Molyneux Says Kinect Breakthrough Will Come

[Logan Westbrook]

Molyneux Says Kinect Breakthrough Will Come

The Fable creator says that people didn't like the mouse at first either.

Lionhead founder and Microsoft Studios creative director Peter Molyneux says that he can understand why people are unsure about Kinect, but thinks that although it will take a while for core developers to really get to grips with Kinect, but they will eventually get it, and will start making great games using it.

"I agree with the skepticism from core gamers," he said. "[But] when you get past the idiosyncrasies which every control mechanism has, Kinect is a wonderful device to innovate on." He likened the situation what happened in the 80s when the mouse was introduced. He said that, at first, people were saying that it was the worst thing that had ever happened to gaming, but as developers starting to experiment with it, they started coming up with great games that used it to great effect.

Molyneux's mouse comparison is surprisingly apt. The mouse on its own is great for certain types of games, but for the majority of core games, it needs a keyboard too. Similarly, Kinect alone is rather limited, but when combined with a controller, it opens up a lot of possibilities. Developers like BioWare are already experimenting with using the two together in games like Mass Effect 3, and hopefully more studios will follow suit.

Source: CVG [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/311231/news/molyneux-i-agree-with-core-kinect-scepticism-but-breakthrough-will-come]


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[Not G. Ivingname]

Yes, combining controller imputs and the ability to detect movement is a great idea!

Spoiler: To bad nobody has thought of it before...

 

[King Toasty]

Hmmm, I actually agree with ol' Molly-X on this. Kinect plus controller would be more effectve, and possible more immersive. It'll be cool when an indie developer works on that.

Molly-X was also right on the mouse comparison- almost useless by itself, but coupled with a more complex physical interface, works amazingly.

I still won't be buying and Xbox, though.

 

[Frostbite3789]

Yes, combining controller imputs and the ability to detect movement is a great idea!

Spoiler: To bad nobody has thought of it before...

Ah ha, I'm glad I'm not the only person who thought of this exact thing.

OT: In ME3 it's only being used for voice commands. Voice commands which worked so wonderfully in EndWar and SOCOM. Ha, just kidding they sucked really bad in those games, and they mic was right in your face for them. Putting it across the room will definitely fix the problem.

 

[CharrHearted]

Kinect alone is rather limited, but when combined with a controller, it opens up a lot of possibilities.

Wait... don't we already have that? Wii, cough.

Play station Move cough.

 

[Logan Westbrook]

Kinect alone is rather limited, but when combined with a controller, it opens up a lot of possibilities.

Wait... don't we already have that? Wii, cough.

Play station Move cough.

They're similar, but not quite the same.

 

[Mercurio128]

Molyneux says a lot of things.

I apply a 90% expectation filter to every word the man says. I think we've all been hurt by his broken promises in the past. *sob*

 

[twm1709]

Except the mouse is a tool of precision, with buttons, which only takes one hand away from you and cheap. Kinect? not so much...

 

[TheDooD]

Molyneux I don't know if he's a great visionary just without the tools to do what he dreams of doing, Or one of the greatest Trolls in gaming history...

 

[Frotality]

oh god, PM thinks the kinect is innovative? given his recent insanity in the field of "innovation" thats all the proof i need to know it really is a hopeless peripheral.

 

[matrix3509]

No Peter, you still fail to grasp the basic concept. Waving your hands in front of a television, or worse, shouting at a television is the opposite of immersive. Games are supposed to become MORE as the medium ages, not less.

Until you understand this basic truth, no one will care.

 

[koroem]

Molyneux says a lot of things.

I apply a 90% expectation filter to every word the man says. I think we've all been hurt by his broken promises in the past. *sob*

I agree with this. Molyneux just talks crap all the time. He is like Cliffy B, but just depressing rather than douchey.

 

[Abedeus]

Hey, media. Stop giving him attention. He hasn't made a good game in years, he is not an expert or authority in any genre or department, except for "how not to keep promises or port games".

 

[Shoggoth2588]

So...since Peter is all behind the Kinect now can we call it a done deal now? I mean how often has his trust and, love panned out into what he claims? I don't dislike the Kinect but I also have no plans on buying or, using one. The Mouse on the other hand is a device I'm using now (not literally but it's how I got to this page and I prefer it to touch-screens ([sub]which I realize is off topic, I just hate touch-screens [sub]or rather, touch-screens that don't recognize styluses[/sub][/sub])

 

[Irridium]

Bioware are not doing anything that new or innovative with Kinect.

All they're doing is what previous games have already done. Only ME3 require you to buy a $150 accessory to do what a normal headset can do.

Spoiler: Hell, we've even had this tech since 2002

So yeah, so far Kinect doesn't have anything new to offer "core" games or whatever the hell people are calling it. When it does, let me know.

 

[Mercurio128]

Molyneux says a lot of things.

I apply a 90% expectation filter to every word the man says. I think we've all been hurt by his broken promises in the past. *sob*

I agree with this. Molyneux just talks crap all the time. He is like Cliffy B, but just depressing rather than douchey.

Many of us here on the escapist will remember the times in our youth, when we were whipped into an excited frenzy by the prospects of 'project ego' a revolutionary RPG that would aim to simulate a whole world right before our eyes and to allow us the freedom to do whatever we wanted. - Now we have Fable 3. Which is heartbreakingly bad, it can't even retain the decent parts of the first 2 games, which in themselves where depressing let downs after the build up.

And who could forget the amazing stories and interviews where we heard the fantastical tales of a world where WE could be the Gods to a whole race of people! Decide their fate! Burn Heretics! Build a whole world to be proud of! - what we got was the buggy tamagotchi monkey-fondling simulator Black and White.

I don't think Lionhead produce bad games. I just think they produce average games with lies for PR.

Someone needs to muzzle Peter Molyneux for his own good. He's too compelling a personality, his heart is in the right place but for the love of God he's been talking absolute toss for nigh on 10 years now.

 

[Phlakes]

And he's right. Motion controls have potential. No matter what they're like right now, they do. If we just give up on them because they don't work well yet, then we'll be wasting all that potential.

Of fucking course there are huge problems with the Kinect, but instead of whining about it and how it's "ruining gaming", give it a chance to develop.

I guess there's another idea to it. Regular controls have basically reached their limit. The gamepad is almost perfected and hasn't really changed since the last generation, and mouse and keyboard has been at its peak since gaming mouses were invented. Motion controls have the potential to go past that point, but they have to start behind.