With the hype surrounding the announcement of Microsoft’s motion control technology, Project Natal, there has been much talk and speculation about what the new tech will do when it becomes available in late 2010. Everything from motion control integration into old hits like Burnout Paradise to new games like the Ricochet demo at E3 have been shown and discussed, but the lack of public demos have left many still curious about what exactly will work with Natal and what will fall flat. Based on what we’ve seen from the “controller-free gaming and entertainment experience” thus far, here’s a list of five things that could potentially be fantastic uses for the device, but have not been directly addressed by Microsoft at this point.
1. Put more ‘strategy’ into strategy games: True strategy games seem to be dying down on consoles for the most part and are in turn being replaced by more action oriented games that only involve broad, general tactics rather than deep, well planned strategy. But, Project Natal has the potential power—if implemented correctly—to breathe new life into strategy to make them fresh, interesting, and—most importantly—strategic again. Just imagine playing a real-time strategy like Halo Wars where players can multi-task using voice, motion, and controller inputs to guide their units around, or imagine plotting out waypoints with hand gestures while telling squad mates what to do in a more tactically demanding iteration of Ghost Recon. While some of these ideas aren’t entirely new (e.g. Endwar used voice controls) Natal can potentially bring three control schemes that can be used simultaneously to ensure a more manageable level of depth that strategy nuts will surely take advantage of to ensure victory.
2. Non-intrusive integration into existing genres: While it’s no secret that Microsoft is talking about implementing Natal control with titles like Halo: Reach, it seems the wisest way to make this kind of integration would be to make it non-essential to the experience as a whole. The reasons for this are two-fold. First of all, if you take a sequel to a shooting game that was designed to be played with a controller and replace the controller with hand and body movements, significant gameplay changes will need to be made, which will most likely upset hardcore fans of the series. Secondly, if Natal became a requirement for Halo: Reach, then Microsoft will be cutting off the audience that doesn’t wish to buy a peripheral to play the game. Fortunately, the solution to this problem is rather simple; only include simple commands that can be controlled by either using Natal or a command on the controller. That way, players that invest in Microsoft’s new technology can squeeze some extra novelty out of games like Reach while others can simply enjoy their Halo with more standard controls.
3. Better face-mapping: It may sound like a small thing, but it would be nice to see a version of myself in Rainbow Six: Vegas or Fight Night Round 4 that doesn’t look dead-eyed or mentally ill. Surely with the camera technology and facial recognition software of Natal, some developer will come along with a game where face mapping looks much more realistic. Then, players will be one step closer to living out their virtual fantasies. Whether it’s being the star of Rock Band or the hot-shot quarterback in Madden, seeing a game character that accurately represents the self will help bridge the gap and help create a better sense of immersion in games.
