Head tracking can be used for a lot more than just looking around corners. It could be added to a game, almost as an afterthought, to allow Natal players to experience a more 3D environment where as their head moves, so, too, does the perspective, even if ever slightly - Enabling things like more realistic depth perception against a traditionally-2D viewing plane.
Johnny Lee's Wii-mote projects put forth more precedent (and examples) for that, and really, I'd love to see something similar for Natal-enabled (but not Natal-required) games. The extra immersion, added with the extra depth perception, would allow for a much more realistic and engaging gameplay experience than the largest plasma or LCD display on even an SD CRT.
Other things that it would offer would be gestures. Enable Natal support, and make a motion with your arm to throw a grenade, or shift gears up or down, or select a certain unit type or cast a certain spell. Move a different way to reload, or hit the handbrake, or use a special item, without taking your thumbs off your sticks.
And that's just something that can be tacked on to an existing game, or a traditional controller-based game. Natal is a technology that has a lot of potential - It just depends on how Microsoft decides to deploy and support it, and how creative developers are willing to be with it.
@Ted: Wow, a dance game where people actually, you know, dance, and not just stomp on colored lights. If a developer did it right, that could be big, I think.
@Kobun: Yea...instead of stomping on colored lights, they'll be flailing their arms around trying to hit flying colored targets. I point you to EyeToy: Groove for an example of this...
No, no dancing game where users actually Dance for points will succeed as it would alienate the casual audience. ParaParaParadise is another game where an actual dance can be done, but the technology for the game itself is no more than beams of light (more arm flailing!). I highly doubt Konami would do this so...better find another company to assist.
@Ted: It would also make it easier, cause, less peripherals needed, ya know? No more giant ARROW pads, instead, the technology for a true dance game would be available.
That's a pretty brilliant implementation and the kind of thing which has me excited about Natal. I wouldn't think any technical or collision detection issues would result from such an idea, at least any more than the current games' build would allow. I'm not really expecting Natal to blow me away with its inevitable Wii-inspired software but rather enhance existing experiences with head tracking and such. Being able to use it for routine animation customization would just be icing on the cake.
@Kobun: The thing is, they already MADE this game, it's called Police 911 (The Keisatsukan: Shinjuku Cop 24 Hours), and it's an Arcade game by Konami. Quite fun if I may add, just expensive as all hell to play.
I'd totally buy Natal if they could emulate this experience in the home.
@Tenshigure: I love me some Police 911, and I pray that Konami makes a port of it now, especially now that my arcade is dead. :( It's a better workout than Wii Fit. :p
@Timstuff: Yea, I can see it now...an 8-year-old getting himself paralyzed because his brother wanted to pull off some "sweet moves" for his character in the latest Raw vs Smackdown game.
@DarkSonic999: That's disregarding all those Penis shaped mountains in Little Big Planet that I've encountered with friends? Or did the ESRB just think nobody was going to do that in a "kiddie" game. User-created content isn't rated because the ESRB just rates what the developer presents to them. Can't assume and be ready for what they don't have.
@Michael Dukakis the stunned yet hopeful Mets fan: It's funny because it's 'virtual' tea-bagging. I expect people to be caught in their living room, tea-bagging the floor, looking like a total D-Bag.
@Southrncomfortjm: I was thinking the same thing. ESRB doesn't rate online interactions, so go all out!
Why record the motion to be 'triggered' when you could play it LIVE. I walk out into the ring, I strut, I raise my arms... I make the touchdown, I do what I do. In realtime.
While you guys might want this, it won't happen until Microsoft lets users specify sexual preference without getting banned from every single aspect of an Xbox Live Membership
@DarkSonic999: Oh wow! Your soap box is like one of those rolling briefcases with the wheels.......you can just roll it into any article and set right up! You should call it the Whine-O-Matic 9000!
@Heliophage: I think he is saying that if MS won't even allow you to put the phrase "I'm a lesbian" in your personal profile without suspending you (trust me I know) then they PROBABLY won't be too open to this type of freedom of expression either.
06/29/09
Johnny Lee's Wii-mote projects put forth more precedent (and examples) for that, and really, I'd love to see something similar for Natal-enabled (but not Natal-required) games. The extra immersion, added with the extra depth perception, would allow for a much more realistic and engaging gameplay experience than the largest plasma or LCD display on even an SD CRT.
Other things that it would offer would be gestures. Enable Natal support, and make a motion with your arm to throw a grenade, or shift gears up or down, or select a certain unit type or cast a certain spell. Move a different way to reload, or hit the handbrake, or use a special item, without taking your thumbs off your sticks.
And that's just something that can be tacked on to an existing game, or a traditional controller-based game. Natal is a technology that has a lot of potential - It just depends on how Microsoft decides to deploy and support it, and how creative developers are willing to be with it.
06/29/09
06/29/09
They don't allow you to even touch the avatars, so why would they allow you to use the Natal to pelvis-thrust at your opponents?
While the idea is a good one in theory, we have to remember WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE WOULD USE IT.
06/29/09
06/29/09
06/29/09
No, no dancing game where users actually Dance for points will succeed as it would alienate the casual audience. ParaParaParadise is another game where an actual dance can be done, but the technology for the game itself is no more than beams of light (more arm flailing!). I highly doubt Konami would do this so...better find another company to assist.
06/29/09
06/29/09
06/29/09
I'd totally buy Natal if they could emulate this experience in the home.
06/30/09
06/29/09
06/29/09
06/29/09
06/29/09
06/29/09
06/29/09
These user-generated mo-caps can be made offline as well, so the ESRB has to rate them.
06/29/09
06/29/09
06/29/09
06/29/09
06/29/09
@Southrncomfortjm: I was thinking the same thing. ESRB doesn't rate online interactions, so go all out!
06/29/09
06/29/09
06/29/09
06/29/09
Beautiful.
06/29/09
While you guys might want this, it won't happen until Microsoft lets users specify sexual preference without getting banned from every single aspect of an Xbox Live Membership
06/29/09
How are the two related?
At all?
06/29/09
06/29/09