- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Posted by: StormyHeart
HALO: CE was produced as an amazing game designed for all of us... and none of us had an XBOX at the time. Just because none of us have NATAL attached to our XBOX now, doesn't mean developers are going to ignore the possibilities presented by head tracking technology. Granted it might be as Gnome13 quotes from THGttG if the developers shoot for, and botch, a "Minority Report" style menu system, where we're moving information around with a wave of our hands. However, what I'm hoping is that BUNGiE and other top tier developers use NATAL and head tracking to present the game to us in a whole new way, rather than trying to use NATAL to kill the Wii.
I don't think we'll be running around in our living rooms actually jumping and jogging in place. That's ridiculous.
If something such as head tracking were in the game, we'd likely use a controller in the same manner we always have. The only real difference between HALO we play now, and the HALO with head tracking integrated into the game is that the game can use all sorts of trickery to convince our brains that we're looking upon a true three dimensional scene. (The video very clearly and elegantly explains the concept in great detail) In that respect, I don't know why you'd ever want the option to turn it off.
Now, if they wanted to take a small leap into letting players control their characters with their bodies, the smartest way to do it is to recycle the head tracking information already being collected and used to generate the pseudo 3D image. Because the game knows where our head is in relation to the image on the television screen, it can translate that information to our characters. If you've played Medal of Honor: Airborne (and there's a demo available from the XBL Marketplace) you'll see how the peeking system used in that game could be vastly improved by head tracking technology.
Lets raise the bar like only BUNGiE can.
1. Introduce Halo Reach as a package deal with NATAL.
2. Include a motion sensitive Assault Rifle shaped novelty controller, A-La Rock Band.
3. Replace the torso of the Spartan characters with information gathered from the controller and NATAL body recognition technology.
This is a completely feasible way to explode our minds. If you look at the way the animations in HALO work now, the legs and torso are animated completely independently of each other. If a motion sensitive Assault Rifle shaped controller were available to gamers, NATAL could replace the top half of your Spartan's animations with input from how you're holding your body in the real world. The Assault Rifle controller could easily be designed with all of the buttons and control sticks found on the current iteration of the XBOX 360 controller. Players would control their characters as they always have, using buttons on the foregrip to reload, jump, crouch and throw grenades. (although I'd love to see melee attacks bound to your motion capture input.) The main difference is that players would use the the a thumbstick to frame enemies, and the motion sensitive Assault Rifle to actually do the aiming. Combine that with head tracking presenting a very convincing false three dimensional environment, and NATAL translating your upper body movements onto your Spartan, and we'll be one step closer to The Matrix, my friends.
Why would you aim using an assault rifle? That'd just be weird if you are using any other weapon, like a lazer, energy sword, battle rifle, etc. It'd most probably look like a stick you point at the spot you want to aim.