Halo: Reach Forum
This topic has moved here: Subject: Harold Ryan's full comments on Natal
  • Subject: Harold Ryan's full comments on Natal
Subject: Harold Ryan's full comments on Natal
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Q: I hear Bungie had an early look at Project Natal, the motion-sensing controller for the Xbox coming next year. Will we have to get up off the couch to play Halo one of these days?

A: I think the Natal stuff is awesome. I'll put one in my house just so when I walk in the living room it will sign me in. I might put one in the garage so I sign in and get my favorite music when I walk in the door. It's definitely cool. It's hard to imagine you're going to replicate pulling a trigger.

I could see my engineering team when I look at it and go 'this is (bleeping) awesome, we should navigate all the UI with it!' They're like, 'I don't even know how it works yet, stop adding it to my schedule.'

It remains to be seen what we can get done with it in the timeframe we have for the games under development. It is relatively new. As they said in the (E3) briefing, it's just now coming out, it's not coming to market yet. We don't know when it's going to be in the market yet. If it's not going to be in the market we probably won't spend a lot of time devving for it. If it looks like it's coming out, we'll definitely add support where it makes sense in the game. But I don't think it's going to be the primary gaming mode for a Halo game - because I think all of my developers and testers would drop dead from attempting to run, duck, crouch, circle strafe...


Q: If Natal came out at the same time as Halo Reach next fall, it could help make the new hardware platform, similar to the way Halo established the first Xbox.

A:: Absolutely.


Q: Could Halo Reach be Natal-enabled?

A: I absolutely think Reach could be enabled with it. Historically we've looked at lots of different control methods for the Halo games. Certainly other stuff from Microsoft - new controller layouts, we always work on them and everything else. One of the problems with the Halo games is we've got whatever it is, 8 or 10 million or 12 million people who have played and liked the game ... a lot of the ones who are playing it all the time are very attached to their control scheme and they're the most vocal group. We couldn't do anything that would hurt the state of what people love as we implement new controls.


Q: It seems to me you don't have to give up the controller with Natal - you could have precision with the controller and still have to jump over logs or whatever in the game.

A: Yep, and make a whole era of fit gamers, which I think would be great.

  • 06.30.2009 8:54 AM PDT
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No one should be surprised by this. It was already obvious that they weren't planning on substitute the gameplay mechanics in their entirety for Natal's controller-free motion functionality. It would be far too complex, and the reasons Ryan stated were constantly iterated on the forum by many.

[Edited on 06.30.2009 9:23 AM PDT]

  • 06.30.2009 8:56 AM PDT
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I hope that will shut up some people who think Natal on Reach will make us give up on the Controllers

  • 06.30.2009 9:08 AM PDT

I think Natal will be cool, not if it takes over gameplay which according to this seems about right. It just gives Halo fanboys a new flare to fight with COD players. I can see it now: "Yeah well Halo is Natal compatible."

  • 06.30.2009 9:14 AM PDT
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Posted by: Uae Gamer
I hope that will shut up some people who think Natal on Reach will make us give up on the Controllers


I still can't believe some people were stupid enough to believe that.

  • 06.30.2009 9:14 AM PDT
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Posted by: Striped Dragon
Posted by: Uae Gamer
I hope that will shut up some people who think Natal on Reach will make us give up on the Controllers


I still can't believe some people were stupid enough to believe that.

QFT. Me too

  • 06.30.2009 9:18 AM PDT

I hope you get lupus

i dont care if natal is on Reach as long as it is not required to play reach

  • 06.30.2009 9:20 AM PDT
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Thanks for posting the full Q&A it cleared up a lot of stuff.

  • 06.30.2009 9:25 AM PDT
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Posted by: Esperlancer_SP
i dont care if natal is on Reach as long as it is not required to play reach

I'll be annoyed if additional information or gameplay events that could otherwise utilize controllers is made exclusive for Natal owners at all in Reach. If they have optional Natal functionality, that is just fantastic, but if Natal owners get more out of the experience, I'll be peeved.

Admittedly, it would be a sound business move to help bolster Natal sales, though.

  • 06.30.2009 9:25 AM PDT
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This is what I really want to see with Natal.

Different kits that can be bought to work with specific genres. Shooters ,etc.
For a shooter, it would have different guns that were immediately recognized by Natal. The guns would have their own triggers and magazines. They could be basic guns that would be numbered to show what gun it is for that game. If it was game specific, it would just look like the specific weapons that the game has. That would put away the controller while adding possibly more effective controller scheme.

  • 07.01.2009 10:28 PM PDT
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Posted by: El1teF3AR
This is what I really want to see with Natal.

Different kits that can be bought to work with specific genres. Shooters ,etc.
For a shooter, it would have different guns that were immediately recognized by Natal. The guns would have their own triggers and magazines. They could be basic guns that would be numbered to show what gun it is for that game. If it was game specific, it would just look like the specific weapons that the game has. That would put away the controller while adding possibly more effective controller scheme.


I see where your going with that and its a good idea I think, but it would be just like the wii. And I wouldn't really like to buy a new controller for every different game genre.

  • 07.01.2009 10:33 PM PDT

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Posted by: Dream053
Posted by: Esperlancer_SP
i dont care if natal is on Reach as long as it is not required to play reach

I'll be annoyed if additional information or gameplay events that could otherwise utilize controllers is made exclusive for Natal owners at all in Reach. If they have optional Natal functionality, that is just fantastic, but if Natal owners get more out of the experience, I'll be peeved.

Admittedly, it would be a sound business move to help bolster Natal sales, though.

And Microsoft is good at making money off of stuff like this...

  • 07.01.2009 10:35 PM PDT

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Posted by: El1teF3AR
This is what I really want to see with Natal.

Different kits that can be bought to work with specific genres. Shooters ,etc.
For a shooter, it would have different guns that were immediately recognized by Natal. The guns would have their own triggers and magazines. They could be basic guns that would be numbered to show what gun it is for that game. If it was game specific, it would just look like the specific weapons that the game has. That would put away the controller while adding possibly more effective controller scheme.

What about if someone picks up a new weapon would he need to drop his say AR and pick up a Plasma pistol from the floor?

  • 07.01.2009 10:38 PM PDT
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Posted by: funnymann
Posted by: El1teF3AR
This is what I really want to see with Natal.

Different kits that can be bought to work with specific genres. Shooters ,etc.
For a shooter, it would have different guns that were immediately recognized by Natal. The guns would have their own triggers and magazines. They could be basic guns that would be numbered to show what gun it is for that game. If it was game specific, it would just look like the specific weapons that the game has. That would put away the controller while adding possibly more effective controller scheme.

What about if someone picks up a new weapon would he need to drop his say AR and pick up a Plasma pistol from the floor?


That would actually be kinda.....sucky. That means I would have to buy even more controllers! I loled at this idea

  • 07.01.2009 10:42 PM PDT