Flachmatuch said:
But...why? What are some of the practical uses for Natal (except for cool looking but pretty tiresome looking navigation interfaces)? I mean, yeah, the technology *is* very cool, but why do people always talk in generalities? It's always about "possibilities" and "a step in the right direction", but, apart from a handful of ideas (commando gestures, grenade throwing, head tracking), I've not seen an actual game idea that really goes beyond Eyetoy stuff. I mean, if it's so awesome, if it opens so many possibilities then why don't people keep coming up with new game ideas?
Here are a couple:
Dodgeball
General Gameplay
Players will be able to control their onscreen counterpart via a complete 1:1 mapping of their environment and body to the games body and environment. If the player moves forward and to the left 3 feet, the character onscreen moves forward and to the left 3 feet. If the play jumps to the right, the character jumps to the right. Natal supports an area of 20X20 if I recall, so that gives plenty of room for maneuvering. This will not be a game for people with tiny living spaces.
Games will have the standard dodgeball rules. Teams throw balls at the other teams in an attempt to hit them. Once hit a player is out. A player can be brought back into the game if a team member catches a ball thrown at him/her. After all players on a team are hit, a point is awarded to the winning team. After a configurable amount of points are earned, the game is won. Balls must be caught with both hands, but can be thrown with one. Only one ball at a time can be held. Balls can be deflected using a ball that is currently being held.
Any match during the tournament can be viewed by spectators. Possibly showing their avatars in the stands, much like they do with 1 vs 100. Perhaps avatar trophies or MS points can be awarded to the winning teams.
Configurable Gameplay
Environment options
The environment can be configured to change as the match rolls on in an attempt to speed it along. Hazards will appear, such as holes in the floor, lava rivers(depending on the stage), low walls to force jumpming or high stepping, etc. Perhaps the outer foot of the space keeps getting removed every 30 seconds or so to give the player less room to maneuver and dodge.
Power Ups
Power ups can either be thrown at or walk over to pick up. They will be located on the players court and in the air between the two teams. It will be risky to go try nd pick up a powerup because the opposing team will most likely be ready for you to attempt to get them and have a ball waiting for you when you get there. Throwing a ball to get a power up can be risky as well since you could have attempted to get the other team out with it, or they could catch it more easily.
Shield - Can be activated on voice command. Provides a 1 second invulnerability.
Fast ball - Ball thrown speeds are increased.
Fire ball - Cannot be caught, must be dodged.
Team mate revival - This will allow one of your team mates to rejoin the match.
Slow down - Ball for the other team are slowed down.
Environment change - This will cause something to happen to the other team's playing field.
There could be many more powerups to offer.
Stages
Stages can get really crazy. A playing field could consist of only small ledges that must be stepped or jumped onto carefully. Dodging balls at the same time as this could get quite interesting. There would be the inevitable beach stage, lava stage, water stage, desert stage, space stage, forest stage, etc. All offering different environmental hazards and power up sets.
Game Idea 2
Overview
Planets all over the universe are falling apart for some unknown reason. It is your task, as an enormous galactic overseer. To fix the planets before the are destroyed. In order to fix the planets, you must use the tools at your displosal. The tools include: spackle, water bottle, glue, paper towels, etc.
Gameplay mechanics
As the player, you must save the planet from destruction by mending all problems that occur. The planets crust can crack, the crust can start flying off the planet, fires can erupt threatening to burn everything, water can flood, etc. Players interact with the planet as if it were floating in front of them. Turning it whichever way they choose using their hands. Tools are access by "grabbing" the appropriate one from the side bar of the screen. A piece of crust flies off the planet, grab it, apply some glue, and then place it back on the planet. Fire erupts, use your breath, or use the water bottle. If a flood is breaking out, use the paper towels to soak it up, if fire has broken out somewhere else, use the soaked paper towel to extenguish it. If something is flying towards the planet, light the paper towel on fire and throw it at it. A crack appears on the crust from an earthquake, spackle it up. More tools and situations are unlocked as you complete planets and solar systems. The further along the player progresses, the more chaotic things become and the more creative players must get in order to successfully save the planet.
Multiplayer can be between players trying to save their own planets but also destroy the other person's planet. Throw lit paper towel balls at the opponent. Squeeze out soaked paper towels to cause floods. Glue crust over a volcanoe hole to cause internal chaos in their planet.
There can also be a coop game where multiple players are having to save the planet at the same time. This allows for far more chaos than single player. But can also encompass some co-op techniques. Not sure what these could be, but upon further thinking, I am sure I could come up with something.
Game Idea #3
It is basically an episodic game that has new content every day. Imagine shows like Sesame Street or Blues Clues where they have faux viewer interaction. The characters on screen ask the children to answer a question, or point to the correct answer. Now, with Natal, this type of interaction can be done for real between the onscreen character and the audience.
Natal can recognize the child via facial recognition, greet the child, comment on the shirt, detect any body growth, comment on that, and proceed with the days episode or ask if they would like to view a past episode. This is all done via streaming. Each episode should be small enough to fit in RAM, maybe cache a little to the hard drive.
The child can be sat in front of the tv and have a rewarding and interactive educational experience. No controller necessary, just natural interaction. Vocal, pointing, dancing, etc. Characters on screen can ask the child to repeat after them(ABCs for example). If the child does it correctly the character on screen can congratulate and reward them. If they do not do it correctly, the child can be asked nicely to attempt again. Characters on screen can ask the child to point to the correct item on screen to solve the puzzle. The child would point and Natal could see which one the child was pointing to. Math questions can be asked, words can asked to be spelled, etc. Tons of new content daily. Obviously the content would need to be entertaining to the child so it would not be all puzzles and questions, a narrative would tie them all together.
Children can be rewarded by avatar items and in game unlockables. Varying difficulties can be toggled so that the right content can be available for different skill levels.
Game Idea #4
Premise
A Myst like adventure game. A completely 3D world for the player to interact with and solve puzzles. I will not come up with a story, just the game play characteristics.
Control
This game will be playable with the hands, voice, and face. Navigation will be done by hand movements. To turn, players swipe their hands across the screen like they are scrolling threw the Zune HD UI. To move forward, players grab forward and pull back towards themselves. To move backwards, you push away from you. The more exagerated the gestures, the more movement that is done.
To pick things up, you actually just have to reach and pick them up. To put them in your inventory, act like you placed them in your pocket. To use them, bring up the inventory menu by reaching in your pocket, the screen will display inventory, and you reach and grab what you want. You then use the item to interact with the environment.
Voice can be used to solve puzzles and interact with characters. Simple vocal commands can be given to characters and choices in dialogue can be chosen via vocal commands. An example of a vocal interaction with the environment would be a door locked via vocal and hand recognition. The player would act like they are placing their hand on the pad and then speaking in order to gain access.
Facial expressions can be utilized during character dialogue. The characters will pick up on your facial expressions as you play the game and react to them. Characters can also comment on your clothing in order to more immerse you in the experience.
The game would be fairly simple to develop and I would imagine we would see at least one game of this sort during Natal's lifespan.
Game Idea #5
A jigsaw puzzle game. Puzzle pieces will be shuffled and scattered about the screen. Up to 8 players(4 players to one box) can work on the same puzzle at the same time. Pieces can be picked up by hand, rotated(rotated by moving your other hand around it, much like you would turn a fan blade if you were holding the fan with one hand), and snapped into place. When pieces are picked up, by moving your hand closer to you, the piece zooms in so you can see it better. Video is enabled so that you can see the other people who are doing the puzzle with you. This is a nice family and socializing game. Much like Uno. New puzzles are added daily(streamed, not downloaded). Puzzles can also be created via pictures on the network.
Leaderboards will be available for the daily puzzles so that families can compete with other families.
Game Idea #6
Players wll be in control of large mechanized vehicles. Some of them bipedal, quadrapedal(word?), and wheel based. This will be a Natal only game. Players will control the vehicle via a virtual cockpit that is 1:1 with their surroundings. Depending on the vehicle, different cockpits will be available to control the vehicle. I will us a bidepal mech as an example. Players will use their hands and feet to interact with a virtual cockpit. Turn the vehicle on by using a series of buttons. Accellerate by pushing a lever forward. Etc. Fire various weapons using buttons in the cockpit. It would need to be a more slow paced game with less emphasis on twitch gameplay and more emphasis on immersion and strategy. It could be played online. You could perhaps have two players, a driver and a gunner. Use the RGB camera to be able to have small video screens in the cockpit that displays when they are talking. Voice commands could be used to send team mates orders or provide them with visual strategic insight.
The on screen visuals will need to have an indication of where your real world arm and possible feet positions are. If a joystick is a little to the right and forward, you would need an on screen visual showing where your virtual arm is located so that you gain an understanding of how to interact. Once a player is used to this, it would become more easy to just "know" how far that button is, or how to use that lever.
), the whole concept of PSN is very close to XBL, there's no question about it. The problem with MS is that this is what they do in general, this is their normal operating procedure, that they're quite a bit bigger than Sony and that competition with them is basically impossible.