Topic: Microsoft's Xbox Kinect - Nov 4th 2010

[BlackNMild2k1]

Just wanted to post a video of this being demonstrated live on Good Morning America yesterday morning.

Project Natal demonstrated on Good Morning America

Some things to note about the video:
-There is a visible lag between the player and the action on the screen
-You apparently have to stand pretty far from the TV to get your full body scan, which means something like this will not be ideal for people playing in their smaller bedrooms or livingrooms with coffee tables.
-And also means the camera has a pretty narrow field of vision since you have to stand that far back just full body scan and initialize (your character takes up most of the screen).
+The body shapes between female & male changed instantly when the people switched places.


Kudo Tsunado demos Project Natal on Jimmy Fallon Show (Ball Slap & Burnout Paradise)

Things to note about this video:
-They are about 6-7 feet from the camera
-There is a box marked on the floor that they have to stay in to be recognized
-Why are they all wearing orange jump suits?
+Very quick to recognize the new player when switching places.

Burnout Paradise Demo
-Who wants to stand just to drive?
-How do you press the brakes?
-What if i'm driving manual? how do I shift gears?  what about the clutch!!?
+Very quick to recognize the new player when switching places.

I will update this post with more info later, but I honestly, while I see the potential for the tech, I don't see it doing much for gaming at the moment. I need to see something more creative than slap the balls. I think Eyetoy had that game back in 2003.

[Stogi]

Wow that looked really lame. No seriously.

I think the tech would be better served in UI's than in games.

[BlackNMild2k1]

I just posted a video of a demo on Jimmy Fallon Show too.

[EasyCure]

I need to see something more creative than slap the balls. I think Eyetoy had that game back in 2003.

Well thats too casual, MS should introduce more  hardcore games:

Boo-tay Slapping!

[KDR_11k]

I think the tech would be better served in UI's than in games.

As long as it's not done the same way it was at E3 (waggle: one gesture per button press).

[BlackNMild2k1]

Well like I said, the tech is nice, and its functional, but I don't really see the benefit for gaming other than clones of the ball slapping game using different objects and backgrounds.

Maybe a "You Think You Can Dance" game where you have to match dance moves made by onscreen characters by doing them for real, or an American Idol/karaoke game where you have to sing and put on a performance at the same time.

or how about Patty Cake the video game, where you learn thing like;
"Patty Cake, Patty Cake, Bakers Mam, Bake me a Cake as fast as you can"
or
"Miss Mary Black, Black, Black, all dressed in Black, Black, Black, with silver buttons, buttons, buttons, all down her back, back, back."

How about jump rope simulation. Now you'll finally be able to literally "Jump In"!
You could learn basic jump rope, or even competitive Double Dutch!!!


really the possibilities are infinite

[DAaaMan64]

It would be pretty funny to see muscle march on this.

[BlackNMild2k1]

It would be pretty funny to see muscle march on this.

I just watched a video on this since I had no idea what it was: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hcElGydzb8 :& that would be hilariously fun to watch someone else play. That game is borderline ..... umm, well, I'm sure you know.

[KDR_11k]

No, I'm pretty sure borderline is a lot worse.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Kudo Tsunado demos Project Natal on Jimmy Fallon Show (Ball Slap & Burnout Paradise)

Burnout Paradise Demo
-Who wants to stand just to drive?
-How do you press the brakes?
-What if i'm driving manual? how do I shift gears?  what about the clutch!!?
+Very quick to recognize the new player when switching places.

Had to add something to the Burnout demo impressions

[BlackNMild2k1]

Oh noes!!

Sega Activator + Sony Eyetoy = Project Natal?

Atleast Fight Night Round 5 should be a good work out.

[KDR_11k]

Kudo Tsunado demos Project Natal on Jimmy Fallon Show (Ball Slap & Burnout Paradise)

Burnout Paradise Demo
-Who wants to stand just to drive?
-How do you press the brakes?
-What if i'm driving manual? how do I shift gears?  what about the clutch!!?
+Very quick to recognize the new player when switching places.

Had to add something to the Burnout demo impressions

Eurogamer (IIRC) wrote that you move your leg back to brake and make a gear shifting gesture with your right hand to shift gears.

[Caliban]

Kudo Tsunado demos Project Natal on Jimmy Fallon Show (Ball Slap & Burnout Paradise)

Bill Compton and the colour red go hand in hand lol.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Eurogamer (IIRC) wrote that you move your leg back to brake and make a gear shifting gesture with your right hand to shift gears

I thought leg back was for reverse? I think thats what they said in the video. Reverse could work like a brake for forward and vice versa.

But how would you determine if your up shifting or down shifting.
What about changing the radio station or whatever other functions you do while playing racing games. like throwing green shells or using my turbo. How do I power slide!!? while throwing a green shell!!

[Ian Sane]

I find that with new controller tech the best ideas are also directly connected to a solid videogame idea that more or less necessitated the idea in the first place.  To me the best example of a new idea being introduced and immediately taking off is the analog stick.  Super Mario 64 immediately established how the concept worked, what advantages it had, and proved how essential the concept was.  It was clear that the game and controller were designed together.  It's like Nintendo had this idea for Super Mario 64 and as they worked on it they need for something beyond a d-pad arose and the analog stick was designed to meet that need.

In this case I REALLY doubt that type of development has been done.  It looks to me that MS saw the success of the Wii and told their R&D guys "we need something to combat the Wii remote".  No game idea influenced its creation, it was just marketing.  So I'm very skeptical.

You look at a ball slap game and the idea just reeks of "here is the tech, now what game can we make with it?"  No one would come up with such a lame idea as a ball slap game and think "what control scheme would be most optimal for my game?  Perhaps I'll have to create a new one."  Lame ass ideas like that are the indicator of "tech first, game idea second."

Though to be fair very few controller ideas seem to stem from game concepts like the analog stick did.  Most of the time you do get "oh gee, what games should we make for this?" routine.

[that Baby guy]

Reminds me of how the Gamecube's C-stick was made larger thanks to Luigi's Mansion, though that's not nearly the same scale.  I have to agree, Ian.

The funniest idea is that the Wii-mote's proof-of-concept was Metroid Prime 2, really.  It seems like it was built for the FPS genre specifically, and yet those titles are few-and-far-between on the Wii.  Really makes no sense.

[AV]

you guys remember the guy that did ' 3d head tracking on wii '

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw

he is now working for Microsoft  specifically Project Natal 

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/06/11/wiimote-genius-johnny-chung-lee-on-project-natal-team/

[Deguello]

What about a game for it?  This is kind of the problem Natal has too.  Headtracking is a nice tech demo, but really has limited game possibilities.  I'd imagine the stuff he'd make for Natal would be similar to the virtual window thing and nothing that would interest anybody for more then 5 minutes.  Remember, the Natal has no controller, so unless MS wants people to point at the screen and say "bang," then, like BlacknMild said, the possibilities are finite.

[that Baby guy]

While it's true Natal has no controller, that's truthfully a non-issue.   The retail package could include a wand or controller, or something similar, and later, 360 controllers "shaped for convenience" with Natal could show up.  It's not as though the use of Natal precludes all use of 360 controllers, much like how using a Guitar peripheral controller doesn't preclude using a 360 controller, either.  For all intents and purposes, Natal has several different controllers, from band instruments to steering wheels, with this knowledge.  The only current issue is that none of them are designed to work specifically with camera-based motion control.

[Deguello]

So I point my Nerf gun at the screen and say "Bang?"

[that Baby guy]

No, no, the Wii has the Nerf gun controller, Deg.  They'll have to make that one for the 360 if you want to use it.

[nickmitch]

I think the people from the Jimmy Fallon show said that the jump suits were just for fun, not for the demo.

Edit: Sauce.

[Deguello]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-443dE5-gk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELcJHTRlRSc

Here are two videos with celebrities using the Natal and having fun.  This is all well and good utnil you notice the clips from Burnout are exactly the same footage in each video.

So at best, MS edited away footage that would show Natal in a bad light and replaced it with stock footage.  At worst, they had their techs, celebs, endorsers, and cameramen, film a blank screen and edit in the "footage" afterward.  Why doesn't MS want anybody to see the actual footage?

[BlackNMild2k1]

On that day in the future when Microsoft launches its E3-darling Project Natal no-touch control system, it will feel like a console launch, a company exec told Kotaku.

Forget the launch of previous gaming cameras and mics like the PlayStation Eye or the Xbox Live Vision Camera when you try to imagine the impact Microsoft's Project Natal will have on billboards, TV channels and other places where ads run.

The birth of Natal will feel grander than that.

"Conceptually, the launch of Natal will be like the launch of Xbox 360," Microsoft's head of long-term Xbox 360 strategy, Shane Kim, told Kotaku during an interview at E3. "It's going to be that big. We're not just going to ship it when the hardware and software are ready. We have to make sure that there are enough content experiences that are really good. That's similar to how you would think of the launch of a new console. It's got to have a great launch line-up. That's the same thing here."

In a note to investors earlier this week, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter predicted that the Natal launch would require the support of approximately 30 third-party games.

As for who Microsoft hopes to catch with the Natal net, Kim said, "We're not focused on this generation's casual gamers or even PS2 people who haven't upgraded. This is about the 60% of households were a video game console doesn't exist… the problem is that the controller is a barrier for some people and now with Project Natal we completely eliminate that."

Whether you're a fan of Natal's potential or not, the idea of a console-sized launch for a gaming peripheral is impressive and hints at the potential for the device to find its audience.

If only [insert your favorite gaming peripheral] had that kind of support.

Natal is the Xbox360 Re-Launch. They better keep it under $100 if they plan on having any sort of success, and a bundle can not cost more than $250 w/ an Arcade. I'm not sure how they plan to pull it off, but its good to see MS taking this very seriously. It not only puts pressure on Nintendo to bring their A game, but for Sony to even attend the show.

All of that MS $$$ backing a world wide advertising campaign is gonna interesting to watch. They have alot of confidence in this camera, which is evident by the fact that they bought the company that was making it and the fact that EA was supposedly already working on a game for the camera(that they planned on releasing on their own) before MS bought out the camera company.

[Flames_of_chaos]

  The retail package could include a wand or controller, or something similar, and later, 360 controllers "shaped for convenience" with Natal could show up. 

But then they are going to Sony territory, which they are using 1 or 2 controllers in conjunction with the PS Eye. And if you recall, Sony's direction is extremely similar to what Nintendo is doing.