Those thinking that Google wouldn’t be taking any real step into gaming with the Android TV set-top box may want to reconsider. A Reddit user digging through the system developer kit for Android L discovered a directory full of images of an Android TV controller, which also detailed all of its pieces. Photos from Google I/O of the developer kits for Android TV would affirm its existence. During Google I/O, the company showed off the gaming capabilities of the unit at the keynote, indicating that it could be controlled by a hardware or software controller. However, the controller wasn’t shown on stage during the presentation. While demo units at Google I/O would show off a controller, it wasn’t widely known what the hardware controller for the device would look like or if the ones at the show were the final design.
The Android L Developer Preview build, which is already available for the Nexus 5 and second-generation Nexus 7, has been ripped apart by developers, who managed to offer KitKat users access to various apps and other Android L features including wallpapers and boot animation. On top of that, one Reddit user who was digging inside Android Lfound an image of what appears to be the first Android game controller made by Google for use with TVs. “The directory they were found in is: ‘sdk\samples\android-L\androidtv\visual-game-controller\res\drawable-xxhdpi,’” Reddit user bedofgoatturds wrote. “Reverse image search tells me that this is completely new, just thought I’d get it out there.” The available images show the full controller (image above) but also different parts of the controller can be found in Android L files. Google demoed Android TV at I/O 2014, highlighting various of its features including game play. The company even used a console controller on stage, without actually unveiling a controller of its own during the event. However, developers attending the conference have already received Android TV dev kits complete with controllers that look exactly like what the images found in Android L reveal.
