BioWare: Kinect an "additional platform"

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 13 June, 2011

"We found something pretty innovative."

Mass Effect 3 creator BioWare considers motion-sensing add-on Kinect to be a video game platform separate to the Xbox 360 used with a controller, PlayStation 3 and PC.

Mass Effect 3 supports Kinect through voice recognition – demonstrated on stage during Microsoft's E3 2011 press conference.

You're able to select lines of dialogue by saying them, and dish out commands to your team-mates.

"We view them almost as additional platforms," CEO Ray Muzyka told Eurogamer. "The Kinect plus 360, it's optional how you play it, but we view it as another platform for the game. 360 with the controller is another platform. PS3, PC and mouse. They need to all be seamless. They have to all be really thoughtful in terms of how we integrate them."

Last week publisher EA told Eurogamer Mass Effect 3's Kinect support was designed to help broaden the appeal of the science-fiction shooter franchise.

Going into more detail, Muzyka revealed how BioWare determined how it would use Microsoft's tech.

"We had to figure out a way to integrate the Kinect features into the game that felt natural and seamless, that added to the experience, that didn't feel gimmicky," Muzyka said.

"We wanted to find the right way to do that. Every game is different. If you have the right approach you can integrate different control mechanisms into different games. We just wanted to find the right one for Mass Effect 3.

"We found something pretty innovative. It's well differentiated from everything else there. The speech recognition we felt was the right way. You're Commander Shepard. You have a team. You can interact with them. You can talk to them. You can call out orders to them on the battlefield.

"If you want to focus on Commander Shepard and run up close and personal, do run and gun, pull out your Omni Blade and do melee right at the last minute, you can call orders to Liara and the rest of your squad on the fly and get them to take out other enemies on the way there. Or do it all through the controller."

Microsoft went big on Kinect at E3, announcing a number of new games that utilise the tech.

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (32) Latest comment 12 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • retr0gamer #1 12 months ago

    This has been here a while and I'm still first. Guess the stupidity of these comments has everyone in shock.

  • roz123 #2 12 months ago

    I wonder how much time and money they wasted making sure the voice recognition matched each of those many different dialogue options. Its not as if its immersive because Sheperd says something slightly different and its not as if its useful because what was already there with buttons is quicker, easier and more reliable.
    Edited by roz123 at 13/06/11 @ 17:01

  • Jimjamyaha #3 12 months ago

    If it's a separate platform alright. It's a platform no one really wants to get on board with.
    Edited by Jimjamyaha at 13/06/11 @ 17:02

  • Raiten #4 12 months ago

    i'd say everyone is trying to get over the fact that, they could've just done all this with a regular microphones/headsets whatnot which cost next to nothing compeared to the kinect. Yes i know.. speaking of innovation in a situation like this is enough to create a black hole in a persons head.

  • telboy007 #5 12 months ago

    So using Kinect doesn't save them the hassle of coding voice recognition?

  • Shikasama #6 12 months ago

    Jimjam - no one, give or take 10 million people or so.

  • Skooch #7 12 months ago

    I like the Kinect implementation for commanding your squad during battle, but the dialogue parts are just a bit pointless.

    @ Jimjamyaha - You really bothered to read an article and reply to a thread that was obviously about Kinect just so you could bash it - grow up and get a life. Not everyone has to like Kinect but at least articulate why in a sensible manner.

  • M4RV #8 12 months ago

    "We had to figure out a way to integrate the Kinect features into the game that felt natural and seamless, that added to the experience, that didn't feel gimmicky."

    ^ ^ ^ ^

    I am sorry, but you pretty much f**king failed.

  • Mister-Wario #9 12 months ago

    I'd say that a reason to dislike Kinect is that so far it hasn't been used for much that's compelling outside of rail shooters, dance games, fitness games or sports games. Mass Effect 3 seems to be demonstrating Kinect has yet to find a killer app that isn't a dance game.

  • Xardan #10 12 months ago

    In before typical Kinect hate.

  • Dizzy #11 12 months ago

    "I wonder how much time and money they wasted making sure the voice recognition matched each of those many different dialogue options. "

    About two days.

  • mikebates #12 12 months ago

    If calling out commands in combat works, then thats ace.

    Proof in the pudding and all that but it sounds a good use of kinect to me.

  • Sharzam #13 12 months ago

    Voice recogniation always has problems, at its best in a quiet room and talking slowly it gets it at its worst you have to shout 3 times and then picks the wrong option. I will wait and see but i have my doubts. Also am i the only one that likes to play games with surround sound turned up in which case kinect has not got a chance to hear me, perhaps different with a headset mic.

    Also i wonder if this works well if will get patched/modded into the PC version by the community.

  • Inmediasress #14 12 months ago

    @roz123
    I wonder even more about how much money M$ put in their pockets to make arse licking pr comments about Kinect.

  • damoxuk #15 12 months ago

    How much is Bioware getting to spout such crap?

  • _LarZen_ #16 12 months ago

    Are the people over at EA high? Or has MS crawled up their asses up to their brains controling them?

  • monkeywithnoeyes #17 12 months ago

    why cant this work with just a normal mic again?

  • Makeem95 #18 12 months ago

    Hopefully I'll still be too busy playing Skyrim to give a rat's ass about ME3.

  • Machiavellian #19 12 months ago

    Maybe it's me but I can see myself using the voice commands while playing the game. One of the things I least like about playing ME is having to pause the game to switch weapons or direct my teammates to use their powers. If I am point at someone and can say use this power and my teammate does it, sounds like a nice way to play the game.

    Also commanding my team with voice to do certain things like go to cover can also make playing the game more fun. I know it's hate season for Kinect anything but I see nothing wrong adding the voice controls since you do not have to use them.

  • Thedni #20 12 months ago

    This does have the potential to be pretty neat. I liked it when Ubisoft integrated voice control for your fireteam to the console Rainbow Sixes, though it didn't work half the time.

    MS's underlying voice recognition work for Kinect is pretty solid so would be nice to see it being used for more than just pausing DVDs.

  • kongzi #21 12 months ago

    So now I can yell at people on the screen, but they'll still be having conversations without me and continue to ignore me...what else is new?..Great, the whole game is gonna be like watching the news..

  • arcam #22 12 months ago

    So many games have done voice commands before, and 'gimmick' would be the perfect word to describe them every time.

    Hell, it's a gimmick on my phone and that's a device born to be spoken into.

  • coolbritannia #23 12 months ago

    "Waah, I hate Kinect, but it's popular, sold a hitload, and now devs are using it to make games better. But I don't own Kinect, so I better hate on it in some comments threads"

    I demand the mods start banning these Kinect trolls.

  • arcam #24 12 months ago

    Heh, let me know when they get there and come by and take a look. Until then I'll continue to call out BS when I see it.

  • WeakOrbit #25 12 months ago

    "Grope Liara."

    Shepherd has made a pass at Urdonot Wrex.

    Choose between Jack or other female character.

    Player coughs.

    Shepherd spurns female contact and jacks off over a photo of a Volus.

  • GiarcYekrub #26 12 months ago

    It does sound like they are being told to force it in somehow for some reason probally tick envy... the voice thing would be good in a game with a silent protagonist like Dragon Age: Origins but in this I think it will be wierd because basically you & Shepard are both saying it

  • PierrePressure #27 12 months ago

    Sounds gimmicky.

  • handsonhips101 #28 12 months ago

    @coolbritannia:

    They would have to ban you first, being the troll master of eurogamer that you are.

    Anyway. I thought the point of kinect was to play games WITHOUT the controller (YOU are the controller! Etc etc) not use it as a expensive microphone. Am I wrong?

  • CamberGreber #29 12 months ago

    Speech Recognition PLEASE!!

    Every 360 comes with a headset that fully supports Speech Recognition.

    Kinect is a complete Ripoff.
    There just trying to trick you into thinking what you bought was worth it.

  • patch #30 12 months ago

    "Is voice control the only part of Kinect that will be used?" Eurogamer did not ask, not adding "Will voice commands be multi platform, as the PS3 and PC can both use voice recognition?".

  • edhe #31 12 months ago

    "Why don't companies innovate anymore? It's all the same!"

    ..Company produces a product that players can use to gesture or voice control their games. Company supports product by allowing players to speak their commands, instead of breaking the flow of play in an action game by bringing up a menu. Allows users to change weapons on the fly, allows users to rush up to an enemy whilst telling their squad what to do which would otherwise take multiple commands [if it's not hotkeyed]...:

    "WAH WAH WAH HATE HATE HATE WAH WAH WAH. Where's the innovation?!?!?!"

    No wonder companies ignore comments sections :)

  • IronGiant #32 12 months ago

    Talking to a game is just stupid, all that effort for something that is no more than a gimmick.