It has been a pretty popular rumor for quite a while that Microsoft was going to be announcing a new camera based motion controller at E3 and it is finally here, Project Natal. Before I say anything else you first need to watch the intro video that Microsoft played to get an idea at what Nintendo is trying to accomplish with Natal. Also not the disclaimer at the beginning of the video that says, “Product vision: actual features and functionality may vary.”
So there you have it, Project Natal, ugh. What the fuck is Microsoft thinking? I know that the Wii is extremely profitable right now and Microsoft is just trying to 1 UP them but this hardly seems like the right way to go. You all watched that video right? All of those people looked like a bunch of fucking tools. Why the fuck would a person ever want to pretend to hold a power drill and change a tire of a race car?
Microsoft started their press conference with some great content aside from Tony Hawk RIDE. They showed a handful of games like Modern Warfare 2, Crackdown 2, Shadow Complex, Forza 3, Splinter Cell Conviction, and Halo 3: ODST. All of these games look like they are going to be great and, guess what they have in common? They all require a traditional controller. There is no way a game like Halo 3: ODST could be controlled with a camera
Microsoft and other companies seem to have this idea that when you take what we consider to be a traditional controller away and replace it with body motion or a motion sensitive controller that enables the player to have more control they are actually doing to opposite. I have an idea, instead of using steering wheels, let’s install a camera into cars that just looks at what are hands are doing to determine which way to turn and when to change gears, it would be a disaster.
Here is what it comes down to, this sort of camera control will never be a mainstream control method that will be used in the most popular games, it just won’t happen. Natal is neat in regards to technology and what it is able to do, but it isn’t practical in real use. I don’t want to wave my fucking hands around in the air to scroll through some fucking movies, using a controller is BETTER and EASIER, it just isn’t as neato burrito.
Bottom line, fuck.
Stupid article. It assumes both that this is intended to replace the traditional controller/games, and that Microsoft is going to focus on traditional games when developing for this new medium.
Both are incorrect. You’ll still have your traditional games, and they’ll stay far away from this. Think outside the box on this one…something I see a lot of people unable to do. “Well I need to press at least one button…” or “Halo couldn’t be controlled with this…” Shhh. You don’t need to press anything. Imagine a type of game where you don’t have to press anything. Let your imagination soar, and stop thinking in the box with the genres that work best with a traditional controller.
Two very separate things. Think what you can do with technology like Natal, and ignore what has been done before in “traditional” games. Use the “limitation” of no buttons as inspiration for a new type of product.
I don’t read this website for insightless, worrisome articles like this. You shouldn’t be writing about something when you have such a stilted view on the subject.
Seriously. It’s one thing to have an opinion. It’s another to write for a website and do such a poor job of relaying said opinion.
Golgotron is a new website. You should be building credibility… not chasing the 5 new people you have reading this website away with ranting garbage.
It’s bad enough all you’ve done is downloaded wordpress and slapped a theme on it (Isotherm is way overused by the way AND you stripped out the credit of it’s author but have the nerve to add a copyright symbol for the word golgotron) but now you are already writing as if you were some celebrity that we should all enjoy your little unfunny quips!
I’m already finding myself wanting to unsubscribe because all of the articles written by namelessted a.k.a rich are the same useless nonsense.
95% of what you write is just telling the world what you don’t like.
See:
http://golgotron.com/2009/06/psp-go-what-the-fuck-is-sony-thinking/
http://golgotron.com/2009/05/fable-2-can-shove-it/
http://golgotron.com/2009/05/pre-e3-rumors-i-hate-them/
I <3 Chatterbox. I am giving this website a chance in support of the podcast… and like the people in the natal video… Rich is a tool.
Sadly, like the podcast, rich is ruining an experience yet again.
I can see the direction that Microsoft is headed with this, and frankly, I’m terrified. Imagine if this gh3y little video was an accurate depiction of the average American family? Imagine if people were so dependent upon machines and afraid of the outside world, that two friends couldn’t even take the time to go clothes shopping together in real life, or that two families would rely on an xbox to poorly emulate a family game night. That’s my first qualm, the whole liquid lifestyle this sort of product promotes.
My second grievance is that control systems like this lack tactile feedback. How hard do you know to turn a steering wheel when there is no resistance? Those subtle nuances in controller manipulation that allow great gamers to excel are less feasible with these methods of control. The games will most likely be designed to interpret a large sum of different input to produce the same in game result. All this does is take a control system that is already beautiful and dilute it with cheap gimmicks and broken mechanics.
The real problem with this shitty product, that most people seem to miss, is that there are already a ton of games you can play that require your entire body. There’s the traditional sports, there’s tag, capture the flag, paint ball, and whatever else your mind can come up with. Traditional controllers are important because they provide a UNIQUE experience. I love the feeling of the xbox controller in my hand. I love the feeling of popping off someone’s head in gears with a flick of the joystick. I love drifting in Outrun, and dodging bullets with the joystick in a shmup! A traditional controller provides a separate unique experience, much in the way the guitar hero controller provides a different experience than an actual guitar. There is NOTHING this product can offer any of us! I don’t need a god damned xbox to pretend like i’m a monster destroying a city. I have my own body and my own mind to take care of that.
I love controllers. I love my keyboard and my mouse. Control is an essential aspect to the gaming experience. If microsoft really thinks that it can take away controllers and provide people with an overpriced emulation of real life, they can go fuck themselves.
[...] talked about announcements were the new motion controllers from Sony and Microsoft. As you may have read, Natal doesn’t have me all that excited and I personally feel that these motion controls do not [...]