project natal
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Project Natal video features smack talking, scruffy teenagers
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/xbox/Microsoft_s_Project_Natal_Could_Revolutionize_the_Xbox_360'; One of the biggest announcements at Microsoft's E3 keynote was Project Natal, an ambitious project using camera tech developed by 3DV. The keynote promo video shows off many planned uses for the new peripheral, running the gamut from something as simple as beating up an old, feeble man, to complex voice recognition and scanning features. It's ambitious, to say the least, and only time will tell if the company can pull it off.
Peter Molyneux shows 'Milo' for Project Natal
Lionhead founder and famed game designer Peter Molyneux took the stage at Microsoft's E3 press conference to demonstrate "Milo," a virtual boy who interacts with players via the Project Natal motion camera. After introducing the project, Molyneux presented a video of a Lionhead staffer speaking with Milo, who reacted to what she said -- and even wrote on a piece of paper held up to the screen ... like a real person. Following the video, Molyneux addressed what was likely a considerable amount of doubt as to the simulation's validity saying that it will be demo'd in real time behind closed doors during E3. He said that Lionhead has been tinkering with Project Natal for several months, and that he feels "what developers do with Natal will change the landscape of games." We'll ask Milo what he thinks of that later in the week.
Overheard@E3: Kudos to Kudo's Wii burn
No doubt a little flustered by the woman wildly flailing about at the other end of the stage, Kudo Tsunoda slipped in a comment that, according to wicked modern parlance, could easily be classified as a "sick burn." The recipient? The Nintendo Wii, which will soon find itself competing against Microsoft's just-announced motion control system, "Project Natal."Said Kudo: "This isn't the kind of game where you just end up on the sofa using some kind of preset waggle commands." Pheeeeeew.
Microsoft reveals Project Natal, motion camera for Xbox 360
And another rumor confirmed. Microsoft just unleashed a video for their motion control camera peripheral, project Natal. The intriguing video for the periph showed it being used to simulating handling a steering wheel, navigating the dashboard, controlling a kung-fu fighter, dressing an on-screen avatar and so much more.Kudo Tsunoda, The periph's creator came on stage to show off some of the device's features -- your camera will apparently recognize you and automatically log you into Xbox Live. Your avatar will mimic your movements. From there, you can control the dashboard by moving your hands left or right (Minority Report style).He then showed off a prototype game called Ricochet, a 3D Breakout-esque game. A woman demoed the game, moving her body to knock a ball into targets. As one would assume, the woman performing the demo looks completely ridiculous.The next demo was Paint Party, a painting application. A man who demoed the title flung paint onto a canvas by flinging his arms in front of the Natal, creating a lovely scenic view. The man changed his tool, and began to make more precise strokes, painting the leaves of a tree. Now he's showing his sillouhette on the canvas -- it's capturing his outline perfectly, even without a pristine white background usually needed for this type of technology to work effectively.The device will also have voice recognition technology. Microsoft partners are receiving Natal today.
