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I was at a friend's house last night, and we played 8-player Halo, using two rooms, two TVs, two XBOXes, two copies of Halo and a link cable. Let me tell you something - it was the best gaming experience I've ever had. Capture the Flag on Blood Gulch with Warthogs flat out rules, especially when you can hear your opponents shouting across the hallway, and your teammates are slapping each other because they keep messing around. Anyways, playing it got me thinking. I know that when online console gaming finally hits the UK we'll be able to play the likes of Halo and SOCOM with headsets, communicating to partners. The thing is, it's never really going to be the same as having them there with you...it's like when you want to talk to someone about something important, you do it face-to-face rather than over the telephone. It's just human nature. Well, with technology moving one way (bringing gamers closer together for playing team games) it set my brain in motion, thinking whether or not technology could move in another way...bringing the individual closer to the game.
I don't mean more surround sound support, or prettier graphics. I mean developing a system where it feels like you're IN the game. We've all seen the TV shows where it shows a futuristic arcade with people wearing VR headsets and playing snooker or what have you...well the technology is already available. Just take a look in your local Argos catalogue...'a 42inch television right in your face', it says. Sort of like glasses, only instead of a prescription, you have screens. Then, there's those naff table tennis games you can get with a big, clunky infra-red bat and a weird machine to plug into your TV. Without having a ball, or a table, you're playing ping pong. So surely, the surreal image of someone poised to throw a dart that isn't there...isn't so surreal after all, right?
Not quite. See, after all, wearing those glasses is just like standing really close to a big TV. Sure it looks cool, and can give you seizures, but it doesn't really add anything to the experience. And quite frankly, that table tennis thing is utter tosh. Still, at least it shows that someone out there is working towards the goal of bringing us closer to our games.
Remember Perfect Dark's hype? How you would be able to scan in your own face, and effectively be in the game? How you could take a photo of your PE teacher, and then blast him with a rocket launcher in a multiplayer match? It didn't happen. Rare's infamous inability to grasp the concept of deadlines led to them making cutbacks, leaving them with less work to do and allowing them to finish the game before the sun exploded. Again, another great idea goes down the pan. Or does it? On Thumb Bandits, the ill-fated yet oft-hilarious 'games' show that used to be on Channel 4 on Friday nights about a year ago, they had a feature on a mask. When you bought this mask, you had to license it, or sign a license, or do SOMETHING that boils down to you promising to only use YOUR FACE in the mask. Then, you scan in your face scan (which is fully 3D, may I add) into the PC, or console, and you can be in the games! Of course, nothing has been heard of it since and, apart from a few rumours regarding fighting games I don't know of any games that support it. I suppose it would be possible to scan in a picture and work it into a skin for a PC game, but the console gaming market is far bigger, and far more likely to profit from such a feature.
Another possibility for enhancing the experience would be...getting rid of on screen furniture. Have you seen the screenshots for Metroid Prime? It looks like a nail bomb went off in Ikea; you can't see a thing! One thing I loved (well, love) about Pro Evolution Soccer is how you can get rid of the weird player tags and power bars, and have either just the score and time (like TV), or nothing at all (which is kind of stupid, because you'd have to be a spectator at the game, at a VERY strange angle that would make you either a giant or a flying man-beast). I think this should be an option in all games, but particularly ones like TimeSplitters 2. Now, they have a tracker radar type thing, but as a weapon. So, instead of having a circle with enemies on it, you have to equip your big black box. So what about getting rid of your health bar, ammo quota, clip size and all that other junk? It'd be even more like you're playing the game!
It might be a while before we get full Virtual Reality...OK, I'll probably be long dead before it happens. The whole mask idea may not lift off, especially with the legal issues involved (oh, and the £200 price tag). But all it needs is a small group of dedicated, determined people and we could be there, flying a spitfire in WWII or throwing a remote mine onto the satellite dish. You don't have to have tonnes of cash, or huge amounts of man-power...just a little innovation. Cute little touches like a 'bare screen' mode wouldn't hurt.
In a day and age where science is moving forward at a faster pace than ever before, it's not such a crazy idea after all to think that one day, when we switch on a console and put a game in, we're not just controlling a character...we're BEING one.
Thanks for reading.
-El Blokey
I don't mean more surround sound support, or prettier graphics. I mean developing a system where it feels like you're IN the game. We've all seen the TV shows where it shows a futuristic arcade with people wearing VR headsets and playing snooker or what have you...well the technology is already available. Just take a look in your local Argos catalogue...'a 42inch television right in your face', it says. Sort of like glasses, only instead of a prescription, you have screens. Then, there's those naff table tennis games you can get with a big, clunky infra-red bat and a weird machine to plug into your TV. Without having a ball, or a table, you're playing ping pong. So surely, the surreal image of someone poised to throw a dart that isn't there...isn't so surreal after all, right?
Not quite. See, after all, wearing those glasses is just like standing really close to a big TV. Sure it looks cool, and can give you seizures, but it doesn't really add anything to the experience. And quite frankly, that table tennis thing is utter tosh. Still, at least it shows that someone out there is working towards the goal of bringing us closer to our games.
Remember Perfect Dark's hype? How you would be able to scan in your own face, and effectively be in the game? How you could take a photo of your PE teacher, and then blast him with a rocket launcher in a multiplayer match? It didn't happen. Rare's infamous inability to grasp the concept of deadlines led to them making cutbacks, leaving them with less work to do and allowing them to finish the game before the sun exploded. Again, another great idea goes down the pan. Or does it? On Thumb Bandits, the ill-fated yet oft-hilarious 'games' show that used to be on Channel 4 on Friday nights about a year ago, they had a feature on a mask. When you bought this mask, you had to license it, or sign a license, or do SOMETHING that boils down to you promising to only use YOUR FACE in the mask. Then, you scan in your face scan (which is fully 3D, may I add) into the PC, or console, and you can be in the games! Of course, nothing has been heard of it since and, apart from a few rumours regarding fighting games I don't know of any games that support it. I suppose it would be possible to scan in a picture and work it into a skin for a PC game, but the console gaming market is far bigger, and far more likely to profit from such a feature.
Another possibility for enhancing the experience would be...getting rid of on screen furniture. Have you seen the screenshots for Metroid Prime? It looks like a nail bomb went off in Ikea; you can't see a thing! One thing I loved (well, love) about Pro Evolution Soccer is how you can get rid of the weird player tags and power bars, and have either just the score and time (like TV), or nothing at all (which is kind of stupid, because you'd have to be a spectator at the game, at a VERY strange angle that would make you either a giant or a flying man-beast). I think this should be an option in all games, but particularly ones like TimeSplitters 2. Now, they have a tracker radar type thing, but as a weapon. So, instead of having a circle with enemies on it, you have to equip your big black box. So what about getting rid of your health bar, ammo quota, clip size and all that other junk? It'd be even more like you're playing the game!
It might be a while before we get full Virtual Reality...OK, I'll probably be long dead before it happens. The whole mask idea may not lift off, especially with the legal issues involved (oh, and the £200 price tag). But all it needs is a small group of dedicated, determined people and we could be there, flying a spitfire in WWII or throwing a remote mine onto the satellite dish. You don't have to have tonnes of cash, or huge amounts of man-power...just a little innovation. Cute little touches like a 'bare screen' mode wouldn't hurt.
In a day and age where science is moving forward at a faster pace than ever before, it's not such a crazy idea after all to think that one day, when we switch on a console and put a game in, we're not just controlling a character...we're BEING one.
Thanks for reading.
-El Blokey
I was at a friend's house last night, and we played 8-player Halo, using two rooms, two TVs, two XBOXes, two copies of Halo and a link cable. Let me tell you something - it was the best gaming experience I've ever had. Capture the Flag on Blood Gulch with Warthogs flat out rules, especially when you can hear your opponents shouting across the hallway, and your teammates are slapping each other because they keep messing around. Anyways, playing it got me thinking. I know that when online console gaming finally hits the UK we'll be able to play the likes of Halo and SOCOM with headsets, communicating to partners. The thing is, it's never really going to be the same as having them there with you...it's like when you want to talk to someone about something important, you do it face-to-face rather than over the telephone. It's just human nature. Well, with technology moving one way (bringing gamers closer together for playing team games) it set my brain in motion, thinking whether or not technology could move in another way...bringing the individual closer to the game.
I don't mean more surround sound support, or prettier graphics. I mean developing a system where it feels like you're IN the game. We've all seen the TV shows where it shows a futuristic arcade with people wearing VR headsets and playing snooker or what have you...well the technology is already available. Just take a look in your local Argos catalogue...'a 42inch television right in your face', it says. Sort of like glasses, only instead of a prescription, you have screens. Then, there's those naff table tennis games you can get with a big, clunky infra-red bat and a weird machine to plug into your TV. Without having a ball, or a table, you're playing ping pong. So surely, the surreal image of someone poised to throw a dart that isn't there...isn't so surreal after all, right?
Not quite. See, after all, wearing those glasses is just like standing really close to a big TV. Sure it looks cool, and can give you seizures, but it doesn't really add anything to the experience. And quite frankly, that table tennis thing is utter tosh. Still, at least it shows that someone out there is working towards the goal of bringing us closer to our games.
Remember Perfect Dark's hype? How you would be able to scan in your own face, and effectively be in the game? How you could take a photo of your PE teacher, and then blast him with a rocket launcher in a multiplayer match? It didn't happen. Rare's infamous inability to grasp the concept of deadlines led to them making cutbacks, leaving them with less work to do and allowing them to finish the game before the sun exploded. Again, another great idea goes down the pan. Or does it? On Thumb Bandits, the ill-fated yet oft-hilarious 'games' show that used to be on Channel 4 on Friday nights about a year ago, they had a feature on a mask. When you bought this mask, you had to license it, or sign a license, or do SOMETHING that boils down to you promising to only use YOUR FACE in the mask. Then, you scan in your face scan (which is fully 3D, may I add) into the PC, or console, and you can be in the games! Of course, nothing has been heard of it since and, apart from a few rumours regarding fighting games I don't know of any games that support it. I suppose it would be possible to scan in a picture and work it into a skin for a PC game, but the console gaming market is far bigger, and far more likely to profit from such a feature.
Another possibility for enhancing the experience would be...getting rid of on screen furniture. Have you seen the screenshots for Metroid Prime? It looks like a nail bomb went off in Ikea; you can't see a thing! One thing I loved (well, love) about Pro Evolution Soccer is how you can get rid of the weird player tags and power bars, and have either just the score and time (like TV), or nothing at all (which is kind of stupid, because you'd have to be a spectator at the game, at a VERY strange angle that would make you either a giant or a flying man-beast). I think this should be an option in all games, but particularly ones like TimeSplitters 2. Now, they have a tracker radar type thing, but as a weapon. So, instead of having a circle with enemies on it, you have to equip your big black box. So what about getting rid of your health bar, ammo quota, clip size and all that other junk? It'd be even more like you're playing the game!
It might be a while before we get full Virtual Reality...OK, I'll probably be long dead before it happens. The whole mask idea may not lift off, especially with the legal issues involved (oh, and the £200 price tag). But all it needs is a small group of dedicated, determined people and we could be there, flying a spitfire in WWII or throwing a remote mine onto the satellite dish. You don't have to have tonnes of cash, or huge amounts of man-power...just a little innovation. Cute little touches like a 'bare screen' mode wouldn't hurt.
In a day and age where science is moving forward at a faster pace than ever before, it's not such a crazy idea after all to think that one day, when we switch on a console and put a game in, we're not just controlling a character...we're BEING one.
Thanks for reading.
-El Blokey
I don't mean more surround sound support, or prettier graphics. I mean developing a system where it feels like you're IN the game. We've all seen the TV shows where it shows a futuristic arcade with people wearing VR headsets and playing snooker or what have you...well the technology is already available. Just take a look in your local Argos catalogue...'a 42inch television right in your face', it says. Sort of like glasses, only instead of a prescription, you have screens. Then, there's those naff table tennis games you can get with a big, clunky infra-red bat and a weird machine to plug into your TV. Without having a ball, or a table, you're playing ping pong. So surely, the surreal image of someone poised to throw a dart that isn't there...isn't so surreal after all, right?
Not quite. See, after all, wearing those glasses is just like standing really close to a big TV. Sure it looks cool, and can give you seizures, but it doesn't really add anything to the experience. And quite frankly, that table tennis thing is utter tosh. Still, at least it shows that someone out there is working towards the goal of bringing us closer to our games.
Remember Perfect Dark's hype? How you would be able to scan in your own face, and effectively be in the game? How you could take a photo of your PE teacher, and then blast him with a rocket launcher in a multiplayer match? It didn't happen. Rare's infamous inability to grasp the concept of deadlines led to them making cutbacks, leaving them with less work to do and allowing them to finish the game before the sun exploded. Again, another great idea goes down the pan. Or does it? On Thumb Bandits, the ill-fated yet oft-hilarious 'games' show that used to be on Channel 4 on Friday nights about a year ago, they had a feature on a mask. When you bought this mask, you had to license it, or sign a license, or do SOMETHING that boils down to you promising to only use YOUR FACE in the mask. Then, you scan in your face scan (which is fully 3D, may I add) into the PC, or console, and you can be in the games! Of course, nothing has been heard of it since and, apart from a few rumours regarding fighting games I don't know of any games that support it. I suppose it would be possible to scan in a picture and work it into a skin for a PC game, but the console gaming market is far bigger, and far more likely to profit from such a feature.
Another possibility for enhancing the experience would be...getting rid of on screen furniture. Have you seen the screenshots for Metroid Prime? It looks like a nail bomb went off in Ikea; you can't see a thing! One thing I loved (well, love) about Pro Evolution Soccer is how you can get rid of the weird player tags and power bars, and have either just the score and time (like TV), or nothing at all (which is kind of stupid, because you'd have to be a spectator at the game, at a VERY strange angle that would make you either a giant or a flying man-beast). I think this should be an option in all games, but particularly ones like TimeSplitters 2. Now, they have a tracker radar type thing, but as a weapon. So, instead of having a circle with enemies on it, you have to equip your big black box. So what about getting rid of your health bar, ammo quota, clip size and all that other junk? It'd be even more like you're playing the game!
It might be a while before we get full Virtual Reality...OK, I'll probably be long dead before it happens. The whole mask idea may not lift off, especially with the legal issues involved (oh, and the £200 price tag). But all it needs is a small group of dedicated, determined people and we could be there, flying a spitfire in WWII or throwing a remote mine onto the satellite dish. You don't have to have tonnes of cash, or huge amounts of man-power...just a little innovation. Cute little touches like a 'bare screen' mode wouldn't hurt.
In a day and age where science is moving forward at a faster pace than ever before, it's not such a crazy idea after all to think that one day, when we switch on a console and put a game in, we're not just controlling a character...we're BEING one.
Thanks for reading.
-El Blokey
WAKEY WAKEY ANYONED THERE?
hello!!
12 days, 2/3 replies (if you count this)
hahaha
hahaha
As an extra, Sony are 'apparently' working on a new project which will revolutionise gaming. If you want more information visit one of my topics on this forum called 'Liquid Fire'.