Posts Tagged ‘Your Shape’

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:

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.