Preview | Project Natal Hands-On
Robert was invited to by Microsoft to try out Project Natal. Yeah, the device that doesn’t require a … device. He was skeptical at first, but that quickly changed.
Controllers always played a big part in my console preference. I have this thing about controllers where they need to be just right, or I’ll buy a familiar third party one. As peculiar as that may sound, it’s quite true for many gamers. Not only is it important, it’s an element that has evolved hugely since inception. We’ve incorporated more complicated designs; added new features like analogue sticks and even made them wireless and motion sensitive. The idea of being able to play a game without the need of a pad kinda scared me to say the least.
You see, I was very sceptical about this new piece of technology. I honestly didn’t think I’d like it, but I had a fear it would wipe out gaming as we know it if it was a success. So yeah, I was in denial and I didn’t want to like it either. Until I got to play with it, that is.
We were introduced to a peppy Microsoft fellow who demonstrated Natal for us. We were shown Ricochet, a game that puts you in front of a box and you need to hit as many targets as possible. The best way to do this is to keep the bouncing balls inside the square, and as they try to squirm out, it’s your job to block them the best you can. As you can imagine, we looked like idiots, but as a first impression, I was blown away.
Before we even started the game I was dazzled. You see, the process of actually triggering the game to begin it to reach out, clench the ball on the screen and pull it to the right. First of all, the fact it can detect when your arm is facing outwards is amazing, but when it knows your fingers have grasped, that’s when it hits you that this isn’t a laughing matter. One thing controllers can’t do is hand detection, because … er … the hand is preoccupied with the controller. An hour earlier, I saw the controller-less interface as a huge disadvantage. Five seconds with the device proved me wrong.
The next thing I noticed was the accuracy. We were explained that Natal has a bunch of elements such as sensors, cameras and microphones to map your movements, your voice and event take random pictures in the swing of your random stupidity. I have never experienced accuracy like this. I moved a finger – one finger – as it rested upon my leg. Natal detected it. I twiddled my foot slightly. Natal detected it. I sneezed. Natal detected it and offered me a tissue. No not really, but the first two are true.
The fact so much can be fitted into such a small device is both scary and impressive at the same time.
The raw accuracy and ability of this device is shocking, and even though it shouldn’t be, it’s a hell of a lot more accurate than any motion control remote I’ve ever seen. I stress it shouldn’t be: the body, a complicated shape and object is picked up easier on Natal, than a remote made side-by-side with its competitors product. I asked myself “Why is this happening?” So after I asked myself this, I asked the Microsoft guy this.
Natal uses an infrared camera that, whilst not sounding so impressive, accounts for most of the devices explosive features. The top-end camera scans the environment around it and detects what an inanimate object is, and what isn’t. Then it detects the shape, identifying it as a human in most cases and outlining the body to make for some very impressive gameplay. And again, should this be humanly possible? Probably not, but it is. And it’s great.
In the case of Natal, getting the game physics just right isn’t easy. Y’know how your mom would tell you “Each person is unique?” Well that saying goes for Natal. This little box needs to detect the person, and morph it into the onscreen personality whilst retaining accuracy. And that’s it. You’re freely allowed to (in the case of Ricochet) hit the ball as lightly as you like, slam it against the opposite wall, or even head the ball. Which was pointed out to me, to my surprise.
After an explosive session with the device, I left as though I was walking on a cloud. I realised I needed to play some boring old pad controlled game for review when I got home, but I couldn’t bring myself to play the games. When you spend a short amount of time with Natal, going back to controlling your player with an analogue stick just doesn’t do it anymore. It’s like being sent back to the Stone Age.
Very rarely do we see huge leaps being made in the gaming world. Natal is one of these huge leaps. Sure, the Wii brought us into motion control, but if feels clunky, uncomfortable and old compared to Natal. And mark my words: Natal is the future. To be able to have such fast tracking time, uphold the detailed motion detection and being able to do this without the need of an external controller is simply a huge feat that I didn’t think possible until I finally got to play with the device.
