Razer, Valve, and Sixense Working On Motion Control For PC Games

An anonymous reader sends along this excerpt from Shacknews: "Gaming hardware developer Razer has announced a new multi-year partnership with Sixense Entertainment and Valve Software to deliver a '...revolutionary true-to-life, next-generation motion sensing and gesture recognition controller for PC gaming.' Razer, Valve, and Sixense, along with a selection of PC OEM partners, are aiming to produce '...ultra-precise one-to-one motion sensing controllers that use electromagnetic fields to track precise movements along all six axes.' Each controller will reportedly track its orientation within a single degree, and detect positioning within one millimeter. Thankfully, the device will be compatible with both current and future generation PC games."

Comments

Casual Gaming

[sopssa]

I can already see all the replies about how keyboard and mouse is a superior controller.. while somewhat correct, lets face it - casual gaming has took its place in recent years.

And not just a little bit. While everyone always seem to downplay casual games, motion games and especially facebook games, the truth is that it's a huge untouched market. Did you know the largest facebook game developer company generates 1/6 of Electronic Art's revenue? Considering that it's a little bit stupid to see the constant "but facebook games is for stupid people" comments here on slashdot. Frankly, market is what drives development, not the elitism.

Being a long-time gamer and programmer, I did still got interested about Wii and Natal. It was great fun to play just moving naturally. But even more so casual people saw it as more fun. Dancing, shaking, moving, whatever they do. It may not seem much, but it is for them. And it's a huge market.

Re:Casual Gaming

[imakemusic]

Steering wheels are the superior controller for driving cars. Joysticks are superior for flying planes. The whole argument is dumb.

Re:Casual Gaming

[mewsenews]

Frankly, market is what drives development, not the elitism.

Something that is idiotic but makes money does not become less idiotic. Twilight is hauling in millions of dollars.

Hey that gives me an idea, are there any casual Twilight games?

Re:Casual Gaming

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

Frankly, market is what drives development, not the elitism.

That kind of thinking is what has produced such quality television titles as Big Brother and American Idol, while simultaneously getting good shows canned.

Yet another example of how the market, left to itself, can actually end up tanking its entire industry.

Re:Casual Gaming

[IBBoard]

Did you know the largest facebook game developer company generates 1/6 of Electronic Art's revenue? Considering that it's a little bit stupid to see the constant "but facebook games is for stupid people" comments here on slashdot.

Not it isn't, it is still perfectly acceptable to say that "Facebook games are dumb" or "that's not real gaming". Making money != great gaming (in gaming, rather than financial, terms).

Re:Casual Gaming

[Calinous]

Since the days of the Sinclair Spectrum Z-80 computers, the joysticks have accrued what seems to be a keyboard (from two buttons to 15+ buttons).

Re:Casual Gaming

[Moryath]

Are they? There's a movement (combined with the drive-by-wire electronic setups of coming automobile generations) to switch automobile control to joysticks.

Bonuses:
- Allows putting the turn signals and other functions on joystick buttons, controllable with the same hand doing the steering
- Allows for easy "zeroing out" (recalibration) of the steering; no more need to go spend $$$ at the shop to have your alignment adjusted, go into recalibration mode and set the new zero point, or even let the car sense the changes as they occur. Added bonus: the car's warning system can tell you when the physical alignment has gone too far off and needs servicing.

- Removes the biggest danger (crushing the driver against a steering column) of a head-on collision.
- Removes the fire dangers of the steering column (which is a major heat-tube from most engines as well as producing a ton of wear-and-tear on wiring; you'd be surprised how many recalls there have been due to this recurring problem)

The modern steering wheel evolved out of a time when everything was gears and levers. It was literally connected (via chain, rod, or pulley) to devices like a ship's rudder or to cart wheels. Remove the requirement of a direct physical connection (I know, I know: "but what if your power goes dead or the connection shorts out!") and any equally sensitive analog device, or even a sensitive enough digital device with fine enough granularity, will work. Given that in a car you only need about 45 degrees, tops, of directional turning adjustment in either direction, a joystick is more than sufficient.

Re:Casual Gaming

[poetmatt]

casual gaming has only enabled the market to grow - however, casual gaming is it's own separate part of the market - to say that it has replaced pc gaming, or "hardcore gaming" when each of those are their own markets, is disingenuous.

Each has it's own place, and trying to say casual is taking over is exactly what companies like EA are trying to do to be able to drop PC market and have DRM hardware side built-in (aka consoles) as opposed to software side on PC's where it is easily cracked. Not that the hardware DRM can't be cracked either, as it usually is quite quickly. So they provide shoddy support for PC games and then declare that PC gaming is over, etc. It's about a 5 year cycle that people say PC gaming is dead, or hardcore gaming. Yet I don't see those starcraft tournaments going away anytime soon, or gaming for sport.

Re:Casual Gaming

[TubeSteak]

That kind of thinking is what has produced such quality television titles as Big Brother and American Idol, while simultaneously getting good shows canned.

The saturation of TV with "reality" programming is the result of advertisers cutting back and networks struggling to justify expensive scripted television.

While I personally think that Reality TV sucks huge donkey dick,
it took because it is dirt cheap to produce and people eat it up.
They're sooooo cheap that "reality" can survive on low ratings &/or low ad dollars.

I fear for the gaming industry, because I think casual gaming
is going to start crowding out expensive games in much the same
way that reality tv has been crowding out the scripted stuff.

P.S. American Idol is just another version of the variety/talent show that's existed since radio was king.
P.P.S. Remember Star Search? Me either. I can't wait till American Idol goes down the same path and dissappears.

Hrmm

[acehole]

But how accurately can it track the dreaded tea bag maneuver?

Re:Hrmm

[GoombaTroopa]

You mean these guys now get cheeto crumbs ON THEIR BALLS?!?
I really am out of the loop on the online gaming scene!

Re:six axes?

[Misanthrope]

You're forgetting pitch, yaw and roll.

Re:six axes?

[imakemusic]

I might be wrong, but I think it's three axis of movement and three of rotation. I've always thought it's a bit misleading...

Re:six axes?

[BESTouff]

They're nos axis, but rotation instead of translation along the same axis. They're called Degrees of Freedom, so a game allowing uncosntrained movement is 6DoF.

Re:six axes?

[ShakaUVM]

>>I don't get the bit about the "six axes". I thought we had only three in meatspace.

Well, I only have one axe in meatspace.

I'm very excited about this controller though - I can't wait to see how inaccurate people will be in games when they actually have to aim, instead of just clicking on a point with their "sniper rifle" and pretending that's skill.

Being able to shoot yourself in the head in a FPS? That's revolutionary.

Re:Gaming is best when it is consistent

[SharpFang]

You're getting old.

Young people want novelty, change, freedom.
Old people want consistentcy, stability, control.

If I want something to look better, I can shell out more money for better hardware and have it look better.
No such option with consoles.

Bah

[oGMo]

Being a long-time gamer and programmer, I did still got interested about Wii and Natal. It was great fun to play just moving naturally. But even more so casual people saw it as more fun. Dancing, shaking, moving, whatever they do. It may not seem much, but it is for them. And it's a huge market.

I call BS. First: "just moving naturally". I have yet to see any of these games where movements are anything resembling natural. Or in any way "more fun" because of the aforementioned spastic flailing. (While "fun" is, granted, somewhat subjective, there is still consensus at some point, usually in the form of AAA titles everyone can't stop playing and will be remembered among the classics for decades to come.) This leads us to: "I did still got interested [sic] about Wii and Natal," and "casual people saw it as more fun" (emphasis mine). This is what these things come down to: a marketing tool to make people interested in something. The promise of something new. Unfortunately, that promise has not been delivered.

Re:Bah

[Anonymous Coward]

Speak for yourself. I've been a Playstation guy before but decided to go with Wii this generation because of the price (might get a PS3 now that they are saner). I've been quite happy -- partly because I'm not such a HC gamer anymore and partly because there are enough good games for me: I love Sports Resort and Mario Galaxy. For the first time ever I'm also playing games with my fiancee...

You keep calling it "spastic flailing". Feel free to also stick fingers in your ears and say lalalaa, if you want.

Re:Bah

[nedlohs]

That "spastic flailing" can be the fun on its own.

When drunk for example swinging the controller like a golf club is more fun than clicking a button at the right time. And for the other drunk people in the room it is *much* more fun to watch.

Lionhead's Black and White

[naz404]

Well, one type of game where this would probably work out well was Lionhead's Black and White series where you controlled a hand floating in 3D space.

That being said, as a PC desktop and not a living room on-the-couch type controller, this could end up being tiring for the user to use over extended periods of time because you'll be holding your hand up all the time with no support unlike with a mouse/keyboard where your hands are resting on your desk.

I recall reading about why 3D mice failed or why Minority Report interfaces may not be as viable - it's very tiring for users to hold up and wave their hands in the air for extended periods of time.