My problem with Project Natal.

[JaggedSac]

WereKitten said:

Cueil said:
Here is my big problem with idiots who talk about Natal like it's trash and say it can't do anything or it's an Eyetoy ripoff. You have no imagination... that's the beginning and the end of everything you are when it comes to this topic... saying you can't see how something would be done is like saying you can't envision how the same particle of light can hit two separate spots at the same time. Just because you can't understand it doesn't mean it can't be done and done well.

The difference is that when you discover a strange phenomenon in nature you have to cope with it, even if it's counterintuitive. Usually when you invent/build something, on the other hand, it's because you have an itch to scratch i.e. a predating need that must be satisfied and that you know already.

What itch would you say Natal was born to scratch? That controllers - all controllers - are too hard to use? Or that interacting with your whole body in a less abstract manner opens up new possibilities?

Isn't it a little strange that we are here even asking how a tool will be used?

 

Well, Natal fit very well with what Pete was wanting from Project Dmitri.  An ability to more fully immerse someone in an experience.  Whether Milo ends up matching Pete's vision is yet to be seen, but I am sure there are others who have ideas as to what Natal can be used for. 

I do not think all video games fits well into your argument for inventing or building things.  I don't think interacting with a video screen was an itch anyone had before it was invented.

I think Natal fits very well with humanity's instinctive nature of communication.  When we interact with anything in real life we use our body, not a controller.  If we want to express ourselves, we use vocal, facial, or gestural expressions.  If we feel the need to block something, we use our arms, if we feel the need to kick something, we use our feet.  That is much different than if we feel the need for something in a current game, we have to map it to a game pad.  For example, a soccer ball is heading towards you, you want to kick it, you then map that to a button.  With Natal, you just kick.

Sure this will not fit a lot of current genres of gaming because character motion is limited to a limited area(using no controller).  But there are sure to be new genres or game types to come out of this.