Gametrak Controller Wins Award

Philipp Lenssen writes "According to German Spiegel Online, the Gametrak controller by In2Games just won the "Best of GC" award at the Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany. Cyber-glove Gametrak is announced to launch across Europe next month for the Playstation 2. Once the right software is released (fighting game DarkWind comes first) you should be able to punch opponents, use golf clubs, dance around, and bounce virtual basketballs. A demo video is available."

Comments

Hand Motions

[Satertek]

It would be great if some of the dancing games like DDR could add in hand motions to the dance steps.

Re:Hand Motions

[DoktorGonzo]

There are a couple of games kind of like that already: Para Para Paradise and Dance ManiaX. You don't really have to move your feet for them, though. I suppose in combining those with DDR, you'd start having issues with where to put the sensors if you were playing doubles (covering both pads at the same time).

Re:Hand Motions

[blackicye]

This already exists in public Arcades, in the form of the dancing game series "Para Para Paradise" by Konami http://www.channelbeat.com/products/dance/para_par a__paradise_series.html

Re:Hand Motions

[Anonymous Coward]

The already-forgotten "EZ2Dancer" combined a pad of contacts like DDR with DMX/PPP motion sensors.

Nobody played it, partially because there was a poor song selection, but also because of the awkward layout.

When I get it, I will say...

[Reconfigures]

"I love the Power Glove. It's so bad."

Re:When I get it, I will say...

[PhotoBoy]

I said that when I got the Power Glove, unfortunately I changed my mind after trying to play Rad Racer like that kid in The Wizard and failed miserably. Plus it made my weakling arms tired...

Re:When I get it, I will say...

[zenintrude]

"Gimme-gimme-gimme. Jimmy. Woods!"

Re:When I get it, I will say...

[Mean_Nishka]

The Powerglove was a gimmick but Mike Tyson's punchout was awesome with it. I suspect this new controller, too, will be a one hit wonder, but the fighting game looks great.

Re:When I get it, I will say...

[Anonymous Coward]

Mike Tyson's Punch Out was even better with the punching bag and movement pad me and my design group built sophomore year. Damn if people didn't get nostalgic

In other news....

[keiferb]

The porn industry was buzzing today over the next generation sex toy.

Re:In other news....

[uncl_bob]

Where is the "unfunny" mod option arghh!!!

Re:In other news....

[Worminater]

no, this Rez+Vibrator is next generation sex toy. humerous snippit... hm.. nevermind, a bit too raunchy for the /. crowd.. haha, read it urself, haha

Re:In other news....

[Anonymous Coward]

In Meta-moderation.

My 3-year-old...

[Anonymous Coward]

...can do all that without any game controller. I only wish the basketballs were virtual (and the golf clubs for that matter)

How I presume it works

[FrenZon]

For those who can't get the video, it looks like the tracking system is pretty simple (and likely pretty robust) - each cord connecting a velcro glove to the base station is on a pulley (hence the wheel-like things on either side of the station), This gives the system distance data. To get angle data, the cords come out of the base station through joystick-like nozzles.

It mentions it can get 1mm accuracy within a 3m cube - I wonder what the latency is like, or how much 'pull' there is on the gloves (I wonder if future versions could change the amount of pull in order to simulate weight).

Good luck to these guys - it looks like it could actually work well unlike some other alternative-input devices (*cough* P5 glove *cough), and if it works with a PS2 > PC converter, I'll be getting one to muck around with as soon as I can.

Re:How I presume it works

[EnsilZah]

I wanted to do something like this (I'm only assuming because i didn't see the actual video or images) in highschool as a final project in computers.
Only got as far as getting finger movement because my partner who did the hardware mostly sat on this ass the whole year, but we had some ideas for the movement in space.

By the way you discribe it, it sounds rather limiting, not giving you the full 6 degrees of freedom and such.
Wouldn't it be much more comfortable if they used IR/Ultra sonic transmitters or inertial gyros?

Re:How I presume it works

[Hellbuny]

It was noted in one of the videos that there is no pull whatsoever by the cords.

Now for all those peple who say they could do it quicker in real life than the people do in games, they can put up, or shut up ^^

Re:How I presume it works

[bloo9298]

The FAQ says that it's USB, although they don't say whether you will need a driver on the PC or whether they will supply one. They do say that it will only be bundled with a console game initially.

Re:How I presume it works

[strider_starslayer]

yes, it would be less limiting, give you more freedom of movment, and be more comfortable; however, it would also be a great deal more expensive, more prone to breakdown, and require that there be power in the gloves themselves (batteries).

Also, this is meant to be played in front of a TV- why do you need the full 6 degrees of freedom, will it so radically alter your gaming experiance to be able to spin around in circles with your arms out? Or will you be served just fine by looking at the TV and being tethered to the consol?

Somtimes technology like this is best served by the simple, easily mannaged, solution- I'm sure there were dozens of options for the orriginal DDR pads (including things that would look like the 'oh so cool' virtual police setup), but simple buttons on the pad worked best, because this way the pad was affoardable!

This type of setup should allow me to play virtual police (or simmilar game)at home, on my PS2, including all the ducking and weaving (though I could 'fake out' the controller by lowering my arms and moving them to the side without my body), while this is dissapointing, I'd rather that then having to pay ten times the ammount for a much more prone to breakage setup!

already exists

[Anonymous Coward]

There is already a game like DDR that adds hand motions. It's not a bad game, but it gets a little disturbing when 10-20 people are all doing it together (only 2 are actually playing)

Re:already exists

[tepples]

Are you talking about Para, DMX, or EZ2Dancer?

Re:already exists

[GT_Onizuka]

I'd assume ParaPara, I've never seen 20 people standing behind someone playing DMX or EZ2Dancer. Or maybe he's just talking about people who shadow in DDR and have trouble keeping their balance on the floor XD.

usb connect - pc emulator?

[gotmemory]

looks really cool to me. It uses USB to connect, so perhaps a pc emulator could be made.... Imagine surfing the web by punching links.

Re:usb connect - pc emulator?

[karnal]

So then we could really use it to punch that darn monkey to win money?

Re:usb connect - pc emulator?

[Anonymous Coward]

I wouldn't want to run into an IE user who had one of these. The size of his arms would be huge after punching all of those popup windows.

Don't be alarmed

[Kadmium]

Don't be alarmed, folks, the pinging sound you hear is that of silicon, slowly cooling from its melting point 1410 degrees C. Presumably this is where the term from which "ping" sprang.

Re:Don't be alarmed

[Zemrec]

Not sure what you're talking about, but the ping command (ICMP echo reply) got its name from the sound sonar systems make in submarines. Sends a loud blast of sound, then waits for the echo to measure distance.

I have no idea what cooling liquid silicon sounds like, but I imagine it'd be similar to the sound a car makes after your turn it off.

(How in the hell does any of this have anything to do with a new human input device?)

Re:Don't be alarmed

[Tokerat]

The site has been Slashdotted and the server can be heard melting from here, you insensitive clod!

minority report GUI?

[prestwich]

So, how about that 'Minority Report' GUI driven by one of these babies?

Funny you mention it.

[nobodyman]

The next version of DDR will sport integration with eyetoy, and will have modes that incorporate hand motion in concert with the foot steps. check it out

Nintendo Powerglove

[Abreu]

The site is slashdotted, so can someone tell me how is this different from the infamous Nintendo glove (it looked cool, but thats all it did)

Re:Nintendo Powerglove

[Anonymous Coward]

it's a total gameplay revelution! it's amazing mate! when you use it, bad techno music fills the room!

links are dead.....

[keeleysam]

fix it...

Re:links are dead.....

[gotmemory]

Googles cache Wayback machine Unfortionately neither have pictures...

Re:links are dead.....

[keeleysam]

I think pictures are required for innovations in game controllers...

Re:links are dead.....

[raphman]

At atari.de you can find some pictures and a video

Re:links are dead.....

[keeleysam]

Thank you!

After seeing the video, the only concern that i have is that i will punch the TV....

I almost feel sorry for them...

[Akki]

The videos still download at over 1.5MB/s. That's going to be a hefty bandwidth bill.

The 80's called..

[iantri]

.. and they want their gimmicky game controllers back.

(Burn, Angelfire, Burn!)

Re:The 80's called..

[keeleysam]

that sites gonna be /.ed with like 3 clciks lol. Angelfire sucks... Lycos UK is so much better.

Re:The 80's called..

[gl4ss]

except that from what i've read from the comments(can't rtfa, it's 404) the nintendos 80's powerglove has more elegant design(technically).

postit --site=slashdot --mod-target=funny

[MadFarmAnimalz]

Please choose:
1. In soviet russia, controller plugs you in the usb port, (default: butt plug inference guaranteed)
2. Neat, but according to the spec sheet -- oooh, look, Natalie Portman! Drenched in... oooh HOT GRITS!
3. Obligatory porn industry joke tagged to stories about new types of peripherals
4. Obligatory site-hosted-on-a-joystick slashdotted joke (phallic reference: choose only in emergency)

^C

Re:Cool idea

[Anonymous Coward]

If there are any updates on this please contact me at admin@crjt.net

Sure thing, anything else we can do for ya?

Now only a step...

[SharpFang]

...to full-body suits... ...with full touch feedback... ...with fully-immersive VR feedback...

But they will all be rendered obsolete by neural connectors evetually :)

Re:Now only a step...

[Anonymous Coward]

When I think about your interest in "full-body suits ... with full touch feedback" in combination with your apparent interest in fursuits and "Yiffing"...

I shed a tear for humanity.

Re:Now only a step...

[Anonymous Coward]

A not-so-far miss. I'm not into fursuits. I prefer mares.

Anybody got a better photograph of the device?

[Anonymous Coward]

All I could find was this.

Fencing

[silvergoose]

Now we can have games where you can actually fight with a sword, rather than just press a button to attack, another button to parry, etc...

Re:Fencing

[blackicye]

This has also been released in public arcades, In the form of Blade of Honor (Tsurugi) Linkage below: http://www.coinopexpress.com/products/machines/ded icated_machines/Blade_of_Honor_(Tsurugi)_606.html

Re:Fencing

[drinkypoo]

Obviously you haven't noticed this product.

Re:Fencing

[Anonymous Coward]

Die by the Sword had this, though you used a joystick. Best use for an analog joystick I've ever seen. Having direct control over your sword was awesome. Too bad about teh stupid platform jumping and block puzzles in the single-player game.

"anything else we can do for ya?"

[da5idnetlimit.com]

well, having this subject based auto-reminder coded into slashcode for monday, plus restablishing the nice "next story" links that got lost with the last upgrade...

also, I want a cup of joe and a donut ready when I come to check on this monday morning...

Thanks for asking, really...8p

Alternate Picture

[N8F8]

Gametrak

Demo Video

[N8F8]

Download

Re:Demo Video

[mbourgon]

I like the nice use of English-to-English translation... they simultaneously talk in English, with a subtitle in ENGLISH! Good way to keep those ADD-potential-users interested.

Girl at the end of clip

[sewagemaster]

The porn industry was buzzing today over the next generation sex toy.

The girl at the end of the clip totally made me perk when she said, "come in and play"... with the accent and everything...

Then a series of words flashing on the screen:
"Punch"
"Swing"
"Block"
"Bounce"
"Swi tch"

I'm sure that one particular verb we're all thinking of "inserts well" into the above sequence ;)

bleee

[rasz]

this is a TOTAL POS, Power Glowe was SOOO much better :(

This one is nothing more than a brick, 2 bicycle gloves, an USB cable and, wait for it, advanced tracking system made of 2 fishing cords .. LMAO

I guess it will have this big sticker in states "DO NOT HANG YOURSELFE ON THE CORD".

Re:bleee

[yuriismaster]

Parent's post is a total waste of human creativity. English would have been so much better.

This post is nothing more than caps, 2 mispellings, and, wait for it, an advanced emoticon made of two punction marks! <chuckle>

I guess this post will have a warning sticker in the United States reading "Do not attempt to emulate this grammar. Doing so may cause a severe decrease in intelligence."

Why does the video have English subtitles?

[bedouin]

When the guy is SPEAKING in English. Do people have that hard of a time understanding an accent?

Re:Why does the video have English subtitles?

[hooverbag]

When the guy is SPEAKING in English. Do people have that hard of a time understanding an accent?

deaf people might well have difficulty

Go ahead... keep punching!

[over_exposed]

I was just salivating with the anticipation that one of those people in the demo video would punch through their nice 42" plasma screen. WHEN this happens (not if), I'm wondering how long it will take for the lawsuits to pile up...

Mommy!

[Klowner]

I punched our 72" plasma display and now it's not woooorking.. GET ME A NEW ONE NOW

Re:Mommy!

[KDR_11k]

I wonder if this was in response to the post above it...

I'm tired just thinking about it

[Anonymous Coward]

Gamers aren't really known as an active bunch. If i'm playing a game, I like to slouch back in my chair or on the couch, and relax while playing a game. Sorry, I'm not very interested in flailing my arms around like a madman trying to move a character or access a menu.

For those of you who haven't watched the video

[LS]

"Gametrack is TOTALLY AMAZING!! Come on, Come on, can you hit him?"

Re:For those of you who haven't watched the video

[Anonymous Coward]

its a gaming revolution!

I'm in shock!

[ooze]

Will geeks eventually build up muscle? That cannot be! That device has to be stopped! Just imagine a worldwide invasion of pale skinned bespectacled beefed up awkwardly speaking gruntingly giggling Weirdos. And all stalking Natalie Portman!

Future FPS controllers

[Zhe Mappel]

Somewhere out there is a brainstorm that could revolutionize the FPS game. This isn't it--it's not trying to be--but it might be pointing in the right direction.

One idea would be a kind of virtual mouse-and-keyboard: control by way of tiny finger movements tracked by laser.

Another: helium filled globes on which your hands rest, exerting vertical and horizontal pressure. The rotation, elevation, orientation would translate as movement, firing, etc. Basketball players would have a natural advantage. ;-)

Re:Future FPS controllers

[Doctor O]

Actually I don't understand why the hell they don't bring back those light guns from the 80's which were used on those pong-consoles to shoot. It would be pretty easy and cheap to include distance metering to keep people from putting the thing near the screen and cheat. Imagine Counter-Strike with "gun look". I would dig it, and it would give much to the meaning of "aim", which right now means "the gift of those who can spend several hours a day on a game".

Re:Future FPS controllers

[GT_Onizuka]

I can hear http://www.mavav.org/ getting angry already.

Re:Future FPS controllers

[Doctor O]

They can get angry all they want - maybe they should remove all those *real* guns from American households before they make idiots out of themselves for the still unverified claim that games make kids run amok.

Before the usual whining starts, yes it has been proven that aggressive kids get even more aggressive, but "normal" kids aren't significantly affected. After all, it's a parenting issue, not a media issue. Being a father myself, I wonder where the concept of being responsible for one's kids went. People blame it on TV, games, etc. and fail to see that the kids weren't exposed so much to all those media if parents actually spent some time with them instead of parking them in front of the telly.
</rant>

Mattel PowerGlove

[duncanbojangles]

Does this remind anyone else of the Mattel PowerGlove for the NES? The protocols for both are well documented, so why not build your own PS2 glove controller out of a PowerGlove?

Re:Mattel PowerGlove

[saramakos]

Does anybody else remember Freddy Kreuger playing with one of these, laughing and saying "Now I'm pPlaying with POWER" whilst bouncing his victim around?

Nightmare on Elm Street 6 from memory.

What the heck happened?

[HeLLFiRe1151]

Low Quality (2.6 Mb) - only low quality version available currently, due to sudden rise in site traffic! HMMM.Imagine that.

Powerglove rules

[gwoodrow]

I loved my old powerglove. Now we just need someone to do an updated "ROB" and I'll be happy!

Minority Report GUI howto:

[Anonymous Coward]

The Minority Rreport GUI used 3-point planes by using 3 finger tips. we have the technology, just no working GUI. Just get a small motion capture setup, have gloves with 3 glowing points (and turn down the lights if you need to). Get the finger planes into the computer, then all you need is to make the computer respond to these finger planes.

Start programming! (and shell up a hole lot of money) :)

BAD IDEA

[matz62]

Its just a plain bad idea! MOD ME UP!

You all know its a bad idea

damn

[pbjones]

I had the same mechanism in mind for a 3D 'mouse, oh well, he who gets to patent office first, wins the prize...

I hope no-one has duplicated my strap-on weapon simulator for q3

Do they honestly think it's going to work?

[GT_Onizuka]

I just want to say, first off, the fighting game they have for it looks God-awful. Essentially, it's MoCap Boxing, save the fact I can't dodge like I can in MoCap and I have to block. But based on the video footage, the game looks nothing short of immensely disappointing. Mind you, I've never been terribly huge in the the 3D fighters (save for Soul Blade/Calibur, but I mostly stick to CvS2, MvC2 and the Guilty Gear series), but I've played my fair share of Tekken and Virtua Fighter. But they've never been as interesting as say Capcom vs. SNK 2.

Why?

Well, I don't get to fly around shooting fireballs, teleport and other blatantly ridiculous moves. Not to say Tekken or VF are incredibly realistic, but without that flare the others have, they get boring rather quick. How can this company expect to mark a product that's essentially Tae-Bo? Sure MoCap Boxing was fun, but that's just because of the novelty, which wore off quickly. It's an arcade game, it's there because it's different than the other games, and that's what makes passer'byers drop in their quarters.

I've been trying to think of one decent idea this could be used for, and all I could think of was throwing it in Morrowind. Which would suck just as much.

Good luck guys, hope this doesn't make your company bankrupt.