4708397
story
Comments: 242 +- Games: Microsoft Debuts Full-Body Controller-less Gaming At E3 on Monday June 01 2009, @05:16PM
Posted
by
ScuttleMonkey
on Monday June 01 2009, @05:16PM
from the just-don't-throw-yourself-through-the-tv dept.
from the just-don't-throw-yourself-through-the-tv dept.
background: url(//a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/topicinputdevices.gif); width:70px; height:68px;
inputdev
background: url(//a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/topicxbox.gif); width:74px; height:56px;
xbox
background: url(//a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/topicentertainment.gif); width:62px; height:44px;
entertainment
background: url(//a.fsdn.com/sd/topics/topicgames.gif); width:68px; height:77px;
games
quintin3265 writes "At today's Electronic Entertainment Expo press briefing, Microsoft unveiled Project Natal, a technology that eliminates the controller from gaming on the Xbox 360. In one demo, a player used her arms and legs to hit balls in an attempt to destroy a brick wall, and in another game, an employee threw virtual "paint" on a canvas to create a painting, even drawing an elephant using a silhouette feature. An accompanying video also demonstrated automatic login using facial recognition, videoconferencing with other Xbox Live members, and participating in a gameshow against another family through the Internet using speech recognition."
Related Stories
Motion Control To Lengthen Console Hardware Cycles 160 comments
Were The "Winners" of E3 Enough To Ensure Survival? 101 comments
Hardware: Nintendo Unconcerned By Motion-Control Competitors 150 comments
Sony Files Patent On "Any-Object" Motion Control 69 comments
Executive ability is prominent in your make-up.
All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the Poster. The Rest © 1997-2010 Geeknet, Inc.
Activator (Score:5, Interesting)
Does anyone else remember the "Activator" controller for the Genesis/SNES? This sounds like an echo of that concept, but with updated technology that might actualy, you know... work.
Everything old is new again. Around and around we go...
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
The facial expressions of the guys in the video is almost equally as funny;
http://www.destructoid.com/sega-activator-the-crappiest-game-peripheral-26148.phtml [destructoid.com]
Re:Activator (Score:4, Insightful)
The concept of "moving your body to make stuff happen" isn't novel, no. IMHO the value of the concept is beyond question, it's purely a matter of execution - i.e. whether it works. It would seemingly be extremely difficult to get the latency low enough. If the latency is low, even if the motion tracking is fairly crude, they should be able to use it to make a DDR "dance pad" (without the pad) that doesn't wear out and break. But heck, if it worked well enough, they could take all the electronics out of a normal gamepad and just watch your fingers instead. (I'm sure it doesn't have that level of acuity though).
Parent
Re:Activator (Score:5, Informative)
Everything old is new again. Around and around we go...
No kidding. "Full-Body Controller-less Gaming" has already been invented. It's called "sport".
Parent
Re:Activator (Score:5, Funny)
No kidding. "Full-Body Controller-less Gaming" has already been invented. It's called "sport".
Or, if you're into FPS, it's called "murderous office rampage."
Parent
Re:Activator (Score:5, Funny)
Or, if you're into FPS, it's called "murderous office rampage."
Otherwise referred to as Monday.
Parent
Re:Activator (Score:4, Interesting)
I really doubt it'll get used on FPSes, just doesn't look like it'd work for that. How would you even move? You can't just walk around, the game world is most likely larger than the area in front of your TV. All the tons of extra actions will also require pretty unnatural gestures to be recognizable (e.g. cycling through the weapons)
Parent
Re:Activator (Score:4, Insightful)
"Blue" ... ... ...
"Blue!"
"BLUE!"
"BLOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Voice recognition ain't that great. Better get practicing that Midwest accent. I have great doubts that you will get the in game Richard Karn to understand "Bar Harbor" as someone from Bar Harbor would actually say it. Of course that word would have to be in the system. It will be like a text adventure where only special words get recognized. Fun!
Parent
Re:Activator (Score:5, Insightful)
"Everything old is new again."
Well it isn't a surprise. A lot of these concepts are things people have wanted forever. The problem was that the technology to make them work well was prohibitively expensive if even available. The Powerglove is a good example. It was a piece of shit, but there were and are high end controllers like that which work well. It just would have been $2000 to make.
So it is no surprise that with more advanced technology, there is a resurgence. Now that the shit actually works, people want to try it.
Parent
Re:Activator (Score:5, Insightful)
From purely a tech perspective, it's pretty cool. The facial recognition to login and being able to control the dashboard by waving your hands was impressive. Ultimately though, much like the Wii, I don't think this will lead to many games that will interest me. Maybe even less so than the Wii, since the wiimote at least had buttons.
Parent
too much work (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:too much work (Score:5, Funny)
Well, then when you feel lazy, feel free to look like a toolbox [penny-arcade.com]. ;)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Better link for you: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/5/18/ [penny-arcade.com]
Re:too much work (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
Re:too much work (Score:5, Interesting)
Back when DDR first came out, one of my friends from high school bought it, and started playing it for 30-60 minutes every day.
In about 4 months, he went from a 220-lb pudgy kid, to a 170-lb lean, muscular guy. It was hugely impressive!
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Yeah, trying to make music on a RAM chip can do that to you. You should be a pal and buy him an ocarina.
Re:too much work (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Back on my old Nintendo mat we used to run miles on that thing doing the track meets and other olympic stuff.
Forgot the name of that game, but you gotta hand it to Nintendo for the stuff they put out from the mat to the duck hunter gun to the bazooka in SNES to Wii.
Re:too much work (Score:4, Funny)
yes i ran miles on that mat as well. and boy were my hands tired from hitting the ground so fast!
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
Maybe it's a selling point for you, but not for me. If I want exercise I'll go exercise. When I feel like playing a video game, I don't feel like exercising. Or else I would go exercise. When I feel like playing a video game, I want to play a video game. If someone wants to play a racing game, what do you tell them? Stop being a pussy and go get in your car and drive real fast everywhere?
Ultimate Jedi Knight Interface (Score:2)
Spielberg is working with MS on this, but I think Lucas would be a better fit. I for one would LOVE a Jedi Knight-like game where you could run through forests and ruins and ships, actually running on a treadmill surface, jump using its programmed-resistance semi-trampoline qualities, jumping higher as your force powers increase and the surface resistance is lowered, etc.
But since it's just another tool of microsoft's monopoly, I'll have to wait 'til it becomes commoditised. No worries though, logitech wi
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
While I agree with your sentiment entirely, I wonder if you know what that sounds like to someone athletic like my wife?
"Real sex can be fun, but anyone who has engaged in it much knows how tiring it can be to have to stand or use full body motions for an extended period to achieve orgasm. Sometimes I just want to lock myself in my office with my pr0n and rub one out. If I have to hump and thrust all over the place, I'm gonna often consider it more work than fun."
(Sorry. I enjoy pr0n as much as the n
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
For a guy with a wife, you should be more cognizent of the fact that it is indeed desireable (on occasion) to rub one to Teens in Tight Jeans 2.
Oblig. PA (Score:4, Funny)
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/5/18/ [penny-arcade.com]
Full body power glove (Score:5, Funny)
The full body power glove. This one isn't doomed to failure. Not at all..
Re: (Score:2)
It's so bad...
Re:Full body power glove (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
The company that can't make a decent mouse thinks they can bust through all of the drawbacks of voice recognition, visual recognition, and gestures in a single bound?
This is going to be a lot like watching someone get kicked in the nuts: hilarious.
There's been a number of games like this. (Score:2)
I've seen a number of games like this, including one that came with a webcam I bought a couple of years ago. It let you "play" drums displayed on the screen by whaling about with your hands.
It's alright until.. (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm sure it will work fine for some games, that is until someone walks behind you or moves around in the background to ruin your game.
Also, multiplayer will require a huge room and lots of sensors. But perhaps Microsoft expects people to play online, a console for people with no real friends.
Re:It's alright until.. (Score:5, Insightful)
But perhaps Microsoft expects people to play online, a console for people with no real friends.
That's one hell of a big market there. And always go for the biggest market.
Parent
Re: (Score:2)
The camera has depth perception. So it happily will ignore anything behind you. Unless it's in your personal bubble.
I think the bigger announcement... (Score:2, Interesting)
...was that MS got Konami to make a 360 exclusive Metal Gear Solid franchise.
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/988/988687p1.html [ign.com]
If /. is going to report anything about MS at E3 this was probably the biggest news at the conference.
Not A Real Metal Gear Game (Score:5, Informative)
1. Kojima isn't directing the game
2. It's not a real Metal Gear game, just an action game with Raiden
3. It's multiplatform - PS3,PC, and Xbox 360
Even worse, just an hour after the Microsoft press conference an interview with Kojima quoted him essentially disowning the game.
Parent
Exercise? (Score:5, Funny)
If I wanted to exercise I wouldn't be playing video games.
Holy xbox-mote, Batman! (Score:2)
Not impressed... yet. (Score:5, Insightful)
Hmm...
In one demo, a player used her arms and legs to hit balls in an attempt to destroy a brick wall, and in another game, an employee threw virtual "paint" on a canvas to create a painting, even drawing an elephant using a silhouette feature.
Sounds great, but I'd be much more impressed if they had a live demo with random untrained people. Even in the demo video [youtube.com], you can see a noticeable input lag, particular when the guy does his "victory dance" at around 27 seconds.
The devil is in the details with these things, Microsoft is certainly not the first to try at something like this.
Re:Not impressed... yet. (Score:5, Interesting)
Parent
Targeted at Wii Users (Score:4, Insightful)
Other than figuring out how much you weigh this ONE accessory seems to be able to handle the functions of the WiiMote, Nunchuck, BalanceBoard and Motion Plus, without you having to purchase 4 of each and all the batteries to run them.
O and it ads a camera with mic / voice support. You can get a mic for the Wii now as well but I think animal crossing is the only game that supports it so far.
Be prepared for lawsuits (Score:3, Interesting)
Porn? (Score:5, Funny)
Forget carnage and hurt.
Iam thinking about Porn.
Imagine people playing Porn with Alba or Simpson in VR and in their excitement let their goo fly around!
Hallelujah!!!
Parent
!demo (Score:3, Funny)
I don't know about you guys, but that looks strongly like a product of the marketing department, not a "set up the box and get a camera" style demo. Complete with cheesy clapping and cheering from the people on the couch.
Swordfighting. (Score:3)
I've waited for years for a decent swordfighting game. That doesn't have to use a keyboard or controller that's obviously not suited for actually controlling the sword movements themselves. It would be awesome to be able to simply move your arm like you would a sword... or better yet, put a sword* in your hand and use that.
* Not sharp, of course. Think of the children.
Re:Swordfighting. (Score:4, Insightful)
I thought that increased realism was part of the point, though. I'd be interested in a swordfighting game that required learning something resembling a real-world skill, so that I'm prepared to... uh, battle skeleton warriors. More seriously, it seems like there's new gameplay to be found if I have to actually try different parries and attacks instead of just hitting Attack, or even High/Low Attack like in a Street Fighter game. If people don't really want anything resembling a realistic experience, why bother with a Wiimote-style controller at all instead of an old-fashioned controller? I guess the test of this reasoning is, would there be a market for a Guitar Hero imitator where the skills carry over somewhat to actual guitar, instead of being basically Simon with music?
Parent
Will it be standard? (Score:5, Insightful)
What makes the Wiimote different is that it's the standard controller for the console. It comes bundled with every single console sold. That's why game developers actually use it: they aren't restricting their market.
If Microsoft decides to bundle this thing with every Xbox sold, then it's a big deal. If it's an optional accessory that you have to buy separately, then it's another historical footnote.
Re:Seriously guys (Score:4, Insightful)
Parent
Re:how? (Score:5, Interesting)
Well, the rumour was that they were going to use 3DV's cameras. Which essentially measure depth for each pixel, making it much easier to determine pose.
Parent
Re:I hate this new trend in gaming (Score:4, Insightful)
I agree with the sentiment about wanting complex games and dislike this tech, but I think you're being a bit dramatic.
This sort of gaming is - from my big gaming nerd point of view - pretty gimmicky, but there is a market for it, and it will be pursued. And you've gotta appreciate that and roll with it.
What does concern me is when developers, whether it be because someone had a brain fade, or because the people in control of the money see that this sort of thing is 'popular', decide that motion technology needs to be shoehorned into games for which it completely doesn't suit. And to date there hasn't been a platform for which this hasn't happened. Ninja Gaiden Sigma on PS3, the 'hardest of the hardcore' game, requires you to shake the controller to increase the strength of your magic attacks. Uncharted makes you balance the controller to navigate narrow log paths. The DS has plenty of games that push touch screen or motion controls where it's not required. The developers of Nanostray decided that while you're trying to control a ship in a shoot-em up, it would be a great idea to make you have to use the touch screen to change weapons, instead of one of the four free buttons that have no use in the game. Not even as an alternative option.
Speaking of which, the Wii is the worst one for this sort of thing, and not just because there are games for which there is no option for a standard control set (Excite Truck, I'm looking at you), but because it's inexplicably attracts games which would have otherwise been deemed as more approching the 'hardcore' edge of the gaming spectrum. And yes, I'm specifically talking Tastunoko vs Capcom. And Monster Hunter Tri. How these games came to be released for the Wii over the PS3 I'll never understand. Maybe that's a slightly off-topic point, but it's frustrating, as a gamer, to watch these games go to a platform that won't allow them to reach their full potential, whether it be with tech, or with player base.
The 360, for all it's faults, is the last bastion of guaranteed normal, non gimmicky gaming. And the concern now is not your over-the-top assessment that this is the death of complex games, because it's obviously not going to be, but that this sort of thing is pushed out to a standard controller, and that developers will decide that it's a good idea to force in stupid motion sensitive crap into games that otherwise don't need it. If the motion sensitive tech could stay completely separate to the normal, 'proper' games, then everyone would be happy. As it stands the only people with a chance of being put offside are the ... damnit, is there another word that can be used to describe the ... 'hardcore' style of gamer, other than hardcore*? I hate having to use the word, and having to describe games as 'normal', or 'proper', but there seems to be no way around it.
(someone is frantically clicking reply trying to be the first to quote me and reply with, 'loser'?)
Parent
Re:Hi, Sony! (Score:4, Informative)
Parent