Previous
E3: Project Natal Hands On
Xbox 360 Hands On by Ellie Gibson
Page 1 of 2.
Page 2 
E3 2009 may not have officially kicked off yet, but it's already been a show to remember. After all, it's not every day you get to see the likes of James Cameron, Paul McCartney and Pele chatting about videogames. Nor is it every day you get to have a conversation with a virtual 10 year-old or play Burnout with an imaginary steering wheel.
But today is one of those days, because today Microsoft is revealing Project Natal to the world. Fresh from the E3 conference, we dropped by their posh hotel to go hands-on - or rather, hands-off - with the new technology.
Milo & Kate
First up is Peter Molyneux's new baby. As you'll know if you followed our live text, Milo is the name of the new AI character in development at Lionhead Studios. And as you'll know if you read our interview with Peter Molyneux, or could have predicted if you know anything about Peter Molyneux, Kate is the name of a dog.
A Lionhead man mucks about with Milo.
But the dog's not on show today - instead we're presented with Milo on his own, sitting on a swing by a river. Molyneux invites me to try interacting with him by standing in front of the screen and moving around the room.
As I move, the camera moves with me. Shift your body left and the camera pans left; tilt your body forwards and it zooms in, and so on. "Normally you'd be using the right thumbstick for this," observes Molyneux. It's a bit disconcerting, but in a good way; looking around to change your viewpoint feels a lot more natural than pushing a stick.
What about those who would rather stay sat on the sofa? The technology works just as well when sitting down, according to Molyneux: "You just move your torso and your head to move around. It can be a very relaxed experience."
Now, he says, we're going to train Milo to recognise me. I'm told to smile and frown to start the process off, and I try to make things easy for Milo by exaggerating my expressions like a gurning champion at a rave. "That's too much," says Molyneux. "You don't smile and frown like that in real life, do you?" He clearly hasn't seen my Facebook page.
I tone it down a bit and sure enough, Milo jumps off his swing and walks towards me. "You OK?" he says.
It's unnerving, there's no doubt about it. Instinctively I reply, "Yes, thank you. How are you?"
Claire again, Milo again. We want the dog. Show us the dog now.
"Wearing black, I see. It suits you." He's not wrong. About the first bit, anyway. But once the shock of Milo noticing this wears off, I realise he hasn't answered my question. Perhaps this is one of the tricks used to make you think he's real; and they are indeed tricks, as Molyneux is happy to admit.
I try another direct question. "Have you had a nice day, Milo?" He smiles and nods, so I go for something more complex. "Did you enjoy Microsoft's E3 conference?" He's non-committal. "Are you looking forward to the rumoured unveiling of the PSP tomorrow?" Milo nods. The truth is though, he doesn't really know what I just asked. He understood I was asking a question by listening to the tone of my voice, but he didn't understand the words. Knowing that doesn't make the whole thing much less unnerving, though.
Molyneux invites me to go and look at the fish in the river, as seen in the E3 press conference. The water effects are stunning anyway, but to see yourself reflected within them is astonishing. "Swish the water about a bit," says Molyneux, so I do. There are one or two odd moments where the water doesn't quite seem to flow naturally, but once again, the overall effect is highly impressive.
The demo's over, and all too soon. I didn't get to try out the work or play activities, or draw a picture for Milo, or meet his female counterpart, Milly. Not to mention the dog. There are still lots of questions about Milo & Kate, particularly with regard to how scripted the conversations are and just how clever your virtual friend really is. Here's hoping we'll get to find out more soon.
Are you excited about Milo & Kate on Xbox 360?
View Eurogamer readers most anticipated games
Related Games
Project Natal
Milo & Kate
Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!
|
bigjimbeef
02/06/09 @ 10:52
0
Glad to see that it actually does work from an external source. I suppose I should really hold off getting too excited about it, but it does look rather exciting. What with this and Google Wave, the future all appears to be coming at once!
Unless they're rubbish of course. Hard to tell really. Oh yeah, and is Milo just a tech demo too? Not sure why I'd want a child simulator really.. |
|
Eighthours
02/06/09 @ 10:54
0
Motion Plus is going to look a bit old hat at the Ninty conference, methinks.
|
|
0
"Would you really want to hold up an imaginary steering wheel for the length of an entire game?"
NO. Obviously. The only point to any of this is doing large, free-flowing movements. Why would anyone want to pantomime actions that can be achieved more simply and directly using the kind of small-muscle movements that a conventional controller allows? |
|
Madafunkola
02/06/09 @ 10:57
0
I can't see myself leaping around the room playing tennis - that's why I sold my Wii - but the technology looks fantastic. I'd get one just to gesture-navigate the dashboard, minority report stylee!
|
|
designerheadache
02/06/09 @ 11:03
0
I noticed britishgaming are also reporting on the lag being a problem in some of the demos, hope they clear it up or its gonna be a game breaker.
I was also thinking that this type of interface also limits the type of games you can play, for example, can anyone imagine how a platformer would work with one of these things? Ten minutes of running on the spot and jumping up and down like a loon would be enough to get stale fast. And despite the demo i am not convinced a driving game would work well either, at least when you are driving for real the steering wheel is their to take the weight off your arms a bit, suspending them in the air for long periods of time is going to get tiring. |
|
CapnCloudchaser
02/06/09 @ 11:04
0
I would say that the movement element that technology such as this presents will appeal to the obese western world, i.e non-gamers and casual games will lap it up.
However, a lot of imagination and creativity is going to be needed in order to win over the other side, obviously! But I really think it offers a lot of potential if the technology is really that good. I mean, these things were cooked up pretty quickly, imagine what a few years of development time could create? |
|
GundamJehutyKai
02/06/09 @ 11:09
0
I'm still not convinced that the system is the leap forward they claim it to be. I keep thinking back to LIPS and how they promised massive technological advances compared to singstar, only for most of them to fall flat and the game itself being a little naff!
I could be wrong, and in many ways, nintendo should be looking over their shoulder but I don't see anything which eyetoy couldn't do, except for the driving (but who wants to float their arms like that for extended periods of time?). |
|
0
I noticed britishgaming are also reporting on the lag being a problem in some of the demos, hope they clear it up or its gonna be a game breaker.
It's pretty impossible really to clear this up, because your body is constantly making little movements. The motion sensing software will have to accommodate for this and even then the game has to know when you're trying to get into position, or actually making a movement that should be recognized as input for the game. The wii already suffers from this somewhat, but it's easier to keep a wiimote still while moving the rest of your body, and you can always make it so you have to press a button for the game to register it as movement input. Milo is an interesting tech demo, but you're not going to be able to make a real game out of it. The only thing I can see this tech really working is tracking head and pupil movements to change the camera (although that might give problems when you want to look away from the screen to grab a drink, but yeah), as well as tracking the facial expression of the player to get their affective responses and changing the game accordingly. |
|
0
The major positive to come out of this, regardless of how Natal might be applied to good games, is that the Wii is royally fucked.
So much wishful thinking. The xbox 360 is a gaming console and will not appeal to non-gamers. Even with this peripheral. Especially because it's a peripheral. The Wii is a gadget, the whole Wii brand revolves around motion control, and the general public knows this. Small nuance HUGE difference. |
|
0
Sounds great. I would've figured that it makesmore sense to break by putting your left foot forward, but I guess that's because Burnout was designed for a traditional controller. With a stick you can't pull it back and push it forward at the same time, while you can put both legs forward at the same time, so they probably wanted to avoid that situation since the game doesn't provide for simultanious braking and accelerating.
|
|
0
So why is Mario Kart for the Wii such a success then?
Cause it's not imaginary. Well, not entirely. Interacting with a real life object (i.e. the wiimote) and seeing the virtual counterpart move accordingly breaks the fourth wall, as it gives the player the impression of being inside the game world. This is EXACTLY the reason (well, that and the hip gadget connotation I wrote about above, and the fact that the wiimote is shaped like a remote) why the Wii has been so successful, and this will not. |
|
CaptianScarlet
02/06/09 @ 11:22
0
Looks like an interesting technology, there are loads of applications I could see being cool. Very mini game like though. This to me seems to be a very close if slightly more advanced cousin of the Eye toy.
However, as for Milo. seriously could that have been any more scripted. I think that it's a nice "tech" demo to show what could be possible but seriously I already have 2 kids why would I want to spend any time with a virtual one. Let's face it if you look closely at the supposed conversation system in Fable 2 and remember the limited and rather uninspired responses it's hard to believe that they could accomplish anything that comes close to the "futuristic" AI buddy that Molyneux waffles on about being ahead of anything a science fiction author/film maker has ever imagined. Seriously has that guy watch a sc-fi film or read any sci-fi books. they are awash with artificial friends and computer interactive characters. The guy should just shut up and let the tech do his talking. sorry went off on a bit of a rant there, but really! |
|
Negotiator
02/06/09 @ 11:22
0
Amazing, and this will only get better, Microsoft have raised the bar and Sony and Nintendo won't be able to jump it.
|
|
patchbox360
02/06/09 @ 11:25
0
that girls wonderous ass kept distracting me from listening to what was going on with milo
|
|
0
Cause it's not imaginary. Well, not entirely. Interacting with a real life object (i.e. the wiimote) and seeing the virtual counterpart move accordingly breaks the fourth wall, as it gives the player the impression of being inside the game world. This is EXACTLY the reason (well, that and the hip gadget connotation I wrote about above, and the fact that the wiimote is shaped like a remote) why the Wii has been so successful, and this will not
So holding a physical object up won't make your arms tired, but an imaginary one will? And what's to stop you from simply holdin up a wheel, or a plate for that matter with Natal? Besides, the whole 'seeing the virtual counterpart move accordingly breaking the fourth wall' applies just as well to this. Holding a plastic wheel isn't as important to immersiveness as you make it out to be. |
|
Ashen-Shugar
02/06/09 @ 11:39
0
@CaptianScarlet
"if you look closely at the supposed conversation system in Fable 2" You are comparing a tech demo designed exclusively to show off AI and motion sensing, to an emote system in an RPG? Why not go further and compare it to flea picking habits of the lemur, or the dynamics of thermal currents in a top hat full of porridge? Relevancy my dear chap, relevancy. |
|
0
Ah I thought you meant that holding up an imaginary wheel would just feel plain stupid. Yeah your arms will get tired regardless. But personally I do think holding on to a real object is important, because, like I said, flailing your arms in empty space to get something on screen to work feels really stupid (at least when I tried the eyetoy) and the wiimote seemed to overcome this. But of course time will tell.
|
|
0
@spekkeh You spekkehth the truth. Can't see this being a hit, maybe EyeToy level of popularity and then fade from view. Two problems are: 1. nothing to hold onto is going to make you feel way more of a prat that you do with the various Wi attachementsi, 2. innacuracy: there's no way this thing will ever be as accurate at monitoring motion as a physically held device.
|
|
0
I think it's worth people considering this as an additional element to current games. The obvious example would be replacing dialogue selection in games like Fallout 3 and Mass Effect with something a little more interactive but it's far from the only possible use. Puzzle elemenets can obviously take on a whole new direction, stealth games would be a good match as would driving games (track your head to change the view when inside the car).
Maybe think of it as the touchscreen on the DS. Can be used on its own for some games / genres but works best when combined with regular controls. |
|
0
I'm sorry, but all this waving of extremities is meaningless to me. So you can control Burnout with your feet - but there's a damn table there in my living room. Do I need to rearrange everything just to play a videogame now? It's already a pain to drag out the World Tour drum kit for GH, but now they want me to move things around in order to play normal games too?
I guess I'm getting old. Honestly, I'm all for the idea of bringing excercise and physical interactivity to video games, but developers need to use this technology wisely. I am not interested in imaginary steering wheels, golf clubs or tennis rackets when it is obvious that an actual controller does the job far better. That's the problem with so many Wii games - the idea that because the technology is there, all games must employ it. However, conversations with AI characters... now that's something else. Spooky, but definitely interesting. |
|
0
Not sure I am convinced this is anything new here from what Sony is already doing with the EyeToy, that pet dog application Sony is working on seems very similar to what M$ is touting here with the addition of some basic voice recognition software.
Also I think this will have the same problems that the EyeToy got in peoples homes, that it becomes very error prone when light conditions are not perfect. |
|
Mentalist(air)
02/06/09 @ 12:09
0
The fact it's a traffic-free Burnout 1 rather than Burnout Paradise makes me worry that the processing overheads of this device mean it'll be relegated to the ghetto of casual minigames rather than for enhancing AAA core games.
Still, that Ricochet demo looks fun enough to buy it for to me (unless it's like more than 100 quid). And if Speilberg puts EA's money where his mouth is and puts out a Natal-tailored Boom Blox, then I'm sold even more so. |
|
0
@ Negotiator
"Amazing, and this will only get better, Microsoft have raised the bar and Sony and Nintendo won't be able to jump it." Actually, Nintendo will be showing of their camera, developed by UBISOFT, today, and it will be released come this holiday season. So MS will look pretty much like copy-cats when Natal launches. http://n-club.dk/nyheder/4538/ |
|
0
This is the lamest lot of crap I've seen from a major developer in years.
The Milo thing is a lot of hot air and the new 'controller' is just Eye Toy 2. Who wants to play Burnout with an imaginary steering wheel?? As one of the forum guys put it, there's no feedback. Add this to the fact that the Wii has already penetrated the casual market and it's not ready for another retarded gimmick. This lot will crash and burn. MS would do well to stick to the games they showed and the ever expanding online/media functionality. |
|
0
If the lag is okish in a racer than it should be workable in less twitch demanding games, Fable 3 for instance, it'll be so cool to finally be able cast spell the way spells are ment to be cast! In fact if they get this technology full implimented in Fable 3 then that game is going to rock! Being able to make faces at the NPCs will just be so much better than the button-stick-button emote system. Also the Wii fit and Wii sports clones that they'll be able to make are going to blow the Wii right out the water from technical and gameplay perspectives. The Wii will still sell like hotcakes though, you can't beat that kind of social hypemachine just by making a better product.
|
|
IronCladChicken
02/06/09 @ 12:20
0
@Domovoi
So holding a physical object up won't make your arms tired, but an imaginary one will? You don;t newed to hold your arms up for the wii controller - it works be sensing the movement of the Wii-mote. The M$ version requires you hold your arms up so the camera can see what you're up to :) So essentially - All the M$ guys here are getting excited over features they were bashing the Wii for up until now? |
|
kangarootoo
02/06/09 @ 12:26
0
A good article. More of this sort of thing from Ellie.
"The major positive to come out of this, regardless of how Natal might be applied to good games, is that the Wii is royally fucked." Complete, utter, unbridled nonsense. "So holding a physical object up won't make your arms tired, but an imaginary one will?" If you try and describe it in such artificially black and white terms, no doubt you will make a point of some sort. Buts its not that straight forward. Supporting a light RIGID physical object allows your limbs to use each other as struts. The overall system is more stable, so less effort is required to KEEP it stable. Two limbs flailing in the air whilst TRYING to maintain a posture relative to each other will be more tiring (if all else remains the same). Experiment. Wave your two arms around your body whilst trying to keep your hands 12 inches apart. Then repeat the same process whilst holding a 12 inch ruler between them. Which was more tiring? |
Want to comment on this article? Log in, or register!
