hatsune miku
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Kinect Hacks: First-person slipping
Full-body mapping isn't new to Kinect -- not even hacking it to control the MikuMikuDance is new. But this isn't the apparent innovation put on display by a Kinect tinkerer known as "Nao_u." The adventurous programmer combines Microsoft's camera sensor with a pair of Vuzix VR920 LCD glasses, allowing a player to see through Miku's eyes (projected in the VR920 head-mounted display), while controlling her in-game actions with body movements registered by Kinect. It's total first-person VR -- J-pop style -- with a $400 add-on! Feeling confident in his new body, Nao_u steps out onto a precariously placed i-beam (just where did that come from?). High above the sim city, he takes his first, wobbly steps. You can see where this is going (after the break) ...
Play music with a nonexistent person
For this blogger, Hatsune Miku is something to be feared. Something about the creepy voice makes this blogger cringe like that scene where Freddy is scratching his claw against a chalkboard. Except, you know, less awesome.But, the fears of one man are not to affect an entire country, as the fake thing has become quite the icon in Japan. In fact, Miku has become so popular that she is to star in a real game. Titled 13-sai no Hello Work DS, the game will have players tapping away on a virtual keyboard, eventually working their way up to the stage to sing with Miku.We wonder how long it will take for someone to turn GLaDOS into a pop diva over here, since nobody can seem to get enough of that song? Actually, she might already kind of be one ...[Via Siliconera]
Fan-created Mario game is all waggle, no Wiimote
Okay, we heart this anonymous Japanese programmer. He created a version of Super Mario Bros. in which players move their hands in front of a webcam in order to push Mario around. It's not very intuitive, and it doesn't look that useful, but it's awesome. Things can just be uselessly cool sometimes, right? Really, this is only barely Mario. The graphics are lifted from Super Mario Bros., and the level design is pretty much 1-1 without any coins or powerups in it, but the weirdo physics, lack of on-screen information, and the obvious, constant bugs lead us to the conclusion that this game was actually made from scratch to imitate Super Mario Bros. That just means that more of this guy's spare time was spent making a near-unplayable webcam game, which makes it even better -- as does the Hatsune Miku-created soundtrack. Of course, having been made from the ground up allows even wackier stuff to happen than the whole hand-control thing.As for the Wii, we really wouldn't mind using the Wii's motion controls for some hobbyist-created, impractical "games." Could that be on the way now that the Wii has ostensibly been opened up? Ah, let's not think about the future of gaming -- let's just sit back with some popcorn and enjoy the weird video.[Via NeoGAF]
Hatsune Miku sings your favorite video game classics, doesn't exist
Inexplicably, the voice synthesizer program Vocaloid 2 is a massive hit in Japan. Well, it's slightly less inexplicable when we specify that the "Hatsune Miku" version of Vocaloid 2 takes music and lyrics and exports voice output that sounds like it was sung by a female idol singer. And, of course, the fake idol's picture and name grace the product's box. We're happy for the linguists who, for once, can enjoy some commercial success (assuming that Yamaha is still employing the linguists who worked on this).The YouTube video after the break contains Hatsune Miku versions of classic video game tunes. It's pretty surreal. It's all acappella, but the voice, in this case, is computer-generated!
