Motion
Latest
Everybody wants to be like Wii
Looks like Peter Moore's homage to the Wii has started the wheels of speculation in motion. Our comrades over at 360 Fanboy are considering the possibilities for Microsoft outside of the realm of casual games. Moore did make the point about the Wii being about an experience, after all, so the idea that Microsoft might go the motion route isn't too far-fetched. And it's not like Microsoft never "borrowed" anything before (wink, wink). But like many, we're uncertain that we'll see motion-sensitive controls on the 360. Likely, Microsoft will try something entirely new, but the possibilities there are so widespread that we're not even sure how to start. Let's just hope any extras are cheaper than some we've seen in the past. We know many of you are proudly sporting the Wii60 badge, so we wanted to ask you what you thought. Can anyone do what the Wii does, and should anyone even try?[Via Joystiq]
Xbox 360 pad learns motion sickness
Wii has it. PlayStation 3 has it. Even the PC, PS2 and DS have it. Why can't Microsoft join the party? Adam Thole thinks the Xbox 360 controller is lacking in the motion sensing department, so he went ahead and added a two-axis accelerometer, which looks to supplement moving along the x-axis on the left joystick. Full details of his hacking can be found on his blog for those who wish to emulate it. For those who are just interested in watching the pad in action, video of Thole playing Full Auto and Crimson Sky can be found after the break. Details of the mod can be found on his website; the original Xbox 360 motion pad is now on eBay and Thole is considering selling his mod, either pre-installed or just as a circuit, en masse later. And yes, Thole confirms that vibration still works. With all this excitement for motion control, we expect Microsoft will have its own first-party solution in time for the next generation of consoles.
Shocking study reveals that activity in gaming fights obesity
Providing a mighty blow to both "research studies" and the value of Ph.D degrees everywhere, the latest rubbish information to come flowing from the Mayo Clinic's research lab is as close to an insult to intelligence as you can get. While it may have been somewhat understood that television can act as a painkiller for children, and that wireless headsets actually don't improve driving safety, this obviousness of this one takes the literal cake. The study, which is proclaimed as the "first to scientifically measure the energy spent playing video games," proved that sitting around while gaming burned the same amount of energy as kicking back and watching the tube, but when engaged in a "camera-based activity" (Eye Toy?), the "energy expenditure tripled." It was also shown that walking on a treadmill while gaming it up also tripled the energy burned, but it showed a "fivefold increase for the mildly obese group" of participants. While these results may be miles away from shocking, the most depressing aspect of the entire study was the conclusion that the results were so awe-inspiring that "they warrant further studies in randomized trials." Now, who's paying for this hoopla again?[Thanks, Mike]
Crazy DS Lite tilt modding action
The fine folks of Acid Mods have done something very cool with their DS Lite. Not just putting LED lights into the d-pad and face buttons, but in creating a motion sensor that plugs into the unit and allows for motion-sensing gameplay. While they could've used a much better game to demo the mod with (Burnout ugggh), we're still impressed all the same.Video, as always, is available past the jump ...Past posts: Mod that DS!
Sony patents LED-infused, motion-tracking controller
While the PS4 might be "just around the corner," and Nintendo's Wiimote is sure to give you all the (potentially dangerous) controller flinging fits you can handle, it appears that Sony's giving the whole "controller innovation" thing another go. Sure, Sony's faced its fair share of lawsuits (hasn't everyone?), and had noticeable trouble with Dual Shock in particular, but the less-than-revolutionary SIXAXIS controller is apparently lacking a heavily-desired feature: motion tracking. We're fairly certain that Sony is watching its toes to make sure the next lawsuit to hit doesn't come from the big N, but its latest patent describes a "handheld controller having detectable elements for tracking purposes," which admittedly sounds awfully familiar. The design looks simply like a revamped version of the current SIXAXIS, with embedded LEDs on the front of the device and an "external camera (Sony's sensor bar patent?) to capture the movements" of the user. After combing through the patent jargon, there's little doubt that the goal here is to deliver a controller that allows gamers to maneuver and react with more than just button mashes, but whether or not this development will actually be realized (or if games / lawyers will end up supporting it) remains to be seen.[Via Unwired View, thanks Staska]
Turn your Nintendo DS into an Etch A Sketch
Haven't you ever wanted an Etch A Sketch right there, on your DS? (We hadn't considered the possibility until today.) For $25, and some familiarity with homebrew apps, you can get a DS motion card, which includes a 3-axis accelerometer and a single-axis gyroscope. Apparently some folks have already cooked up some apps that will work with this card, including an Etch A Sketch-style application and two games. You can plunk down the cash for the pre-order, but if you want something a little more immediate, you could just buy a regular Etch A Sketch for far less, and not have to worry about all that homebrew stuff. Your call, though. [Via DS Fanboy]
MacBook Marionette
Most puppets scare me. Horrid little creatures, only coming alive when controlled by some being of perceived omnipotence manipulating every aspect of their pathetic little lives. But enough about my puppet paranoia, and on to this awesome hack. Some cunning (and brave! I'd never swing my notebook around like that!) soul has created a piece of digital artwork using the motion sensor built into his PowerBook. When he swings the machine, a little animated man on the screen reacts with realistic physics to the movement. Hooray for digital inertia![via UneasySilence]
TUAW Gives Thanks: Ginza Elevator Graphics
On this day of excess tryptophan and annoying relatives, it's important to take a minute and give thanks for the things we enjoy, yet take for granted the rest of the year. This year, I'm thankful that I get to sit around and blog about a company that cares enough about design to go that extra step in everything it does, including elevators. Where other companies would put simple buttons, Apple placed an elegant masterpiece of interaction design in front of the elevator at its flagship Ginza store in Tokyo. I've long been impressed by the motion graphics work produced by Apple, but I have to say that this is by far one of my favorites. Enjoy, and happy turkey day![via Cult of Mac]
Buffalo's Wiimote knockoff: the BOMU-W24A/BL spatial mouse
If Buffalo's disco mouse is just a tad too psychedelic for your tastes, and you've got a hankering for some Wiimote action just a few days early, the company's BOMU-W24A/BL "spatial mouse" should tide you over. Aside from sporting the usual assortment of mouse buttons and a scroll wheel, this critter boasts an internal gyro sensor that allows the cursor to move with the flick (or twist) of your wrist. In case all that twirling gets a bit tiresome, it also packs a standard optical sensor for "normal use," and offers six programmable buttons all around the enclosure. After a hard day's night of pointing it up, this wild child fits snuggly into the USB charging cradle, and can be picked up later this month for over half the price of a Wii itself, or ¥19,780 ($168).[Via Akihabara News]
Sony vs Nintendo in the motion sensitive arena
There's been an enormous amount of brouhaha about whether or not Sony added the motion sensitive feature to their controller after Nintendo announced the Wii, or if they had been planning it all along. Now Sony fanboys are claiming, via the YouTube video after the jump, that they had motion sensitive controllers back on the original PlayStation, so Nintendo must have copied the idea from Sony. Nobody seems to notice that it wasn't Sony who made the motion sensitive controller back then. Since it was pre-2000, then it's ancient history, in Net-time.
"3rd-i" cam for spyin' on the go
There are undoubtedly less proprietary ways to go about doing this, but if you're looking for a quick, painless way to get a PC-free camera feed to your phone, a British operation by the name of 3rd-i reckons they have the answer. The concept is simple enough: take your garden-variety video cam, strap on a GPRS modem, and call it good for £199 ($370). Besides accessing live video and up to 30 days of archived footage via pretty much any Java MIDP 1.0- or 2.0-enabled phone, the unit can be set up to immediately text you upon detecting motion. Not bad -- in fact, we'd strongly consider using 3rd-i's cams to secure the Engadgetmobile, but the dual band 900 / 1800 support just doesn't cut it in these parts.[Via Crowdedbrain]
Let's play the patent game: more Wii controllers?
We thought we were past this whole "Sony copied Nintendo copied blah" stuff, but CVG via Tech-On points out that the new patent we blogged about earlier could possibly be perceived as another pass at Nintendo's Wii controller. You know, besides the other one.If you take a close look at the odd picture that comes along with the patent, you will notice a pen-like apparatus used in conjunction with the camera. This is for image-mapping and converting movements into the 3D environment. But what exactly are we seeing here anyway? I don't think Super Scribbler 3D is in the cards, so could it be a controller not unlike the Nintendo Wii's? Even more motion-sensing from the Sony camp could backfire. But not if they decide to bring us back our old controller in favor of this new motion-sensing one. Of course, Nintendo fans would have something to say about it if this pen-like device stepped up to replace the DualShake as we currently know it. And then again, maybe we're shooting in the dark here and it's nothing to give any attention to at all. Your thoughts?
Microsoft to pull a PS3, place motion sensors in Xbox 360 pad?
In a recent episode of Gamertag radio, Peter Moore speaks out about the increasing complexity of video game controllers, comparing today's gamepads to the simplicity of the Atari 2600's button-and-stick joystick. He didn't exclude the Xbox 360 controller's design from criticism, mentioning that his 14-year old daughter found the controller somewhat confusing. Naturally, there was a point to his self-criticism; later on in the podcast he says that Microsoft is "doing a lot of stuff there. Nothing that we're ready to talk about, and we're not going to force anything that is not going to be intuitive and innovative."The most obvious conclusion to make from this statement would be that Microsoft is working on a new, simplified controller, which may or may not "borrow" the Wiimote's defining feature, although the part where Moore says that "[Microsoft is] not going to force anything that is not going to be... innovative" could suggest that simply slapping a motion sensor inside an Xbox 360 pad isn't on the cards.British tech magazine T3 points out that the company could possibly be working on a simplified controller--to be sold in parallel with the main Xbox 360 pad--designed specifically for Xbox Live Arcade games. The magazine reasons that the company won't want to make the Xbox 360 pad's ergonomic design obsolete any time soon, which lends credence to the possibility of a simplified controller designed to play simple games to compliment the "hardcore" 360 gamepad.[Via Engadget]
Apple updates Aperture and Pro Apps
Apple has updated Aperture to 1.1.2 though they haven't, at the moment, provided any details as to what the update does (at least not on their website).Also lurking in your Software Update panel is the Pro Application Update 2006-01, which ' addresses several issues with underlying frameworks and shared components for Apple's professional applications and is strongly recommended for all users of: Final Cut Studio Final Cut Pro 5.1 Motion 2.1 Soundtrack Pro 1.1 DVD Studio Pro 4.1 Shake 4.1 LiveType 2.1 Compressor 2.1 Apple Qmaster 2.1 Final Cut Express HD 3.5' So get to updating, people!
Tekken 6 to get all shaken up
Fans of the Tekken series may find themselves tilting to the moves with the PS3's motion-sensing controller. Imagine being able to shake your fighter out of submission when put in a hold. That's the kind of application producer Katsuhiro Harada has in mind for the new installment.A lot of the characters that were shown off at E3 are still in development, and hopefully the different uses for the new controller are too. When you think about the motion-sensing controller, driving and other simulation titles jump to mind. But a fighting game like Tekken 6 could easily take advantage of the technology too (say, for jumping perhaps?). What are some other potential applications would you like to see here?
Apple KB Article: Final Cut Studio not supported on MacBook
This should really come as a shock to no one, but Final Cut Studio is not supported on the MacBook. Does this mean you can't install Final Cut on a MacBook? No, the install won't stop you, however, the experience won't be all that great. Since the MacBook sports an integrated video processor, which Apple says, doesn't support floating processing performance will be 'degraded' on a MacBook.Bottomline: if you're a video professional you should pony up the extra dough for a MacBook Pro.
PS3 pad loses DualShock name and vibration but picks up Wii-esque motion detection and wireless connectivity
In a shocking turn of events, the PS3 controller has gone from banamerang to wireless DualShock 3, except without the DualShock name and vibration.If you take a good look at the back of the new control pad (see the close-up above), you'll notice that the DualShock 2 brand name imprinted on the old controller has now been supplanted by a row of LED lights to show which input has been set, either wirelessly or via the wired USB recharge port. Sony's now the only name in-line for PS3 controllers either on the pad or in the press releases (see "the new PS3 controller").
Found Footage: NAB 2006 Final Cut Studio demo reel
MacTV has posted Apple's NAB 2006 demo reel which shows off a number of movies and commercials that used Final Cut Studio in their production. This is very well put together, and really shows off the power of Final Cut Studio (as it was designed to do).Thanks, Cepheus.
Is Aperture's future in question?
According to Think Secret, it just may be. It looks like the majority of engineers who had been working on Aperture have either left or been reassigned to different projects within the company. Think Secret goes on to claim that the applications development was "...a mess," according to a source, and that developers from Shake and Motion had to be brought in to do a little damage control.I haven't used Aperture, so I can't speak for it's supposed buggieness. It did experience quite a price drop with the 1.1 update, so maybe Apple is eager to move existing copies.
Lair off-screen trailer looked good at GDC
Stills and screenshots can only do so much to convey how good a game looks. Here's an off-screen video presentation of Lair recorded from GDC, showing off the Factor 5 game in action (or, should we say, motion).You might recognize some of the animation from videos seen elsewhere, but it was nice to catch the newer footage of a dragon wireframe model meticulously rendered with layers of musculature and skin, too.If that's not enough for ya, you can always just listen in to the audio, which features a young lady from Washington asking questions of a developer with the hope of getting hired. Consider this a lesson in networking.[Via GameBrink]
