Natal Problem.

[Brotherofwill]

Here's something I've been thinking about a bit a long time ago but might aswell bring forward now:

If Natal involves RPGs or other games with a traditional design, how will the player walk or move his avatar? I can't get my head around it.

You could play them in correspondence with your controller, but then you wouldn't have any arm freedom in the game, necessary to perhaps wield a sword and shield. Also perhaps you would have to shuffle your feet on the spot, that that would make it very tiresome and probably make for rather awkward movement (probably).

Will these kind of games work? With the Wii or PS3 controller you have the analogue stick on one of your hand controller things, which allows you to move your arms seperately and still have a traditional controller movement.

Maybe I'm just not seeing something obvious here...

 

[SirDeadly]

I think with RPG games they just use natal for things where you don't need to acutally move your character. For now...

 

[TriggerHappyAngel]

i think that Natal will fail if it comes to hardcore games...

 

[RUINER ACTUAL]

i think that Natal will fail if it comes to hardcore games...

They said it wasn't...but it is Microsoft.

I can't wait to watch the fail of Natal.

 

[olicon]

You could use it to navigate multiple menus at once--similar to DS games. It'd be good if I can change my cast bars/etc by moving my hands instead of lots of button press. Imagine if you're holding the controller to the left of your body instead of the normal position, the spells you use would become heal spells instead. It's a minor quality of life improvement, but it would help a lot with console games.

I could imagine a lot of other usage like moving your head causes the character to dodge, increasing its dodge rating in the game, similar to "trigger" in FF8. A lot of things could be done, although they won't ever be major. Whether they are done (and done well) or not is up to developers.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

i think that Natal will fail if it comes to hardcore games...

They said it wasn't...but it is Microsoft.

I can't wait to watch the fail of Natal.

I'm sorry, but I find motion control pointless, I play games to AVOID physical activity!

 

[RUINER ACTUAL]

i think that Natal will fail if it comes to hardcore games...

They said it wasn't...but it is Microsoft.

I can't wait to watch the fail of Natal.

I'm sorry, but I find motion control pointless, I play games to AVOID physical activity!

Yup...

They just don't seem to get that. Been that for, what? Thirty years now? Goddamn if those housewives, senior citizens, and toddlers start playing games, we all need to play games like them! Fuck us and our expectations of playing a game lazily on the couch with a controller.

If I'm not playing a game with a controller, it better be with my fucking mind. Where's that peripheral?

 

[Amnestic]

It'll be good for rail shooters I guess.

Now with the power of Natal, you too can be Liquid Ocelot.

*finger gun*

 

[Kollega]

Yes, i am intrested too. How will they make games of traditional genres - oh say, for example, First-Person Shooters to support Natal? Can't wrap my mind around that. It would be easier to wrap my mind around a large golden brick and then throw it at someone.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

i think that Natal will fail if it comes to hardcore games...

They said it wasn't...but it is Microsoft.

I can't wait to watch the fail of Natal.

I'm sorry, but I find motion control pointless, I play games to AVOID physical activity!

Yup...

They just don't seem to get that. Been that for, what? Thirty years now? Goddamn if those housewives, senior citizens, and toddlers start playing games, we all need to play games like them! Fuck us and our expectations of playing a game lazily on the couch with a controller.

If I'm not playing a game with a controller, it better be with my fucking mind. Where's that peripheral?

I'm pretty sure one is on the way if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Volafortis]

The only thing that I'm hoping Natal is capable of is head-tracking, because that's the one potential thing they could add to hardcore games that wouldn't suck. Still, I think Natal has more potential than the Wii Remote, or the PS3 wand.

 

[ZaronX]

Motion control has it's points, but when i comes to traditional gaming I'm usually sinking into a more lengthy affair to unwind because other things have lefty me wanting to do the opposite of flail around like an idiot fighting spastic motion controls. I play games to relax, and a lot of the new tech seems to be trying to make them a more active affair. Still, it's fine so long as traditional control isn't forsaken.

Which I think is the ideal, and the goal still. Microsoft isn't giving up traditional controls, they're just putting Natal out as an alternative for developers. Core games will still be made, sold, and played, Natal or not. It's not replacing the standard controller, so the worry is pretty minimal at this point.

Still, it'll be interesting to see when someone inevitably tries to make a platformer with the thing.

 

[The Great Zegrool]

I just thought of something awesome.
What if you point at where you want to go on the screen. I would buy Natal just for that.

 

[cieply]

1. There was this vid on youtube, maybe it's a fake but shows one of potential uses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jqTZB6s6sw
2. I think it might be later used not in gaming but in other spheres of life. This project might be prone to fail but here it's all about thinkink out of the box. For example, add hologram technology (already in development) + natal and you have minority report control panels, interactive desktops and many more. Or if natal is precise enough it could be use with machines and havy equipment. There really is a lot of uses outside the gaming and its them that mostly got me excited.

 

[Amnestic]

This is one of those things that I assume will be left up to the individual developer to decide. If a game is to be Natal-intensive, they might just have you walk in place or lean forward slightly. Or maybe they might just add facial and voice recognition to the game, then use the traditional controller for everything else. Which would be awesome, even for the more "hardcore" RPGs. Imagine Mass Effect characters responding to your facial expressions/actual spoken dialogue.

If I'm feeling sick and/or generally under the weather and want to kick back with some video gaming to take my mind off the fact that my body is eating itself, I don't want the game characters all shying away from my player character, although if they were Quarians it would make sense.

It's a nice idea in theory, but gaming isn't a solo process and there are other stimuli which bombared the player which aren't from the game. Noisy neighbours? Itchy leg? Just been dumped and want some escapism?

 

[teisjm]

I really hope natal becomes as awesome as it potentially can be, even though it would mean that i would have to fork out osme money for a 360.

I think it could be awesome for a Black and White remake or a sequel or something.

You know how you used mouse gestures to cast spells and do all sorts of stuff? do that IRL now, and get the desired response on the screen.

Actually, seeing how you controll everything with your muose in B&W, i think it would be a perfect game for natal, and seeing how it's sort of RTS-ish it wouldn't have much competition on the console market, and it would stand out (apart from the obvious B&W for PC ofc, but nothing on console)

As for the movement, you could stand up, and then lean in the direction you wanted to go, liek if you were riding a segway.

They should make a game with segway riding wixards using hand gestures for casting spells.

 

[TriggerHappyAngel]

NATAL = FAIL

Fix'd. Natal is so worthless. It's so... unrelaxing.

Fixed it even better ^^

 

[Brotherofwill]

It'll be good for rail shooters I guess.

Now with the power of Natal, you too can be Liquid Ocelot.

*finger gun*

That's what I thought. Rail shooters seem possible and it's pretty badass to pretend your finger is a gun.

1. There was this vid on youtube, maybe it's a fake but shows one of potential uses.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jqTZB6s6sw
2. I think it might be later used not in gaming but in other spheres of life. This project might be prone to fail but here it's all about thinkink out of the box. For example, add hologram technology (already in development) + natal and you have minority report control panels, interactive desktops and many more. Or if natal is precise enough it could be use with machines and havy equipment. There really is a lot of uses outside the gaming and its them that mostly got me excited.

The HL2 video seems all good and fine, but here the hand movements are really only replacing controller movement. They don't add anything. The idea which would make technology like Natal so great is that you'd be able to use your upper-body to interact in a world, like controlling your arms to control the avatars arms. Here it's just for navigation and 2 normal analogue sticks seem to be more apt at that and also give you all the buttons to use functions with.

It still looks pretty cool, and tirying.