Not to be outdone by Microsoft’s Project Natal and Nintendo’s WiiMote Plus technology, Sony was introduced the world to their take on the motion control phenomenon. During their E3 press conference, Sony revealed their two-part controller with a live on-stage demonstration.
The controller consists of a wand with a glowing orb at the end and a camera that tracks the movement of that orb. Movements in all three dimensions can be tracked, and every movement is translated on screen with pinpoint precision.
In the demo that we were shown, a representative from Sony demonstrated how the wand could be digitally replaced by any manner of item on screen. To illustrate this, the camera displayed the demonstrator himself on screen holding a digital tennis racket in his hand. When he swung his arms around, the image on screen replicated his movements and the tennis racket accurately emulated the movements of the glowing wand. A tennis ball was conjured before him, and the demonstrator swung at it a few times with his racket, eventually sending it off into the distance. Using the angle and speed of his swing, the PlayStation motion controller software was able to create a realistic trajectory for the flight of the ball.
Further demonstrations involved the use of a sword to attack a skeletal training dummy. Like the ball, the dummy reacted realistically to the blows it was dealt, using the speed and angle of the demonstrators swing to determine the appropriate physics. Then the demonstrator grabbed a second wand and loaded a bow and arrow demonstration. One wand represented the bow in the digital world while the other represented the arrow. Nocking the arrow as a real archer would, the demonstrator pulled back with the arrow wand to increase the tension while the bow wand was used to aim. Pressing a button found on the arrow wand allowed him to release the arrow, sending it into the chest of an approaching skeleton warrior.
Eager to show off the many applications for game design, the Sony representative loaded a first-person shooter program. The wand in his hand transformed into a golden pistol, and once again using the button on the wand he was able to fire bullets around the environment. Then it got really interesting. The demonstrator took a few steps backwards and his first-person perspective moved accordingly. Because the camera is able to track the movements of the wand in all three dimensions, it knew that the demonstrator had stepped away from it. This level of implementation will make it possible for developers to create first-person environments in which players will realistically move. If only my living room was large enough to encompass their imagination.
Motion controls are changing the industry. Originally designed to bridge the gap between the casual and the hardcore – a bridge that many hardcore gamers believe should never have been built – motion controls may threaten to eliminate the hardcore entirely. But what if someone could design a motion control system that both demographics would accept? The gap would disappear and no bridge would need be built. It seems like an impossible conclusion, but with the entire industry shifting focus toward the motion control phenomenon, it may be coming sooner than you think.
Richard Mitchell is a video game addict living in Toronto. He has been gaming for more than two decades, and despite multiple interventions, continues to game today. He has an Xbox 360, a PS3, a Wii, a Nintendo DS, a gaming PC, and a life, and does his best to juggle them all.