so many of them, and for the amount of keys there are it is not really that much of a stretch to press any key at any given time.
There are keyboards that have been pseudo re-designed in order to be more ergonomic. I say pseudo re-designed because it is still the qwerty setup... kinda, it's just that some other things have been replaced and put in different positions, but not the whole key layout has been changed, as you can see, qwerty are still the first letters from top to bottom/ left to right. I can understand why these keyboards exist, but wouldn't use one myself... why? Because the change in the placement of keys and the different hand positioning would limit my efficiency in using this keyboard, and as well as that, after I get used to using that keyboard, I am then not going to be used to normal keyboards, and if something happens to that keyboard, I am left with the choice of getting another one, or having to re-adjust to normal keyboards again, and so I am saving myself the effort of having to learn and then un-learn the keyboard, and just sticking to learning the regular keyboard. As well as I don't always use my own computer, I use pseudo public computers (at college, shared computers) and they have normal keyboards, so I would have to get used to them anyway, and it's not as though I have a problem with regular keyboards, so there really isn't much of a case for the ergonomic keyboard in my opinion, since the regular keyboard isn't noticeably negatively effecting my health.
Controllers
I have already mentioned that controllers (using the example of an Xbox 360 controller) are more ergonomic than keyboards, but this is easily attributable to the fact that these controllers do not have to be able to hold as many buttons, or keys as a keyboard does, because a keyboard isn't why you use a controller, nor is it necessary for a controller, but you can add one on to it, (I will be using the example of the Xbox 360 controller all throughout this section because that is the one I am most familiar and comfortable with). Now the controllers not having to hold as many buttons as a keyboard holds keys aside, we can get to why and how the controller is superior in its ergonomics.
As also mentioned previously, the hand position as you hold the controller emulates the hand position as you rest and do not do anything with your hands, this is why the controller is more ergonomically designed. You do not have to move your hands very far, or at all in order to reach all of the buttons, you usually just move a finger around to reach the front facing buttons, and the shoulder buttons, (bumpers) and triggers are constantly accessible without you having to move anything, you just press down. In the competitive gaming scene, they have gone further with this constant access concept.
Those paddles on the back of this Scuf controller serve as buttons in place of the front facing buttons, or could serve any purpose you wanted them to according to your circumstance and preference, they are there so that you don't have to take your fingers off of the sticks in order to execute commands, so that you have constant control of where you are looking, because then there is more of a chance of you being prepared when others aren't and you have the ability to aim at pretty much all times (in fps games, which is what they are used for, and what they have been optimized for). You see how there are circular things on the bottom of the triggers? that's to stop them from going all the way down so that you don't have to waste time pushing the trigger all the way down in order to start firing, saving you milliseconds, milliseconds that determine whether you or the other guy gets the kill, assuming that you aren't missing any shots, and that you have seen each other at the exact same time. See how the back of the controller is an obviously different texture to the front? That's to maximize grip on the controller and minimize slip ups. There's probably more things that I'm missing out on seeing or explaining, but another imputable feature to these customized controllers os that you can put in raised sticks, so that there is more of a distance for the stick to move, and so reducing the sensitivity but by your physical hand instead of in game, so you get the precision of a lower sensitivity, but have to potential to be as fast as the sensitivity level you are on in game.