Your Shape – Fitness Evolved

Your Shape is a Wii fitness game by UbiSoft. Unlike all other Wii games, this one used a webcam, but no controller, to analyse and track your body and to show you on-screen. So, even though it wasn’t a particularly good game, it was only natural that UbiSoft would port, or update, this game for the Kinect (Project Natal). And now they have, with Your Shape Fitness Evolved for Xbox 360. It looks quite different from the original Wii version though. Here’s Microsoft’s presentation. UbiSoft also did a very similar presentation.

That video begs the question… why does it show an orange blob (from the 3D camera) with no texture, when Kinect can also see the colour of each pixel like a normal camera? I don’t know the answer, but I suddenly had a disturbing thought… Perhaps the USB data rate is limiting the pixel data that Kinect sends back. If you’ve ever wondered why all webcams are low resolution (but lie and say they’re a much higher resolution), it’s because USB 2 can’t even handle 640×480 at 60Hz in 24-bit colour. So I’m wondering if Kinect really can send all the depth and colour data at the same time. We haven’t seen as many Augmented Reality applications for Kinect as one might expect. On the other hand, perhaps UbiSoft are just lazy. Milo and Kate did use colour and depth data at the same time when Claire was splashing in the pond, although that was an older version of the hardware.

Interview with the producer, Claudine Cezac:

For comparison, here’s the Wii Trailer from last year’s E3 2009:

Motion Sports

UbiSoft also showed a trailer for their Kinect sports game: Motion Sports. Which appears to include multiplayer skiing, soccer, and gridiron (US football). And perhaps boxing (see the magazine at the end).

I love the snow throwing part of the Skiing game.

Rez 2: Child of Eden

If you ever dreamed of a sequel to Rez, but for Kinect (Project Natal), then you’re in luck. Teytsuya Mizuguchi’s new game is called Child of Eden. Eden is the name of the AI in the original Rez. Child of Eden was demoed by Ubisoft at their E3 2010 presentation:

Here is the Child of Eden trailer:

Now, if you know anything about Rez, you’re probably wondering… does this game (and thus the player) come with a sex toy, er, I mean haptic feedback device. You see, the Japanese version of the original Rez for PlayStation 2, came with a device called the “Trance Vibrator”. I don’t know the answer, but Rez HD supported vibration with the normal Xbox 360 controller.

Here’s the trailer for Rez HD, which you can download now from Xbox Live:

Rez is actually a shooter, where you must destroy enemies inside a computer world. But it tries to combine sensory experiences in an interesting way.

Kinect Adventures

Kinect Adventures was the fourth game Microsoft demoed for Kinect (Project Natal) at their E3 2010 press conference. It is a combination of Ricochet (the famous ball deflecting brick breaking game), River Rush, and some other “adventures” that involve collecting white tokens with the letter A on them by holding your body in the right shape.

This video features the same woman who demonstrated Ricochet last year, demonstrating the River Rush part of Kinect Adventures.

Kinect Adventures trailer:

It turns out, Ricochet is actually multiplayer. Here’s a gameplay video of Kinect Adventures:

This is the original version of Ricochet seen last year:

We’ve seen Ricochet videos from this year with a white token with a letter A on it, and now we know why. It’s been fitted into another game. I’m guessing that means Ricochet won’t be included for free with the Kinect hardware, despite Ricochet having been synonymous with Project Natal for the past year. It’s more likely Kinect Sports will be bundled with Kinect.

Kinect Joy Ride

The third Kinect (Project Natal) game Microsoft demoed (after Kinect Sports) at their E3 2010 press conference was Kinect Joy Ride.

E3 2010 trailer video:

Here’s the same game, at E3 2009, one year ago, before they moved to Project Natal/Kinect. It was originally going to be free:

And the E3 2009 trailer video:

It looks like a lot of fun. More fun than the Burnout Paradise racing game they have been showing previously. But maybe that’s just my taste.

Kinect Sports

Kinect Sports was the second game shown at the 2010 E3 demo after Kinectimals.

Here’s a trailer:

Family playing hurdles:

Kinectimals

At the Microsoft Press Conference on the first day of E3, the first game Microsoft showed off was Kinectimals, where you play with a life-size pet tiger, or one of 39 other animals. Watching this, I can’t help think that a Calvin & Hobbes game would have been more fun.

Kinectimals E3 Demo:

Kinectimals Trailer:

Kinect Star Wars

The best Kinect (Project Natal) game that has been demoed so far at E3 2010 is an unnamed Star Wars game that will be released in 2011 by LucasArts. It looks like an on-rails lightsaber and force powers game specially for the Project Natal.

Here’s the Star Wars Kinect Trailer:

LucasArts weren’t brave enough to actually demo the gameplay live, so instead Cirque Du Soleil mimed along to the prerecorded trailer. Here is a short clip (the only one I could find):

Unfortunately the above clip focuses on the part that is impossible with Kinect: pushing against your opponent’s light saber. As Newton’s third law of motion tells us, you can’t push against something unless it is also pushing back against you an equal amount. And empty air won’t do that. Fortunately, that law of physics doesn’t apply to the Force, so I’m looking forward to Force Push gestures, Force Speed gestures, and other force powers. And deflecting laser beams and slicing up Storm Troopers also looks fun, since it makes sense that Storm Troopers wouldn’t offer much physical resistance to a light saber. But light sabers aren’t supposed to be able to go through other light sabers, so there’s going to be a limit to how well light saber combat will work.

Why is it on rails? Well, so far nobody has shown how people will navigate in a Kinect game without a controller. Oops. Kind of an important oversight. Sony’s PlayStation Move also had that exact same problem, which they only solved by introducing the Move SubController, which is basically a Nunchuk.

Personally I think navigation would be one of the most fun parts of Project Natal. There are several ways I imagine it could be done. You could walk or run on the spot to walk. You could turn by turning the upper half of your body, or by swinging your arms around your body in the direction you want. Or you could just turn your feet, or one foot. You could lean in the direction you want to go. You could move one leg in the direction you want to go. You could stand on different parts of the floor like a virtual dance mat. There are lots of possibilities and I hope someone looks into it.

Anyway, this will be a great Star Wars game to look forward to next year.

Two other Star Wars games are being shown at E3.

The Force Unleashed 2. The original game made a big deal about motion controls, so I’m surprised there’s been no word yet on Kinect or PlayStation Move compatability. It will be released a week before Kinect. It would be a shame if this only supports Wii Motion plus.
Here’s the E3 2010 cinematic trailer (betrayal):

The Old Republic. This is a Massively Multiplayer Online game set a few thousand years before the Star Wars period we are more familiar with. Currently it’s only for the PC, which is unfortunate. However online games have a longer life than other games and are more likely to receive large updates.
Here’s the E3 2010 cinematic trailer:

New Kinect Trailer (E3 2010)

New Xbox 360 Kinect trailer! (Kinect is the new name for Project Natal).

First it shows Kinectimals which is the Kinect (Project Natal) equivalent of Sony’s PlayStation Move game EyePet. But it’s been super-sized. You get a life-size tiger, lion, or other big cat to play with. And it doesn’t appear to have augmented reality.

Then it shows the latest version of Ricochet, the game where your avatar deflects balls back to destroy blocks. Microsoft have been showing this game almost exclusively for the past year.

Then it shows Kinect Adventures, which is the river rafting game for two players.

Then it shows the media player with voice controls which was in the video last year. They were watching Harry Potter. I wonder if there will be Harry Potter games for Kinect, since they would be an obvious choice for gesture and voice control. Lego Harry Potter (Parts 1 and 2) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Parts 1 and 2) are still to be released, so keep your fingers crossed. There are two franchises players have been dreaming of Kinect controls for since long before Project Natal: Star Wars and Harry Potter.

Then it shows a new dancing game, called “Dance Central”. Unlike the standard Dance Dance Revolution/Guitar Hero rhythm and timing games, this game doesn’t have scrolling notes that you have to hit in time with the music. Instead it has a wheel on the side of the screen that tells you what dance move you have to do and what the next ones will be, and you have to spend a few seconds doing that move correctly. And of course this game requires no extra hardware, due to Kinect.

Then it shows two Kinect Sports games hurdles and table tennis. Sony’s PlayStation Move also does table tennis, as does Nintendo’s Wii Motion Plus. Microsoft’s version seems the worst since you are using your open hand instead of a table tennis bat. If I was Microsoft, I would let players hold any random prop they have lying around the house and use it as a table tennis bat. A spatula, a carrot, your TV remote control, even a real table tennis bat, or a Wii Remote. I don’t see why Kinect can’t use random household objects as props.

Then it shows Your Shape: Fitness Evolved. You might remember this from the Nintendo Wii, it came with a Wii webcam peripheral. Now it doesn’t need one. This was an obvious choice for Kinect, and I’m surprised it never occurred to me that we would see this game for Kinect.

Then it shows Kinect Joy Ride. This is actually an old game that was going to be released last year for free on Xbox Live Arcade with traditional controls, but it was delayed and made into a Kinect launch title. It is a cartoony car racing game with obstacles that includes split-screen multiplayer.

Lots more games are being announced though, so stay tuned for a low more info and videos.

Kinect Cirque Du Soleil

On the 13th of June, Microsoft had a special pre-E3 event to launch Project Natal with the new name: Kinect. It was extremely bizarre, as it featured a performance by Cirque Du Soleil, and the audience were forced to wear strange costumes and hats.

They showed Kinectimals, Kinect Sports, Kinect Adventures, and a car racing game.

But most popular was the Star Wars game they showed, which allowed you to fight with lightsabers and use force powers.