When we visited Razer to check out their new Xbox 360 controller and headset, there was another little surprise waiting for us. Above is the Sixense TrueMotion device, a motion control system for PC users. Using a magnetic field with a diameter of twelve feet to track position, it offers precision within 1 mm.
The first use of the device we were shown was a simple 3D modeling environment. Using the two wands, a representative was able to move objects, cut them into pieces and scale their size. While that's all well and good, I'm here to see games damn it.
Which is why, thanks to a partnership with Valve, Sixense also had a customized version of Left 4 Dead 2 running on another machine. In this example, the remotes performed actions based on the context of the equipped items. With melee weapons, it removed the ability to look up and down in favor of manipulating the weapon while firearms used a more point-and-click approach. Grenades were thrown by making a throwing motion over the head, etc.
The technology behind it is a lot more impressive than what we've seen on the Wii and, I dare say, even intrigues me more than the offerings from Sony and Microsoft. What I have a hard time imagining is the PC gaming crowd actually embracing the controller. With the way they tend to sneer at console gamers, trying to push a control method which comes from that market may be a serious uphill climb.
Conrad Zimmerman is Destructoid's News Editor and home to the busiest mustache in the gaming press. An amateur historian and pop culture fanatic, Conrad possesses a nearly limitless wealth of videogame factoids and a passion for the power of games to teach, inspire and entertain. He enjoys reading, writing and turning things which should be fun into work.
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Contest:
7:30 PM on 01.09.2010
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So far motion sensing has always been bullshit, anyway. The only cool thing about the Wii Remote was the pointer functionality; something the PC has for nearly half a century already!
Wii Sports Resort is really the only good use of motion control I've seen. Stuff like this seems like just a waste of energy.
Fail. Do even have any clue what Razer is? It's been around since 1998 and has been making gaming mice, keyboards and other PC peripherals for a while. It's hardly been just now founded for the sole purpose of 'ripping it off'. Do your research before making retarded claims.
As for motion sensing? Eh... tell me how this more or as intuitive as just using a mouse and keyboard and maybe I'll sign on. Otherwise, I really don't see the need for flailing my hands to control games in front of my computer screen.
lets face it, you can't be sitting in front of a desk to get full movement of the arms without knocking shit around.
Not sure where Razer fits into the picture (other than showcasing the device for some reason), but I'm talking about Sixense Entertainment. Founded in 2007 with the goal of bringing high precision motion tracking technologies to gaming and blah blah.
It's on the Sixense site. Under About Us. You know, the site I researched before making retarded claims.
Then time goes on, controls more and more attempt to simulate the motions, and then motion controls come out and people who have been playing for so long scratch their heads and wonder why a movement would be appealing because they have reprogrammed their brains into this button press understanding.
It is a sorta, awesome kind of messed up world thought.