Kinect Forza Demo: Do Not Want
June 17th, 2010
To show off the capabilities of the new Kinect, Microsoft presented a demo of Forza Motorsport, which will be released next year. The demo showed how we can drive cars just by putting our hands in the “10 and 2 positions,” as if holding a steering wheel. I think it also involves stepping on imaginary brakes and pedals. I don’t know.
They also demo’ed a showroom-like feature, wherein you can view a car from different angles and even “step” inside, by actually moving around and craning your neck this way and that. Details about the car can also be accessed by selecting highlighted parts.
My problem with this game is that it’s not in real 3D, hence the features are more annoying than fulfilling. By real 3D I mean this: the day will come when our TVs are actually rooms, rooms that project holographic images, immersing us in real, legit threedee. If I’m still alive by then then I would gladly use controller-free motion controls, because that’s the best way to emulate the feel of, say driving a car: you sit inside a holographic car, you look around you and you see the car’s interior, the road in front of you etc. You sit down, hold your hands up to a holographic (or some other term yet to be invented) steering wheel and off you go. But this?
Looking at a flat panel, standing while holding your hands up and moving your feet up and down, with no peripherals whatsoever? That looks tiring and makes no sense. If you ask me, the Wii-mote and the PlayStation Wii-mote Move are much less ridiculous ways of doing motion gaming, because they provide a tangible element which actually lends to the illusion of whatever act you’re supposed to be doing, while at the same time helping you act with more precision. And the showroom feature? If I’m staring at a flat image anyway, I’d rather sit on my couch and use the analog sticks to view the car, rather than move around tentatively. Seriously, what’s the benefit of doing that? Still, I’m sure the Kinect will have lots of fun games, and I hope there will be less games will be like this – tiring to play and awkward to navigate.
[via IGN's YouTube Channel]
Comments (19):
Post a Comment:
Categories: Home Entertainment Interactive Technology Video Games
Tags: e3 2010 gaming geeky kinect microsoft motion control racing weird xbox 360
I agree, it would be annoying holding nothing.
Get free gadgets http://yourfreegadgets.eu5.org
Totally agree. The best controller would be a combination of Move – for movement, precision/accuracy and FEEDBACK and Kinect – for full body detection and voice control.
Now only if the two companies were to merge, Microsony or Sonysoft, we would see this revolutionary controller with no flaws whatsoever.
I remember pretending to drive a car like that back when i was in the 3rd grade, lol. no thanks
The thing is, when you are mooving the head and the Immage is tilting too, it seems like Real 3D witheout one of this new 3DTV’s
Dont you know this Nintendo DS video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_P4gyjf5tQ
or this Win-Mob 3d video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQBXxGgqMiw
Ore this Iphone App: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvCHHUN8nnE
The shown Forza video is bad. You have to be in eye of the player. not in the eye of the audience/camera
Now we’ll need a whole room to run around just to play a video game. No need to have a video game if you have the room to run around.
The use of head tracking hardware has been around for years and has plenty of fans. I suggest you give trackir a try as this will give you a taste of what m$ is about to offer.
Trackir can be used in a number of flight and drving sims as well as fps’s and adds a whole new level to them. Being able to look behind you in a fast paced combat gave with having to use a controller function adds a whole new level of immersion and game play.
There are a number of pc games which use it to great effect. Yes its on a 2d screen but used in a 3d game, of which most are, its extremely immersive and useful.
It was also stated you can use the controller or wheel in conjunction with this in forza, so you loose nothing but gain the ability to look around.
For a taste of what head tracking alone can add to a game check ouy videos on youtube for trackir plus il2 or another flight sim.
“It was also stated you can use the controller or wheel in conjunction with this in forza, so you loose nothing but gain the ability to look around.” – Ah, I didn’t know that. That’s good; means more options for gamers. Thanks for the heads up!
Also, while I think that Kinect has its strengths and it can do things that the Move or Wii can’t, I’m still not convinced that having more “natural” controls outweigh the benefit of a physical controller with buttons. Steering or moving one’s head to look around is as real as one can get, true, but using directional pads or analog sticks to do the same are not unintuitive either. Plus, with buttons/d-pads/sticks, it’s easier to judge what you’re doing right or wrong. But in the end it’s up to the developers to make games that make use of the respective technologies in the best way possible. In my opinion, I think that a racing game – e.g. Forza – could use more controls than just steering. And the showroom feature is just a dumb gimmick. I can easily do that using a d-pad or analog stick – much less effort for the same effect.
Kinect is great technology, but I think the only way that it will work is if it has a wand to add accuracy and some sort of feedback to your hands.
Right now I think Move has the edge, as accuracy is so important in gaming.
If this site is correct, and Kinect doesn’t work properly when you sit down, then it is a “no deal” for me. (I have a sneaky feeling that it wont work for women wearing burkas either)
Can you imaging driving a real car without steering wheel…..Scaaarrrry stuff. How can this silly contraption so called kinect is considered to be acurate when real cars actually do have a steering wheel is beyond me.
What a disaster
Who let a moron write this article? My problem is it’s not real 3D?! WTF?!
Care to elaborate? Have something more to say than WTF? Did you read the rest of the paragraph from which you lifted the line that I wrote? Do you even know what you’re disagreeing with? Three-dimensional games differ from 2D games in that they provide the illusion of depth, but in the end we still see a 2D image on a flat screen.
A real 3D image would be something which exists or is projected in all three axes all at once (like an actual object). If that 3D image is large enough, then you can be surrounded by or immersed in it (the same way you can be enclosed in an actual, real life room). Now let me ask you: As large as it is, can you be surrounded by that Forza video on that screen in the demo? Will you see all of its angles if you move around that Forza video? Once again, if you read the rest of the paragraph you’d see that that was what I was talking about.
I think forza4 would be amazing if T10 combine head tracking of kinect with Driving Wireless
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw
This guy works for microsoft and he makes 3D TV look crappy
well, the demo actually had acceleration and breaking on automatic. the developer said they were working on implementing throttle controls and breaking controls. it took awhile but the developer also said that kinect controls do not replace standard controls, so you can still use a controller to play forza 4.
I’m really not sure what you mean by its not real 3d… if 3d was mentioned i ignored it completely.
Refer to my comment to Jack about 3D.
Wait, you wrote this article and……..didn’t even demo the game yourself?? You based your whole opinion on a stage demo?
That is completely irresponsible, especially considering those that DID go get a real demo came away with a different opinion.
Poor poor article.
Okay first of all, I’m not saying mine is the right opinion, and everyone else is stupid. Second of all, I’m not even saying that people shouldn’t buy Forza when it comes out, or Kinect for that matter. I’m sharing my impressions of Forza on Kinect, albeit via a strongly worded article. Since you seem to be someone who frequents video game blogs, I’m sure you’ve read articles about things that the editor/writer hasn’t tried yet as well. See Kotaku’s reaction about the 1st video of the new X-Com, a game that *gasp* no one on earth besides the developers have played yet!!! Shocking. Is Brian Crecente wrong to have said what he said? No, because everyone’s entitled to an opinion.
Yes, I based my opinion on a stage demo. What the hell’s a stage demo for then if we can’t form impressions about their product? Why even watch it then? Yes, I based my opinion on something that I have not personally tried yet. But didn’t I also place my points of argument in context?
I already have a preorder for xbox console and kinect games that I found in here, http://www-xboxkinect.com. I think it’s fun to have a change in the way we play games. It won’t make you fat if we always move when playing.. lol
That’s quite tiring. That would be better if there are gadgets or something we can touch connected to the monitor.
this writer is living in a sci-fi fantasy world we would all like but really if that were real tech then how many of us do you thing could dedicate a room in our house for threedee gaming as you put it not to mention even being able to afford that type of technology, please put down your pen and pick up a book.