Hardcore Kinect

Kevin touched on an interesting subject on the Tuesday lecture this week. The idea of video games driving the technology that runs it. I fully agree with this notion not only in the computer sense but also the console sense with the Xbox, PS3 and the Wii all driving innovation with home entertainment systems. Most importantly is the new wave of innovation coming from these technology developers specifically in the home console market with the new motion controlled gaming. For the Wii this is nothing new but with new entrants to the market with Play Stations Move and Xbox's Kinect motion controlled gaming is now hotly contested.

As we all might know the Wii opened up the market with the first to push out a motion controlled peripheral and in their case the primary input device for their system but it is in my opinion that Microsoft's blown the market open in terms of innovation with Kinect. Kinect is controller free motion control system with your body being the controller. Many of you may have seen the adverts and demos in stores and on TV but what is most interesting about Kinect is the hacking that is taking place. Many people are choosing to use the Kinect for ulterior purposes then gaming and instead of a narrow minded approach that most would expect Microsoft they instead announced PC support for Kinect which will aide with the hacking people are attempting.

For me this was exciting stuff as what some non-gamers might not know is that a lot of advancements in gaming controls and features come from community feedback. By PC support being announced this means the hackers will be able to create mods and use the Kinect in unintended ways a lot easier which will help game developers better understand how the Kinect works and therefore can be used in games.

One of the biggest debates around Kinect right now is how it will support the hardcore market that is core to the Xbox with no hardcore games announced and a shadow over whether or not Kinect can even bring an enjoyable hardcore experience to that core. The reason this is so hard to do at the moment is because of x axis movement (forward/backward/side to side) and the practicality of this with a limited playing space. I personally hope that an answer is found so Kinect can be used in some way with hardcore games and hopefully brings a new way of playing games and competing online.

To finish up this week’s post I want to share a video that shows the potential of Kinect in the hardcore market with a first person shooter, sure this may be with doom an older shooter but ideas start to flow for developers with control schemes for these types of games.