On Kinect and PlayStation Move

[lozfoe444]

I do think that motion controls are immersive. Much like how one would perform a task by creating a motion in real life, video games seem to be using the same method for one to perform a task in the game. The only problem is that we haven't found a way to create feedback besides the rumble of the controller. I'm not saying that this is the ideal- feeling the feedback of an explosion would suck to say the least -but I don't think that just thinking something would be as engaging as moving.

 

[Mrkittycat]

I completely agree. I hate motion controls. In fact, before I obtained my 360, I had a gamecube and a PS2. PS3 had the little control motion control thingy, (can't remember the name), and the Wii had full motion control. Because of those two things I got the Xbox.

 

[Jared]

Portal 2 has bve totally excited...and, as for the two new big things...I really hope they will just be fads, so much

 

[Arrers]

I dissagree about motion controls breaking immersion. In my experience, using a Wii's motion control isn't any better or worse than button controls and if implented correctly it could surpass a standard controller.

In my opinion, the size of the motion or the time it takes to do it has nothing to with an increase of decerease in immersion, but how much it feels right. It's not somthing that most gamers would think about, as they're used to using a controller and it simply comes narturaly to them, but game controlers have a fairly steep learning curve. If you're some one new to games, a 360 or PS3 controller would look fairly intimidating due to the sheer number of buttons and sitcks used. If the controls are just mapped to appropriate motions with a baton or camrea to register it makes far more sense.

This isn't to say motion controls are perfect, the technology isn't all there yet, I'm just saying that there's a lot of potential tht people are overlooking.

 

[Fuhjem]

It would be quite interesting to hear Yahtzee in a videogame. Yet knowing it's Yahtzee will definitely break that fourth wall, and when you break that fourth wall you end up realizing that you're just in a game. Sure, have Yahtzee in a game, just keep it a secret until the ending credits.

To elaborate more on that fourth wall idea: the fourth wall is what separates our world from the world in your screen. When playing a game, our world should melt away and the screenworld should take over. But when a game makes a reference to other media or our world, our world breaks the wall and flows into the screenworld, breaking that immersion.

Which is why I'm glad that Eidos Montreal has decided to create their own in-game brand names for in-game advertisements.

Wait, another thought has sunk into my skull. If you have alot of real world references (see: Alan Wake), then it places the game world entirely in our world. It works well for horror games when your not sure whether or not the town you're living in is infested with shadow monsters and poorly animated facial expressions.

 

[whaleswiththumbs]

Sorry if this is off-topic, but when will we start getting updates from your space-game again?

I also wonde, but Yahtzee is a fairly busy[small] and sexy[/small] man. So i can understand the problem that he probably has no more done than what he said in his last update. Although he can is free to disprove me.[small]insert gay joke-extension here[/small]

OT:
I forgot what the article said in the course of typing the above....... Although I remember the Henry VII joke....

 

[Fuhjem]

Oh, and Yahtzee. Have you forgotten all about that wonderful thing called Emotiv [http://www.emotiv.com/]?

Sure, I wouldn't want a giant tarantula on my head eating my thoughts, but it's a step forward.

Plus imagine wearing that while you sleep. Your game would be fucked up.

 

[kazriko]

I agree on motion control, it's a step backwards on the whole brain-game interface.

Stereoscopic 3d though...

Was standard definition TV just a crude imitation of a hypothetical future technology? Was Black and White TV just a crude imitation of a hypothetical future technology? No, it was a stepping stone on the way to a future technology. I'm not as optimistic as him about the prospect of holographic televisions BTW. I greatly doubt that such things will be possible in the next 40 years, so stereoscopic is about the best we're going to get for a long time.

Cinematographers will figure out the techniques that they relied on to give the impression of 3d on a 2d plane and stop using them for 3d, and that should improve the whole thing drastically as well. (They need to switch to more pinhole type cameras and eliminate the out-of-focus foreground and background when you're dealing with 3d. They need to quit trying to use lighting to force a 3d effect as well.) As the whole 3d technique matures, the whole thing will mature and the gimmicks of things flying at you will decrease, the gimmicks of the 2d past will disappear, and new gimmicks and parlor tricks will show up to make the best of 3d technologies in a less obtrusive manner.

In a way, using focus blur and shadows to give the impression of 3d on 2d is a parlor trick and was a stand-in for a hypothetical future technology that has finally materialized...

I've heard that the effect is good, and that it ends up just becoming a part of the experience and you stop really noticing that it's in 3d once you get into the game. It's not in the way, it's improving the experience. I imagine that when the children these days grow up having 3d stereoscopic movies and games, they're not going to have any of the eyestrain problems that we adults have now.

 

[kaijyuu]

I disagree that motion controls are a step backwards... well partially anyway.

For anything that needs force feedback (sword fighting, fishing, ect) motion controls most definitely are as bad as you make them out. Indeed, "things that need force feedback" includes most everything. There are a couple exceptions I can think of offhand, though: a steering wheel for racing games, and maybe a calligraphy game of some sort. It really doesn't matter if our real bodies are moving or not (in the hypothetical future of total immersion they probably will be, just to get us some damn exercise), so long as we think about the hunk of plastic in our hands as little as possible.

The best interface is the one you don't notice. That's possible with motion controls, though perhaps with too few potential games that can effectively use them.

 

[Yer man o'er yonder]

What? Wheatley sounds nothing like Yahtzee! Silly people...

Hey Thar, it looks as if your about to shoot whoever is in that screenshot.

Also 3D must die. It is nothing but a useless extra. We already percieve images on a 2d screen in 3d thanks to depth perception. We don't need any help in this from fancy technology.

 

[jak1165]

I know for the most part that even hinting at support for the Wii normally results in shunning, but it seems that Yahtzee hasn't yet grasped the primary reason why the Wii has so thoroughly dominated this round in the console battle. Its not that it solely appeals to Mom, Dad, and Grandma, nor is it the "arm-flailing controls". Its the fact that four people can sit down in one room and *SHOCK* socialize with people face to face AND PLAY A GAME AT THE SAME TIME *GASP*. Whether its Smash Bros, Mario Kart, Wii Sports, Guitar Hero, or WarioWare(lol), people can still play games with other people without getting called a fag by some kiddie on a headset when you kill them

 

[Dr Snakeman]

if anything. i'm actually afraid to be excited for portal 2. trying to make sequals to games that were concidered perfect don't usually come out to well.

I'm pretty scared, too... but I just can't help feeling giddy that they are making a new one.
Valve, please don't break my heart.

Back on topic, yes. Just yes to everything in this article. Yahtzee pinpointed just why motion controls suck so that I didn't have to figure it out on my own.

 

[Jason Danger Keyes]

Extra Punctuation: On Kinect and PlayStation Move

Some people asked me if it was actually me doing the voice of the robot sidekick in the most recent gameplay video. I can now put on record that it is most definitely not. Not that I'd be unwilling to do so if you'd be willing to pay for the flight out again, Valve.

This is the best thing I've ever read in my life. YES FOR THE LOVE OF GOD YES!!

 

[MasterChief892039]

As long as controller-based games are still available after the release of the kinect/move, I don't give a crap what corporate f*ckheads and their mindless followers do with their gimmicks. I imagine that gaming will split off into two separate factions, controller and motion, much in the same way that there are RPG fans that play video games versus those that go out and LARP. They're both vaguely connected, but they are not the same thing and they attract entirely different groups of people.

 

[rapchee]

'so if you'd be willing to pay for the flight out again, Valve.' again? when was the first time?
queuing to the space-game update crowd.
also: no reactions about Rebecca Mayes Muses's love-song? :3

 

[Arcanist]

I know for the most part that even hinting at support for the Wii normally results in shunning, but it seems that Yahtzee hasn't yet grasped the primary reason why the Wii has so thoroughly dominated this round in the console battle. Its not that it solely appeals to Mom, Dad, and Grandma, nor is it the "arm-flailing controls". Its the fact that four people can sit down in one room and *SHOCK* socialize with people face to face AND PLAY A GAME AT THE SAME TIME *GASP*. Whether its Smash Bros, Mario Kart, Wii Sports, Guitar Hero, or WarioWare(lol), people can still play games with other people without getting called a fag by some kiddie on a headset when you kill them

You can do that with other consoles, you know. It's not like they have an implant that shocks you whenever you plug in another controller(Well, the PS3 does, but it's Sony. What did you expect?).

 

[Ravek]

The ultimate future of the TV screen would be some kind of holographic output, where the viewscreen perfectly resembles an actual window into the world beyond, rather than an animating 2D image. Stereoscopic 3D is just a parlor trick. It's an interesting effect that is an unusual quirk of humans having two eyes.

You know that having an actual 3D object or two 2D images of the object, from suitable angles, presented to your eyes seperately, is completely indistinguishable, right? Your retinas both receive a 2D image anyway, you can't get around that.

 

[_Nocturnal]

Stereoscopic 3D is just a parlor trick. It's an interesting effect that is an unusual quirk of humans having two eyes.

Funny you should say it. Another thing that started the same way: "motion pictures".
Critics should learn from past's mistakes and stop underestimating the potential of parlor tricks.
Those who specialize in shooting things down, of course, are exempt. Heh.
Ultimately though, it's game designers and filmmakers who will or won't reveal to us the full potenital of those technologies.
It's their job, not the critics'.

Still, thanks for a great read!

 

[Namewithheld]

I actually think that a virtual reality sort of world where you 'think' and it happens would be bad for the gaming industry, because then any sort of test of skill would be thrown out the window. You wouldn't have to aim your gun at the enemy, you'd just think "shoot him!" And bam, he'd be dead. There would be no point to competitive shooter games or action games or any games like that. The 'hardcore' gamers would cease to exist, because hardcore gamers are distinguished by their skill in the games they play, and if there's no test of any relevant skill, Q.E.D. no gamers.

Admittedly you could do an RPG game using that style, but if you're in a virtual world, an RPG would be a horrible idea because it would feel incredibly unrealistic and you'd be immediately reminded that this isn't a real world, which, considering how immersive the virtual world would be in the first place, would pretty much spoil the experience.

I'm pretty sure any VR game would have you think "move arm to hold gun to shoot and hopefully hit enemy" simulation.

 

[Breaker deGodot]

I hope this wasn't Twilight related. The last thing we need is Fox News covering how the Twilight books are killing society.

...actually that'd be pretty funny.