The non-standard game interfaces discussion thread (move, voice, vitality, etc.)

[patsu]

Have you played an FPS with Move yet ?

Should also test out Kung Fu Live and Sports Champions !

 

[Dregun]

Have you played an FPS with Move yet ?

Should also test out Kung Fu Live and Sports Champions !

I have Sports Champions it came with my bundle, my second Move controller arrived at my house today (thanks ups txt messaging) and I also have MAG at home that I know is move capable.

I also have a Fragenstien controller that has the mouse and "nunchuck" type periphial that I can use for gaming. I heard I can use that nunchuck part with the move and that would give me the ability to play the game. Although looking at that gun controller I'm wondering if that wouldn't be easier then using the move and the nunchuck seperately.

 

[patsu]

Should probably try the Move + MAG and KZ3 combo first before jumping into the Sharpshooter. Some people swear by the Move controller for FPSes. I can switch between Move and DS3 more readily now, but I still prefer DS3 because movement is easier.

 

[Dregun]

So I was extremely excited to check out playing Sports Champions with 2 motion controllers...unfortunatly I'm somewhat underwhelmed.

I really wanted to try archery with 2 controllers as I thought it would increase accuracy. It does do that however the game never has you calibrate the second move controller (your non dominant hand) and I felt as though sometimes I had to hold the "bow" at very unusual angles to line up with the target.

For instance if a target was on the right side of my screen sometimes I need to point the controller so far to that side that I have to turn my head to see the screen!! I calibrated the controllers as much as I could but it never does the initial (Shoulder, side, beltbuckle) for the second move controller unless its your dominant hand.

When it worked it worked great! But a lot of weird things happend during my test run that it left a bad taste in my mouth. I ordered the Eyetoy camera clip and it helped a little to keep my eyetoy on my TV but I was expecting some tension like a spring type to help really affix it to the top of my TV. I'm thinking I might just buy some double pads and put them under my new clamp to keep it secure.

I'll probably try either Mag or KZ3 this weekend.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I really wanted to try archery with 2 controllers as I thought it would increase accuracy. It does do that however the game never has you calibrate the second move controller (your non dominant hand) and I felt as though sometimes I had to hold the "bow" at very unusual angles to line up with the target.

Two handed archery is only for reloading. Aiming is as before, relative to where you are pointing when you nock the arrow. It was a severe disappointment to me, where I expected the trajectory to be the vector from back Move to front Move.

 

[Arwin]

Two handed archery is only for reloading. Aiming is as before, relative to where you are pointing when you nock the arrow. It was a severe disappointment to me, where I expected the trajectory to be the vector from back Move to front Move.

It's been a while, but I'm fairly sure you can also determine the tension between front and back. Not that this is always useful as you'll usually want to have it at max tension, but you can do it with less and so create different arches / distances, etc.

Beach Volleyball was much more fun with two I thought, but still not a big fan of that. I personally however *really* loved Gladiator the most with two Move controllers. The sword and shield play is excellent, and It got surprisingly deep with the various dodges and jumps. Having played that a lot (completing Gold) it just left me wanting more, and I was very happy that The Fight: Lights Out picked up very well where Gladiator left off, though now I wouldn't mind, say, a port of a certain iOS Unreal Engine showcase that I deleted from my iPhone because I didn't have enough space and swiping your finger over the screen was more fun in Fruit Ninja anyway.

Tumble is also fun two player, by the way, both the single player and multiplayer can be played with two controllers either by yourself, co-op or competitive.

 

[AlphaWolf]

Kinect control for Netflix came out today. The interface could use some work, you can only access your recommended playlist via gestures, you need a controller for anything else, but the voice commands are handy.

 

[patsu]

So I was extremely excited to check out playing Sports Champions with 2 motion controllers...unfortunatly I'm somewhat underwhelmed.

I really wanted to try archery with 2 controllers as I thought it would increase accuracy. It does do that however the game never has you calibrate the second move controller (your non dominant hand) and I felt as though sometimes I had to hold the "bow" at very unusual angles to line up with the target.

For instance if a target was on the right side of my screen sometimes I need to point the controller so far to that side that I have to turn my head to see the screen!! I calibrated the controllers as much as I could but it never does the initial (Shoulder, side, beltbuckle) for the second move controller unless its your dominant hand.

When it worked it worked great! But a lot of weird things happend during my test run that it left a bad taste in my mouth. I ordered the Eyetoy camera clip and it helped a little to keep my eyetoy on my TV but I was expecting some tension like a spring type to help really affix it to the top of my TV. I'm thinking I might just buy some double pads and put them under my new clamp to keep it secure.

I think two Move controllers is best for melee games (Gladiator in Sports Champions, Lights Out boxing game). As Arwin pointed out, Volleyball is great with 2 controllers also. Other than these, you only need one Move controller. ^_^

Tumble may be too slow for some people. I like Beat Sketcher better. Flight control is not available in US.

IMHO, EyePet is only interesting when you get to the sketch recognition part. That's very little benefit for all the narration and training I have to endure throughout the game. My son loved the game though (He's playing it right now as we speak). "Daddy, I need to clean my pet now ~" [Start EyePet]

Overall, I'm most impressed by John Daly's ProStroke Golf. Homerun Derby in MLB 2011 is great fun too. Prompted me to take my family to watch Oakland As the Sunday they beat Mariners. ^_^

I have heard great things about the Move Darting game also.

EDIT: Oops, forgot about Kung Fu Live. I that little PSN title. Am also waiting for that Move Sorcery game.

 

[patsu]

Another Move-related patent for portable devices:
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2011/0118032.html

This GameSpot post has more highlights:
http://www.gamespot.com/forums/topi...nd-stereoscopic-3d-capability-update-5?page=0

It looks useless (Who'd want to use Move with NGP ? -_-), but the patent has more contexts. It may make more sense from a virtual console perspective. The patent also discusses a little about integrating PS3 with modern portable devices.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Another Move-related patent for portable devices:

It looks useless (Who'd want to use Move with NGP ? -_-)

NGP isn't the only mobile device. Sony would certainly want to stop the likes of Apple and Android tablets from using Sony's move tech in a plug-in form, even if they don't create my Grand Vision themselves (although watch this space for PS4 )

 

[ShadowRunner]

With the front facing camera in NGP maybe hand and finger tracking will become a viable interface?

 

[patsu]

NGP isn't the only mobile device. Sony would certainly want to stop the likes of Apple and Android tablets from using Sony's move tech in a plug-in form, even if they don't create my Grand Vision themselves (although watch this space for PS4 )

The important stuff in that patent is the stand/base station and the console virtualization concepts, so yes, NGP is only one of the possibilities. NGP will have interesting capabilities to supplement the combo though:
http://www.sonyinsider.com/2011/05/19/sony-develops-smartar-integrated-augmented-reality-technology/

< Main features >

(1) Object recognition that enables the markerless approach

  AR information can be displayed on the captured image which appears on a device’s screen, including those images that do not have any special markers for AR. This technology is also compatible with image recognition technologies that use conventional markers (such as “CyberCode*2″). Because “SmartAR” can recognize everyday objects such as posters and menus, it has the potential for a wide variety of applications.

  ”SmartAR” object recognition technology identifies objects by analyzing features detected from a portion of the image (hereafter, ‘local features’) together with their positional relationship. Our feature matching technology that employs a proprietary probabilistic method that matches local features with minimal calculations enables high-speed recognition that is resistant to changes in lighting or the position of the object. In addition, recognition is still possible even if the object captured appears to be comparatively small in the display.

(2) High-speed tracking (‘rapid & accurate’)

  Sony achieved its natural-feeling ‘rapid & accurate’ AR by quickly displaying AR information on the screen and then tracking the camera’s movements at high-speed. This has been realized by combining object recognition technology with our proprietary matching technology that uses features detected from a portion of the image (‘local features’) and image tracking technology that is capable of dealing with changes in the shape of the object.

(3) 3D space recognition

  With our dynamic, large-scale AR, virtual objects can be merged with 3D structures detected in the physical world. For example, even if the AR image is a gigantic virtual character whose size exceeds the dimensions of the device’s screen, the technology allows the user to grasp the entirety of the virtual character when the camera is moved around. Furthermore, it is also possible to move the virtual object in the actual 3D space as if it were really there.

  Three-dimensional space recognition technology is based on use of the disparity observed by the camera movements to estimate the shape of the 3D space and the position and angle of the camera. By combining this with object recognition technology, devices become capable of identifying and remembering 3D space constructions.

(4) AR Interaction

  Information can be intuitively acquired and navigated by directly touching the AR information displayed on the smartphone or device’s screen. The distinctiveness of “SmartAR” technology comes from the user interface which enables users to naturally use and operate additional information and virtual objects.

The picture above noted a possible "depth camera" in the stand and portable device too.


EDIT:
SmartAR video:

 

[patsu]

With the front facing camera in NGP maybe hand and finger tracking will become a viable interface?

Perhaps with higher res camera and combined processing power in the stand. I like the LCD panel on the mobile device though, it can show us the camera's perspective in parallel with the game output. So I know if the recognition input is working correctly at all times. ^_^

It's a costly setup. Cheaper if Sony integrates the stand into other/more appliances and devices, or reuse PS3.

 

[ShadowRunner]

Perhaps with higher res camera and combined processing power in the stand. I like the LCD panel on the mobile device though, it can show us the camera's perspective in parallel with the game output. So I know if the recognition input is working correctly at all times. ^_^

It's a costly setup. Cheaper if Sony integrates the stand into other/more appliances and devices, or reuse PS3.

I wasnt talking in relation to a stand, just in general. With a hanheld device you dont have the issue of someones hands being too far away from the camera so finger tracking then becomes viable. The res of the camera isnt so important, we have seen demos of finger tracking on standard low res webcams, though im not sure of the processing power requirements. A wide andle lens would help though may not be neccessary.

 

[patsu]

Need to think of a use case. If you're talking about a handheld device, you may get better accuracy and response with a multitouch screen. There is little need to resort to mid-air finger tracking. Retina tracking, facial expression interpretation, face recognition may be more interesting here.

 

[ShadowRunner]

Not necessarily a whole game based on finger/hand tracking but could find use in mini games, think of the rock paper scissors game in alex the kid , or a portable LA Noire game where you can reach in and manipulate objects, hand signals in a covert ops shooter (which could be pretty cool in MP games for comunicating with your team without voice chat which plenty avoid and may not fit well in portable space) etc. Basically all the ideas put forward for possible kinect hand tracking features. Like face/eye tracking it would just be another feature in the arsenal available to devs.

 

[patsu]

Was going to put this in the HTML5 thread but decided here is a better place...

Ever Think About Playing Browser Games On PS3? With Move? Sony Has:
http://www.siliconera.com/2011/06/0...ying-browser-games-on-ps3-with-move-sony-has/

Flash games… for PlayStation 3? Sure, you can hook up a keyboard to control them, but Sony has another idea. A patent application filed by Sony Computer Entertainment America details a plan to remap controls so you can play browser games on your PS3.

Image: http://storage.siliconera.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/flash2_thumb.jpg

(More in the link above)

 

[zed]

Terrible patent application (just common sense)
bah who wants to play flash games when you can play vampire balls (the latest version has sound but I havent uploaded it, since its only the latest browsers that support it)
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pdcjmcoakgklifndgbjfcidadbadlfaa
Anyone got the skills to beat this game, should only take 2or3 minutes?
I think Ive made it a bit too easy

 

[patsu]

Ah ! If only we have a HTML5 engine on PS3. T_T
The discussion would go under the HTML5 thread.

 

[patsu]

http://www.siliconera.com/2011/06/07/wii-vitality-sensor-still-lives-kind-of/

Two years ago at E3, Nintendo unveiled the Vitality Sensor, an accessory for Wii shown in picture form only. Nintendo didn’t announce any titles, but hinted that the device could be used for relaxation games. With Wii U coming out next year, what’s up with the Vitality Sensor?

"Development has continued," Shigeru Miyamoto answered during a developer panel at E3. The Vitality Sensor, Miyamoto explained, has a difficult time performing consistently across a variety of situations.

Miyamoto told the crowd Nintendo will continue to do research on sensors and he hops to bring something like the Vitality Sensor to the marketplace… someday.