E3 2009 Discussion thread HOLY SHIT MONKEY ISLAND IS BACK
- Thread starter Twilight
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Well, if you turned the channel you missed a pretty impressive use of it. The Natal isnt anything like what Wii has (I have a Wii).
I would really like to look at the private showing of that project with Milo. I thought that was very interesting.
So I'm sitting here watching the presentation on "Natal" (or whatever) and I'm thinking, "Holy crap, I don't play video games to get an aerobic workout, I play to relax."
As someone else pointed out upthread, Wii is fun for about 20 minutes. I thought Wii would be a big joke but it went on to sell something like a bazillion units, so I guess this probably will too, but boy that's just not my cup of tea.
As someone else pointed out upthread, Wii is fun for about 20 minutes. I thought Wii would be a big joke but it went on to sell something like a bazillion units, so I guess this probably will too, but boy that's just not my cup of tea.
I have to say, it was pretty damned impressive.
For those who didn't see it, they showed a video demo of a Lionhead employee playing a game with a virtual child named Milo. She was literally talking to him and interacting with him as if he was real.
There was even a point where he asked her to draw a picture. She picked up a real pen and paper and drew the picture and then handed it to him. The camera detected the paper and he took it from her in a natural motion.
I do have my reservations about this. Not everyone has a huge living room or wants to stand up to play games.
There's also the problem with FPS titles and many other more traditional titles. How do you play Call of Duty or FIFA or whatever with this ? If I could play like Cristano Ronaldo I would be on £150,000 a week playing for Manchester United.
I think it depends on two things:
1) It has to work REALLY REALLY well. The video we saw was a canned demo and, frankly, we don't know what was real and what wasn't (both in terms of Milo ... was part of that interaction scripted? ... and also in terms of the sensitivity of the camera.) If it's very precise it may work brilliantly. If it's as precise as the Wiimote it'll tank.
2) Its implementation has to be REALLY REALLY spot-on. It has to be fun to use. If Natal games just end up being iterations of changing a tire on a car, I'm not interested. Changing a tire with a motion capture camera isn't a game, it's just a tech demo. This is what Wii has failed to grasp - much of their content has been focused on gimmicks associated with the motion controls ... yup, nobody cares anymore.
So I'm feeling like this camera thing could be brilliant, or just suck - with very little in-between. And I feel like if there's the slightest lag or perceivable inaccuracy with the camera, it'll get frustrating quickly. It needs to move as fluidly as a person can move their body - and that's hard to accomplish. And don't get me started on how immature voice recognition tech is even today. There's a reason we're sitting here in 2009 using keyboards to type our posts out, instead of speaking them into our computers
And, frankly, Milo is creepy. Very impressive video ... but creepy.
1) It has to work REALLY REALLY well. The video we saw was a canned demo and, frankly, we don't know what was real and what wasn't (both in terms of Milo ... was part of that interaction scripted? ... and also in terms of the sensitivity of the camera.) If it's very precise it may work brilliantly. If it's as precise as the Wiimote it'll tank.
2) Its implementation has to be REALLY REALLY spot-on. It has to be fun to use. If Natal games just end up being iterations of changing a tire on a car, I'm not interested. Changing a tire with a motion capture camera isn't a game, it's just a tech demo. This is what Wii has failed to grasp - much of their content has been focused on gimmicks associated with the motion controls ... yup, nobody cares anymore.
So I'm feeling like this camera thing could be brilliant, or just suck - with very little in-between. And I feel like if there's the slightest lag or perceivable inaccuracy with the camera, it'll get frustrating quickly. It needs to move as fluidly as a person can move their body - and that's hard to accomplish. And don't get me started on how immature voice recognition tech is even today. There's a reason we're sitting here in 2009 using keyboards to type our posts out, instead of speaking them into our computers
And, frankly, Milo is creepy. Very impressive video ... but creepy.
Re: E3 2009 Discussion thread
Milo = John Henry.
When I come into my home from work, and I find Milo on my Xbox 360 singing Donald, where's your Trousers, then I will be worried.
Millions of Milos. All connected via one worldwide network.
Thinking. Planning. Singing.
We. Are. Doomed.
Milo = John Henry.
When I come into my home from work, and I find Milo on my Xbox 360 singing Donald, where's your Trousers, then I will be worried.
Millions of Milos. All connected via one worldwide network.
Thinking. Planning. Singing.
We. Are. Doomed.
I think the best part was when the first guy doing the onstage demo who was all "look, my avatar perfectly matches my movements!" and the thing was completely wigging out on the screen.
Anyway, the tech is pretty cool in general, though some of the uses seem pretty silly (who's going to leave their 360 on all day waiting for you to walk in front of it?) and the Milo thing seemed completely canned to me... there's no way you can carry out a real conversation with it. At the very least, watching people flail about in marketing videos like when the Wii was first announced will be fun for a while
Anyway, the tech is pretty cool in general, though some of the uses seem pretty silly (who's going to leave their 360 on all day waiting for you to walk in front of it?) and the Milo thing seemed completely canned to me... there's no way you can carry out a real conversation with it. At the very least, watching people flail about in marketing videos like when the Wii was first announced will be fun for a while
Never mind, I'll just play ordinary single player games with an ordinary controller on my PS3 while I save up to buy a house with a huge living room so I can continue being a gamer.
And don't forget to keep your living room incredibly well lit - may I recommend halogen flood lamps and stark white, empty walls
Seriously - one wonders how Natal will work if its subject is poorly lit and is silhouetted by a complex, dark background. And the thing must have an extremely narrow optimal range. I don't know, maybe not ... but it's hard to imagine that it's all that sophisticated.
I don't know - the whole thing screams GIMMICK to me. Controllers may not be totally precise - but full body control is very likely to be far less so. And how am I going to play COD with my body, anyway? We tried the whole motion control aiming thing with Metroid on the Wii ... it worked okay, but was no COD.
Seriously - one wonders how Natal will work if its subject is poorly lit and is silhouetted by a complex, dark background. And the thing must have an extremely narrow optimal range. I don't know, maybe not ... but it's hard to imagine that it's all that sophisticated.
I don't know - the whole thing screams GIMMICK to me. Controllers may not be totally precise - but full body control is very likely to be far less so. And how am I going to play COD with my body, anyway? We tried the whole motion control aiming thing with Metroid on the Wii ... it worked okay, but was no COD.
Yeah I noticed that too. it seems to me, you would have to have perfect conditions (as in lighting for example) for this to work properly.
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