PS3 Head Tracking Software

[famousringo]

bobobologna said:

Played_Out said:

 

There are loads of PC games that are compatible with TrackIR (list) but none of them are games that actually require head-tracking as part of the gameplay. It is mostly used to give a 3D effect in driving and flying games.

Head-tracking has been around for ages. It certainly wasn't invented by Nintendo, Sony or Johnny Lee.

A lot of people seem to forget that you need to purchase an extra wiimote to achieve it with the Wii, and they retail for about the same price as the PS eye, so additional costs are about the same on both platforms.

 

Well said. I'm surprised no one has brought up TrackIR until now. The biggest benefit for TrackIR is IMO, racing games and flying games. It gives you a better range of views to give you better track awareness. For flying games, it lets you track other planes/targets much more naturally as well as provide an easier way to check your instruments. For an FPS such as ArmA, I could see this being less useful. Interestingly enough, 90% of the games on that list are driving/flight/ship simulators. It would be awesome if GT5 took advantage of this head tracking.

Somebody always brings up TrackIR in these threads.

Personally, I don't see the appeal of head tracking as a means of pivoting the camera in a cockpit. You turn your head to the left to move the camera left, then end up looking at the screen out of the right corner of your eye to see what's to your left. Huh? Kind of breaks any immersion when you have to look right to look left, doesn't it?

The main potential of head tracking is the 3D illusion that can be created with it, making the visuals extremely immersive. This 3D illusion is the only advantage a game like Boom Blox is going to get out of it, but it's an advantage which almost any 3D game can have, especially ones which might have a player standing up and moving around.

A less broadly applicable advantage is using head tracking for minute movements, such as ducking behind cover in a shooter. I've personally enjoyed this mechanic in an arcade rail shooter called Police 9-1-1, though technically that game is tracking bodies.

As Played_Out notes, head tracking isn't new, but it also hasn't reached its full potential because it has always been an afterthought in game design, never a core game concept. Even though the PC is capable of using any input device, all programming starts with the assumption of keyboard and mouse only. Throwing in head tracking as an afterthought results in a player sitting at a desk with his keyboard and mouse and being very careful about his head positioning.

The potential of building a mass-market game with head tracking as a core gameplay mechanic and bundling it with an LED headband + wii remote stand or Eyetoy is enormous.