Consolidated Letdown: E3 2009

[Lantyssa]

Ask every developer out there which SDK they'd rather get their hands on (and which box they're most comfortable with), and you'll have your answer as to why the mob thinks MS won the demo war.

Track the companies which actually make good games and don't fold and you'll know why the mob is wrong.

[Venkman]

Yep.

As I said, this CES-wannabe stuff doesn't matter until real experiences are attached.

The A.R. wand was done to help fill in the gap for the eyetoy, which is good.  But it's still not anywhere near the same thing as Natal.  The wand is just tracking software for an A.R. symbol (you can make one at home).

Now consider what Natal is doing is basically tracking more than just single A.R... and that Sony isn't limiting themselves to the idea of tracking just one point, and the gap shrinks, at least as far as practical applications for gaming go.


(human skeleton is funny, it doesn't take that many points and angles to determine arrangement of the whole thing)

Heh. People were killing their TVs with wii-motes and now we're going to go all Pele in our living room with them? And people were worried about the amount of space Natal would need?!

The Natal doesn't work with or without a controller. It all depends on how they end up packaging the final experience. And for both this and Sony, it really only matters if they unlock internal resources to do it right or create the right business relationship for a third party, all of whom so far have had varied success with the easy wand.

[ffc]

Milo just looked to me like Eliza/Alice souped up with facial/shape/voice tone recognition rather than just text input. Totally not seeing what the big deal is supposed to be.

How does facial/shape/voice tone recognition make you feel?

[tmp]

How does facial/shape/voice tone recognition make you feel?

Feels largely pointless attached to a chatbot. So based on angle of your eyebrows Milo can deduce you're surprised or sad. Great, but who actually gives a fuck about your mood, Milo included?

[schild]

How does facial/shape/voice tone recognition make you feel?

Feels largely pointless attached to a chatbot. So based on angle of your eyebrows Milo can deduce you're surprised or sad. Great, but who actually gives a fuck about your mood, Milo included?

WHOOSH

[tmp]

WHOOSH

I guess. It's late, what did i miss?

[schild]

I don't know the answer to that question. What do you think you missed?

[tmp]

 

[ahoythematey]

I'm almost certain that certain government agencies would love it if Natal was in every household in america.

[Bzalthek]

I'm almost certain I could get you to buy a shiny tin hat too.

[ahoythematey]

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying it's in any shape or form going to happen.  I probably shouldn't have limited it to America, as such an invasion of privacy would require an enormous cultural shift that I don't see ever happening.

[HaemishM]

I kinda feel that way about Molyneux right now.  I'd probably be more inclined if he'd actually made anything in the last decade that I could play longer than 10 minutes. 

Yeah, this. Molyneux has over and over proven himself to be all hype and very little execution. Fable 1 was not the greatest thing ever (though I didn't hate it, it's promise just wasn't realized). Black & White 1 AND 2 were refried monkey ass. The Movies had so much potential and they pissed it away - instead of concentrating on a really kick-ass movie maker or a really kick-ass studio management sim, they gave us half-assed versions of both in one package, dropped a decent expansion on us then completely gave up on the thing. Molyneux debuting a  AI system on the Microsoft Flail-o-Tron just made me think "Oh, here's a peripheral we'll get fuckall for decent games out of before it's forgotten and tossed aside - like the HD-DVD format."

Fuck Molyneux in his tiny French ass. Live up to the hype or shut your goddamn gob.

[HaemishM]

Even if they make a low-res turn-based RPG with it, it's still an awesome achievement.

First off, they aren't going to make RPG's for the Natal. Look at the goddamn presentation. It's so painfully targeted at "LOOK DA WHOLEZ FAMILY CAN PLAY" Wii casual market that it caused my nuts to retract into my body. No one is going to make a hardcore nerd RPG for that that system, especially when the system itself is struggling for any real stable of RPG's, especially when compared to the Sony stable which is full of JRPG's. I expect an EyeToy-Dildo RPG from Japan before we get a Natal RPG.

[raydeen]

A first person fighting game would be quite cool with this tech along with the possibility that it might give a simple tutoring of some martial arts. Of course I can also envision the amount of damage to body and furniture that this might create. That and I'd be on a stretcher headed for the emergency ward with a heart attack.

[tmp]

As someone else put it, that'd be fighting game limited to stepping on each other's toes and occasional kick on the shin, because that's all athletic prowess your average geek can muster...

[Mrbloodworth]

+

=

Oh, and i found this:

[Hawkbit]

See?

I said a few pages back that the tech demo reminded me of Oblivion.  I could even imagine flipping a switch to pull a bow/arrow into the next part of the demo. 

I also think Schild is correct that the basic PS controller is the only realistic option for many years to come.  I hope we're wrong, because it will be awesome to see what revolutionizes game controllers.  But after owning a Wiimote, that's not the revolution. 

[raydeen]

I was actually thinking more along the lines of not even seeing your character at all aside from hands and feet and facing your opponent head on. I'd be so winded after 30 seconds though.

[Bzalthek]

I'd prefer if they designed the thing expecting people to be sitting.  I can flail my arms about and swing swords, but I don't have a lot of space to be jumping around in, not to mention my downstairs neighbor would constantly be calling the cops.

I like the idea of slaying the dragon, but I don't want to make an aerobic exercise out of the damn thing.

[MrHat]

a simple tutoring of some martial arts

That's what I see it for mostly.  Correct form for exercises, physical tutoring, yoga, etc. From that perspective, it's an incredible useful tool.

A TOOL.

Not a game device.

[Ghambit]

I wonder what kinds of sentiment towards Natal and PS-dildo there are in Europe and Scandinavia.  In that part of the world, instead of soccer-moms they have LARPER-moms that take their kids to the park to play live-action Castles&Crusades.  I'm willing to bet across the pond they're frothing at the mouth over this tech.   We fatass Americans simply cant be troubled with it though.   

[tmp]

I wonder what kinds of sentiment towards Natal and PS-dildo there are in Europe and Scandinavia.

Smaller houses and even more condos; i suspect reaction is mostly "lol".

Well, mine was.

[Phire]

Regardless of who 'won' E3 it is definitely a great time to be a 360/PS3 owner. Awesome games coming out for both systems with plenty more from both companies that weren't revealed this week.

My Wii on the other hand hasn't seen any play since Mario Kart and my DS since Phantom Hourglass. I really don't understand how Nintendo doesn't have more coming out especially for the DS. I don't think they have released a good first party DS game in almost 2 years which is extremely sad for the best selling gaming system.

[schild]

I don't think they have released a good first party DS game in almost 2 years which is extremely sad for the best selling gaming system.

They have.

In Japan. 

[Salamok]

A first person fighting game would be quite cool with this tech along with the possibility that it might give a simple tutoring of some martial arts. Of course I can also envision the amount of damage to body and furniture that this might create. That and I'd be on a stretcher headed for the emergency ward with a heart attack.

Wasn't there some swat/gun based arcade game that used body language to duck behind cover and stuff.  I think i'd be pretty happy with something as simple as that.  Or the guy that reversed the wii controller and mounted the wii sensor to a hat so that the screen behaved like a window into a 3d environment organized specifically to your perspective.  These are the things this tech should be focusing on not some spaztastic control scheme based on you flailing around like your nuts caught on fire.

Unless you are arching an eyebrow or something to unlock the Duke saying "Damn i'm smooth" then facial recognition is meh for me.

[schild]

Wasn't there some swat/gun based arcade game that used body language to duck behind cover and stuff.

[Salamok]

pic

thats the stuff.

edit:  if they go in the direction of small motions to assist gameplay/immersion then I would bet that it would become an instant hit.  Writing a game that requires you to break out the full on dance dance revolution kung fu can of whoop ass eliminates like 99.9% of the population from wanting to play it.

[Margalis]

My Wii on the other hand hasn't seen any play since Mario Kart and my DS since Phantom Hourglass. I really don't understand how Nintendo doesn't have more coming out especially for the DS. I don't think they have released a good first party DS game in almost 2 years which is extremely sad for the best selling gaming system.

You haven't played Chinatown Wars, Fire Emblem and Order of Ecclesia why exactly?

[MisterNoisy]

Speaking of DS games, Scribblenauts looks like it's going to be amazing.

[Teleku]

Wasn't there some swat/gun based arcade game that used body language to duck behind cover and stuff.

That game also sucked ass and wasn't fun to play.

[UnSub]

I look forward to the first 'man sues Sony for skull fracture while gaming' news story.

Honestly, it's a fantastic idea. But I'm not actually going to be doing a spinning bird kick just so my character on screen can do a spinning bird kick. (And I totally could do a spinning bird kick if I wanted to.  )

[Ghambit]

What's really laughable to me is you know developers want to cut to the chase and just start making spandex mo-cap suits for gamers to wear.  But they go through all this hoop-jumping to avoid having to put people in that position (clunky recognition software to create a skeletal framework, strapping dildos to body parts, etc).  There comes a point where if you're going to do something you may as well do it friggin right!  And that means mo-cap suits hanging on racks in the local Gamestops.   

Maybe we'll get more people goin to the gym...
And hmmm, I wonder if there's a certain amount of possible "style" one could inject into a spandex mo-cap suit.  Y'know, to make it look "cool enough to wear."

[schild]

No one wants to make a mopac suit.

Also, that image does a better job of explaining the patent than some guy hold a ball standing in front of a camera would.

You people are silly.

[Velorath]

That Helicopter gunfire looks kinda awkward.

that would be because the whole building is falling over

shit is hitting the fan fuser

and the shit tastes delicious

fake edit: i've never been in the line of helicopter fire so i wouldn't know

I've watched the Uncharted 2 clip a couple of times now and the Helicopter thing still bothers me.  It's just a poorly directed scene for the lack of a better way to put it.  The helicopter is meant to add tension to the scene, but instead of having it strafing the building and firing off a burst every now and again, it just sits there and fires off an obscene amount of bullets while failing to hit anything.  If the original game was supposed to evoke memories of movies like Indiana Jones, this scene here is more reminiscent of an episode of the A-Team.

Rest of the gameplay footage looks good, but damn that scene bothers me.

[ahoythematey]

Action movie heroes are all born with the ability to dodge bullets.  Nathan Drake is close enough to fall under that category.