In my previous post I wrote down keywords and some inspirational things I like to do for my graduation project. Writing down things on paper really helps to get to the core of what you really want.
I noticed that I was interested in physical interaction with systems, using the human body itself as input.
For instance, the Nintendo Wii was revolutionary at the time. It uses a remote that detects gestures as input, instead of the button-bashing that was, and is, common on other gaming systems. Instead of learning what each button does on the controller (which has a long learning curve) the input on the Wii is natural. Everybody knows how to use her body. The developers of the Wii saw what other console developers didn’t see; It made gaming available for everyone, instead of appealing the relatively small hardcore gamer market. Nintendo’s point of view was so simple. The Wii turned out to be the most popular gaming system, beating the Xbox and Playstation in console sales by far. It’s ironic that the Wii technically and graphically lays far behind on the other consoles, what was the other consoles main selling point. Of course, the Wii is a lot cheaper then the other consoles, what is an important factor for the popularity as well. But I personally think it’s success lays in the simplicity of it’s controller, that is usable by practically everyone. It’s fun, simple and easy to learn.
It’s interesting to see that both Sony and Microsoft want to duplicate this type of input. Sony announced Playstation Move, while Microsoft came with Project Natal. For me, these are very interesting developments in this field. Especially Project Natal makes a giant leap, getting rid of the controller entirely. This system uses gestures and the human body itself as direct input. Of course, what Microsoft showed the world were promotional videos and proof of concept demos. It is still the question if it will work as advertised.
The above video shows what I mean. This video went sort of viral after the announcement of Project Natal. Kudo Tsunoda, the presenter, does a physical action, but the system screws up the translation from physical input to digital output. I know this is a demo, but I already see the frustration of gamers, and limitation of interaction in games. The motion capture technology is still in it’s early stage, but you have to understand that these kind of situations are unacceptable in interfaces. It’s like that your television remote only works half the time, or your steering wheel of your car doesn’t recognize your steering motion.
To a certain level, the Wii has the same problem. It’s physical interaction is kind of limited. For instance, the golf game requires you to do a swinging motion, of course imitating swinging with a golf club. First time users will imitate this gesture entirely, but after a while the gesture of the user will evolve to a simpler gesture, what the system recognizes as proper input. A small “tap” is enough for the system to understand.
Another point of critique is that the in-game interaction is limited. I remembered playing Metroid Prime, a first person shooter. At one point in the game I had to open a door. I had to twist the Wii Remote 90 degrees, imitating opening a lock. I had to try a few times to get it open. At first, I thought it was an innovative interaction, I had to do something I had never done before in a game. But what did I had to do? I had to open a lock by twisting my wrist. One of the simplest interactions in our daily life, but what was a game element in a console game. Isn’t this a bit silly? Is this an achievement for a gamer to be proud of?
The distance between reality and virtual, what the developers meant to abridge, is still a to much. Long time interaction with the system will constrain the immersion. The Wii becomes a gimmick, what is it’s main problem. Will the upcoming systems from Sony and Microsoft have the same problem? Or is this even a problem? Is just using you body as input for a system enough, regardless what the actions are?
You noticed that these kind of ‘new’ interactions only apply for gaming consoles. For my project, I don’t want to focus myself on gaming controller input. This is not something where my interest lies. Just everyday interaction with the environment interests me more. I want to apply the use of gestures in this area and I want to research the coming weeks what will be a good platform to apply this subject.
My point of this long, long story is that using the body, and thereby using an input everybody knows how to use, interaction with systems can be available for everyone. I want to use this point of view as a core for my graduation project.
