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History of Motion Detection in Gaming
kukyfrope writes "In the spirit of the Revolution controller, GameDaily takes a look at the history of motion detection in console games, including U-Force and the infamous NES Power Glove, to name a few." From the article: "When the Sega Genesis came around a few years later, Sega decided to try their hand- and legs and feet- in the motion-sensor game with the release of a device called the Activator. This was a grid-like octagon that laid on the ground and allowed the user to stand in the middle of it, and then use a number of motions to convey actions in a series of games that worked with it, including Sega's brawling titles Streets of Rage 2 and Eternal Champions. But, again, it took too much effort to really figure out how to make it work in a comprehensive manner, and many folks just ended up taking a pass on it."
There is going to be more and more speculation on the Big N's new toy as E3. I, for one, can't wait to see what comes of this, whether Nintendo succeeds or not. Something new is needed whether it consists of new hardware or not isn't really important. What we need is for someone to push the boundaries of conventional game development.
Are we getting closer and closer to virtual reality? I personally have always been interested in VR simulators, and I even had a change to play in a helicopter one @ 6 flag New Jersey.
This is all really neat, and it may be old technology, we're getting closer to a more interactive game where the player is more envolved.
But this of course also opens up to more addictive games....
That which does not kill me only postpones the inevitable.
We need nothing more than what we already have. When the kid whips out the power glove in The Wizard, that is one of the most bad ass moments in all of cinematic history. What more could you possibly want out of motion detection than that?
Took a pass, got it, I must be tired...
I remember way back in the Genesis days... My parents bought me what was perhaps the strangest input device ever... a chair. Basically, it was a seat mounted on top of a set of joystick actuators, so that when you leaned left the game received a "left" input, etc. It even had a vertical grip for each hand that had the buttons mounted in the handle. One of my favorite games ever for that was Road Rash. Road Rash was a series of motorcycle racing/combat games. Motorcycle racing was especially well-suited to the chair/controller contraption, because in order to turn your bike left, you just leaned left, a lot like on an actual motorcycle. I loved that thing, until the actuators finally wore out.
Ah, this is obviously some strange usage of the word 'safe' that I wasn't previously aware of.
The mouse I am currently using has complete freedom of movement in a 2D plane. Thus there are an infinite range of gestures that could be used, but are not by current software/operating systems. For example, I could rapidly move the mouse from side to side to close a window, or I could draw a little circle to switch between applications. The possibilities are endless, but all we have is point and click.
With the revmote we also have an infinite range of gestures, but in a 3D space. The question is will this be exploited to its full potential beyond the obvious gestures like slashing a sword? For example, can I draw a U shape in the air to throw an uppercut in a boxing game. For a fight game, less intuitive gestures (e.g. draw a circle for a roundhouse kick) could be used, but would still be surely easier than trying to remember a random combination of buttons.
The revmote certainly has the potential to change things for the better, but it remains to be seen if this will be delivered.
Or what else do you think we need that bandwidth for?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Its already been stated that one of the Revs launch titles, Red Steel, an FPS with swords, will have something like that. You can swing your sword and it will react, but executing a specific series of movements will trigger a combo.
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
http://www.klov.com/game_detail.php?game_id=9066
That game rocked. You could duck, move from side to side, shoot, it was pretty cool. The AI wasn't amazing and the motion sensors could be improved, but the thing came out 6 years ago, and I haven't seen anything like it recently. Also no mention of it, or its boxing counterpart in the article.
Remember all the people who say why no mention of the ddr pad should keep in mind there was a similiar pad for the nes. You used it on games like track and field where you would run in place to make the guy run and you would jump to make him jump. Lol at the porn comment. The revolution controller is perfect for orn games. People who say nintendo is kiddy now are just nintendo haters. Think about it you will see lol .
Power Pad
nothing
The power pad was a big miss though. The problem with it was that the developers were more or less completely stuck on the track and field mentality with the thing, and frankly, running in place for 15 minutes gets boring quick. They came real close to having an early version of DDR with Dance Aerobics, but the implementation just fell short. I think they could have done so much more with that pad, but it ended up in the dustbin of history next to ROB and the Power Glove.
I read the internet for the articles.
My brother and I had an NES with a Power Pad. Sure we only had the pack-in game for it, but we found interesting ways of playing.
There were 3 rows of sensors on the "running" side of the pad. If you had some friends over, you could just hit the sensors with your fists instead. It worked great for events like the hurdles. With 6 "feet" running, you can just plow through the course and be finished before the computer reaches the first hurdle.
Bunch of Nintendo fanboys... First motion detecting device I remember was the Le Stick for the 2600.
GCHQ Quantum Insert installed. If only our tongues were made of glass, how much more careful we would be when we speak
Preface: My Senior project for college was reverse engineering the DualShock2 communication protocol and adding major modifications and upgrades, like adjustable rapid-fire, real-time macros, completely reconfigurable buttons, and some rudimentary motion sensitivity.
Let me attest that it is VERY hard to get motion sensitivity right. I was using a 2-axis 2g accelerometer to try measuring gravity, and mapping the orientation of the controller with respect to the gravity vector onto the left analog stick's horizontal axis.
I tried for a good three weeks, attempting to perfect an algorithm for smooth playback. In the end, I couldn't get something that worked universally for all games. It turns out that the DualShock2's analog sticks are pathetic. They jitter around their "center value", and I use that term lightly because "center" could be anywhere from 0x70 to 0x90. Meanwhile, a Mad Catz controller returned 0x7F dead on every time.
So part of the problem is building a reliable interface. I think this is why Nintendo is rumored to use several different sensors. I've heard stuff about IR, ultrasonic, gyros, accelerometers, etc.
Now, if the response of these sensors is very well understood and presented to developers in an intuitive manner, and they're consistent, then this could take off. But those are the biggest issues: getting consistent, reliable information from the sensors, and effectively decoding that information into game inputs.
:(){
...it's so bad.
Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
If you didn't get the reference, see the front desk to have your geek card revoked.