Podcast – 4Skin: Gamers Uncut – Episode 22 (5/18/2010)
Tyler joins Roger, Cody, and myself for a more normal podcast. Today we discuss Blizzcon, Split/Second, Nier’s tranny, project Natal’s projected cost, and then we digress into some television talk. Enjoy!
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- Metal
While many of us have already heard of Project Natal (nuh-tall) and some of us even know quite a bit about it, I am here to simply answer the popularly asked question, “what the hell is that smell in my house?!” Well my friends, that is the smell of your Wii shitting itself. Yes, that’s right, Nintendo players get your carpet cleaner.
Project Natal for the Xbox 360 was first announced in July of 2009 at E3 and to be perfectly honest my first reaction was quite skeptical. I myself have all three consoles, however I have previously been a fairly loyal Nintendo gamer. So when the news of Natal first penetrated my ear hole I got bitter. My initial thoughts where, “Who does Microsoft think they are? They think they can copy the Wii’s technology and do it better than Nintendo? Ha!” Then, realizing my ignorance, I took a step back and inhaled a deep breath. After clearing my head I started to think about it, and I really have only enjoyed a select few games from the Wii …a very select few. Honestly, finding a good Nintendo Wii game is like finding a needle in a haystack – wait, no, it’s more like finding a piece of hay in a needlestack. I mean, it is painful! But I digress and that is a topic to be saved for another blog. Anywho, this epiphany allowed me to approach Natal with an open mind …an open mind that was then blown away by a virtual shotgun of ecstasy delight!
After watching the trailers and demonstrations from E3 I literally looked over at my Wii and laughed till it’s white casing turning red with embarrassment. Project Natal looked amazing! It didn’t just take the motion sensor technology that the Wii introduced to consoles and simply slap the Microsoft logo on, it legitimately made a new product. Not only does this add-on to the Xbox 360 require no controller, it has vocal and facial recognition! You can sift through menus with just the swipe of your hand, or bitch smack a virtual opponent who needs a lesson in manners. Natal turns your entire body into the controller without the aid of a plethora of peripherals that have simple waggle commands preset to poorly resemble the real action.
Unfortunately there is no definite release date, however Microsoft has informed the public that we may see this fantastic product in late 2010. All that matters is that Nintendo needs to step up its game because with its current capabilities it looks like it will be sub-par. If they aren’t careful, when Natal surfaces, whenever that may be, the Wii will become an expensive bookend.
PS (these are my initials)
-Peter Scale
Project Natal Youtube Video:
Let me start this by saying that I like Lionshead studios. I have played and enjoyed Black&White, Fable, and Fable II and even enjoyed playing other games that Molyneux has designed. He is, without a doubt, the best creator of “God†games, and other such simulations.
However the reason I’ve mostly enjoyed Lionsheads games is this; I never read the press releases or heard anything about the game before I play it. There in lays the secret to enjoying a Peter Molyneux game, not listening to damn lying word that comes out of that man’s mouth.
Basically it goes like this; Lionshead games are like a superbly marinated sirloin steak with a loaded baked potato and top shelf beverage of choice by your side. Which would be fantastic if your waiter hadn’t told you that is was in fact Kobe beef stuffed with Maine lobster with side of Fried Golden Apples of Atlas, served with wine made from grapes in the Garden of Eden, and hand fed to you by 72 stunningly hot virgins. Now your still going to eat and enjoy your sirloin when it comes, but all the while you’ll feel a little cheated, and slightly angry you didn’t get to deflower a virgin or two.
And that’s what Peter does, he makes promises that either never see the light of day or are not nearly as cool as promised. So no mater how good the game is, and the always are, you play it with a nagging sense of disappointment, and a feeling of being ripped off.
I’ve seen the Milo and the Natal demo. There’s a really nice video of it on Game Trailers (http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-lionhead-milo/50016#comments_top). The project and the game sound interesting from advancing the technology of gaming, but not much from there. We’ve influenced the life of another person before (The Sims), we’ve created relationships with virtual characters (Nintendogs for one, and it counts. I love my virtual dog), and we have motion control (the Wii anyone). Gameplay wise, I see it as a novelty item. Ok, so we’re helping a child grow up. More than a few of us out there are parents or uncles, we do this on a daily basis, and none of us would call it fun. So I think that Milo is an extremely interesting concept, one that would wow me for an hour, but not several months.
Then again, it is fairly early in development. Changes could be made, more content added, more fun to be had. But now I’m wondering how does this game end? Do we follow the kid through his childhood, or do we venture off into adult life and hang around till the bastard dies? Again, interesting but I don’t see it as being lasting fun.
And I won’t even go into how this game will probably be a Pedophile’s dream. The rest of the internet has already beaten me to that punch, and will sit back and allow them to continue.
By: John Quick
So I, along with just about everyone at E3, was psyched when Microsoft Unveiled Project Natal. I mean christ, we’re now only a few steps away from Holodeck Gaming. One major project being developed for Natal was Milo, a sim of a young boy that you befriend and hang out with. It’s being developed by Peter “Fable” Molyneux, and allows you to talk to this child, help him grow, raise him and be a lifelong friend to him. Yeah, it really is that creepy.
At first I was pumped and couldn’t believe how incredible this technology was. I mean, Milo can recognize your face, call you by name, read your facial expression and ask about your emotions, and compliment you on the color of your shirt. That is pretty damn impressive and I am pumped to see how it develops.
That said, the AI of Milo was very simple. I’ve seen some highly developed AI, from Australian artist Stelarc and his prosthetic head (http://www.stelarc.va.com.au/prosthetichead/). They came to IU in the fall of 2007 and I got to meet the AI and talk to it. The prosthetic head has been around for quite a while, and seems to be more intelligent than Milo. That said, Milo is only supposed to be a small boy, and it sounds as though players will be able to help Milo grow up. I’m hoping that he grows mentally as well as physically. Stelarc’s prosthetic head has visual recognition abilities as well, so Molyneux’s claim of Milo being groundbreaking isn’t quite so true. Granted it’s fantastic to see this finally implemented into a video game, but it’s not as though the technology is brand new.
Another bit about Milo is that you interact with him as though he were a person and explore his world with him. I’m a bit confused what this means for the game. Does this mean that Milo is the main character? Or that you’re the main character, and Milo is your best friend? Either way, and I guess it was inevitable, but I’m not thrilled that the possibilities that Natal opens to us are going to be confined by a method of story-telling that was built around a now outdated model of gaming: the controller.
For me, the most interesting thing about Milo is the connection that the player feels to him. I’m not interested at all in developing Milo as a person, because I’ve done that in every other RPG. Designing a character and having his characteristics change based on what kind of a person I make him to be? That’s nothing new at all. What’s interesting about Milo is that I have a physical relationship with a NPC. When he threw me the goggles, I reached for them and caught them. It was no different than if a real person had tossed me an object.
But if I’m going to have such an intricate relationship with a computer, then I would want for the AI to be far superior than the level that Milo is currently at. I might suggest Molyneux contact Stelarc for advice, because I was more impressed with the AI I saw here two years ago. And currently, from my experience with Milo, I have doubts Milo’s ability. In our demo with Milo, he said the same things and made the same suggestions to every member of my team who approached. And when we tried to offer new routes of discussion, Milo’s eyes drifted away from the screen and he quit paying attention. In my opinion, a lame cop-out.
Don’t get me wrong. I am definitely pumped for Project Natal and I will definitely purchase whatever Milo is at that point. He’s still one of the most fascinating and advanced announcements in video game history. I just would like to see the technology pushed as far as I know it can go. Perhaps I’m too optimistic. I think that this new technology of Natal can be used in such a massive variety of ways that video gaming will never be the same. And Natal isn’t just great for games. Televisions no longer need remotes and computers no longer need keyboards. This technology of Natal could potentially change the face of home media altogether. I believe it can and I want it to go as far as it possibly can. For that reason I am nervous that we will limit ourselves by confining the technology to something as traditional as building a character in an RPG, unless this character building is breakthrough. And at the moment, I don’t believe Milo is that breakthrough. But it’s still early and there’s a lot of work to be done. I’m nervously confident, or cautiously optimistic, about the possibilities and can’t wait to see what Natal has to offer in the future.
By: Sam Sher
