Gdc2007
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Joystiq and Engadget live at Sony's 2007 GDC keynote
10:20 a.m. (all times PST): We're being let in and taking our seats now.10:30 a.m.: We've taken our seats, but the press is still milling about. Coldplay is playing over the sound system, a PlayStation logo is on the screen, and giant props from the just-announced-this-morning LittleBigPlanet flank both sides of the massive screen.10:32 a.m.: On the left side of the stage there's a large tree--pretty much life-size--that looks like it's made out of a glob of clay, the right side has a gear rotating, about the same size as the tree. Is it a water wheel? Colored lights glaze across the ceiling in maroon, greens, and blues. 10:33 a.m.: The room fits about 5,000 people, it will be full. A many-iterations removed remix of an LCD Soundsystem song is playing
Project Epoc thought-powered controller: could gaming get any lazier?
We'd hoped that with the popularity of Nintendo's Wii, normally sedentary, perhaps unhealthy gamers would start prying themselves off the couch and get a little physical activity going -- and sure enough, some dude even succeeded in proving the efficacy of a Wii workout regimen. Well wouldn't you know it, along comes a company called Emotiv Systems and in one fell swoop, threatens to rollback all this great progress tubby fanboys have made. You see Emotiv has this pretty snazzy-looking helmet (minus that totally un-aerodynamic processing unit) which can -- get this --actually read your thoughts, just like those medical devices we've featured ad infinitum. But instead of some noble cause such as helping quadriplegics or enabling us to translate monkey thinking, the so-called Project Epoc is designed to take video games to the next level by exploding your input possibilities and removing even the minimal amount of calories burned through furiously smashing controller buttons. Because today's developers probably aren't taking thought-control into consideration when coding for input methods, the company is on hand with its Emotiv Development Kit, which gives game makers three distinct methods for employing the helmet; the Expressiv suite picks up the brain activity associated with different facial expressions, the Affectiv suite uses a player's emotional state to affect in-game activity, and the Cognitiv suite is said to allow the user to "manipulate virtual objects using only the power of their thought!" (Emphasis theirs, not ours.) Just as motion control has opened up a whole new world of interaction and gaming experiences, so could thought-control lead to a host of innovative titles and franchises: just imagine a Big Brother-esque game that forced you to think happy thoughts the whole time, or a GTA-like thrill killer where your posse and victims can tell if you're sporting a vicious scowl or a goofy grin. It's still not clear when you'll actually be able to go out and buy your own Epoc, but we know that it's being shown off at the 2007 GDC, so interested parties should whip up some press credentials and try to finagle a meeting. [Via Medgadget]
