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Valve on Project Natal: Show us the compelling game first photo

Following our interview with Left 4 Dead 2 writer Chet Faliszek, we had a chance to just talk about the industry at large, and touch upon a few interesting points. You already got to read about Chet's views on morality in videogames, and Doug Lombardi's take on used sales. Chet also shared his views on the industry's push toward motion control, Microsoft's Project Natal in particular.

"Have you seen Natal? We got to check it out here, and it's actually really cool," he says. "Like, there's someone running around, jumping around and someone else walks up and it instantly recognizes this other person, splits them off and [they do] their own thing. There's a lot of coolness around it, but I'm not sure about the game that comes with that, and I'm not sure, personally, how much I wanna move around. I'm a lazy, lazy man. I don't want to move. I don't want to be fatigued playing a game.

"I think Wii hit it out of the park with the titles that it shipped with. I bought two Wiis, and they're both [for visiting] family, and playing. I can't seem to box them up and carry them, so I had to buy two. [Wii's launch titles] are perfect games for that ... I haven't found much else that's compelling. I want to see the compelling game first."

That's the big question, really. Will Project Natal pave the way for compelling, interesting games, or will developers do with it what they did the Wii, and simply churn out shovelware that completely disrespects the technology and does the system a disservice? Something tells me that we're going to see a lot of crap borne out of Natal. One can hope against hope, though.


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28 comments | showing # 1 to 28

mario actually's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 13:27
mario actually
I just yesterday had a moment, where I really wished I had a Natal-Thingy:

I'm working on my Master-Thesis and I have trouble sorting my thoughts and maintaining all the links of the different topics and so on, while still putting it in the order of a fucking text. You know, with start and end-point...

Well I have glued all my wall with post-it's, to sort it out and that's when it hit me. I want NATAL and a fucking beamer! That would be my perfect working-space. I could just grab the text in my actual word document and rearrange it on the go.

But for games? meh.....
JynxShot's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 13:35
JynxShot
Um, Valve?

GO MAKE a compelling fucking game for it. Quit waiting for someone else to do it.
accidentprone88's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 13:38
accidentprone88
Meh...so long as Natal doesn't further propagate the whole "casual" gamer thing, then I think it has a lot of potential.

I'd like to say without good games it's just going to fail, but obviously the Wii has disproved that. ZING!
Rifter01's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 13:39
Rifter01
Move your body.. C'mon now everybody..
Move your body!
Every every body!

..that Eiffel 65 song is all I hear in my head when reading about Natal now.

If you wanna move your mind
Just move your body
iPwn's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 13:43
iPwn
Still not sold on Natal, I ahve nothing against motion sensing tech or anything, I own a Wii and play it quite a bit, but I'm too lazy to actually stand up and do stuff unless I'm doing it for mild exercise or cause Wii Sports is awesome. I can see it work as way to to try and recreated things like Wii Sports/Fit and games like that, but past that I'm not sure.
funran's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 13:48
funran
more waggle, but with your feet and head.
kevinski's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 13:49
kevinski
I'd like to play Street Fighter with it. "HADOKEN!!" :)
RAB's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 13:57
RAB
Whenever you type the name Chet in an article I can just FEEL the spite you're spewing at Brad.
And it really really makes me smile.
KaliKot's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 13:59
KaliKot
wait until microsoft shows a game that controls with the 360 pad and some natal motions

thatll be the day everyone shuts up
Rockvillian's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 14:02
Rockvillian
All they need to do is prove that Natal can do things besides replicate activities I can do with the sports equipment in my garage.

The grass cutting simulator in that one Simpsons episode was incredibly prophetic.
Electrium's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 14:03
Electrium
I really liked your point about how developers have disgraced the Wii technology and instead made worthless waggle-@#*$ and called it a game. Nintendo haters jump all over that and say Wii sucks and whatever, but you really have to respect the concept.

I'm with Valve. Yeah, the technology is sweet, but is this going to be useful for anything other than party games? I mean, Natal is nothing but EyeToy 2.0. The idea still has a lot of potential, but will any developers be able to tap into that? I'll probably buy it either way, but I wonder.
ChainThrow's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 14:25
ChainThrow
It's nice that they have perspective about it. Normally you'd just get empty praise and marketing speak (got to shift those paradigms!) for what still is a completely unproven late-lifecycle peripheral. This guy's opinion seems much more in tune with what actual gamers are thinking as opposed to what the press (and Microsoft) would like us to think.
---AMARU---'s Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 14:40
---AMARU---
I think crap.
seamonkey420's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 14:57
seamonkey420
i'm also in the 'not more motion/waggle control schemes'.

i just like being able to sit on my couch and game w/my standard controller. hell, if i wanted to move i'd go outside and play real games/sports/skateboard etc.

so no thank natal or sony motion. forced in six-axis controls in early ps3 games were so pointless and annoying.

however, once they can get VR to work so that you control your movement and actions via brainwave/patterns vs actual motion then i'll change my mind. hehe.
hpv's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 14:58
hpv
Is there any possible use for Natal in gaming that would actually be fun? Nintendo has more than proven the motion/pointer wand mechanic (at the very least it made Zelda more fun to play because you can be lazier while playing it) but I just don't see the potential of Natal for anything fun. Does that technology have applications? Absolutely. Are any of them related to fun gameplay experiences? I highly doubt that, but even if there is one it is well beyond the creative scope of Microsoft to find it.
Robbo the hood's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 15:08
Robbo the hood
Woah there Valve, don't get too visionary on us all at once. Being hesitant to support unproven technology is one thing, but being antagonistic to it is another.
Professor Pew's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 15:08
Professor Pew
But it will be waggle with CHEEVOS!
nanowerx's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 15:10
nanowerx
I am sick of hearing people bitch about this because they are "lazy". That seems like its a problem with you, not Natal.

Wish folks would get it through their heads that Natal can be used with a controller and that you wont have to dance around your living room for every game that makes use of it.

I didn't really give a shit about Natal before, but now I hope it is a huge success so the haters will finally stfu.
InsaneCobra's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 17:17
InsaneCobra
Not sure about the actual gameplay at this point, but I presume at least someone at Valve must be intrigued by Lionhead's Milo, seeing how quite a bit of Half-Life 2's appeal came from its lively characters.
InsaneCobra's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 18:02
InsaneCobra
By the way, want a potentially interesting game concept that could take advantage of Natal's capabilities? How about a hostage negotiation game mixed in with some SWAT action?

First you try to negotiate the deal using Natal's voice recognition, but if that fails, you take control over a SWAT team. Movement and shooting are handled through the use of a standard controller, but supplemented with Natal functionality for head tracking, maybe ducking into cover, hand gesturing to other members of your team, throwing flashbangs, putting on handcuffs... You could even shout to subdue the suspects, things like that.

There are game design opportunities out there just waiting to be exploited.
brainderailment's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 19:44
brainderailment
I really dont think microsoft is going to do a lot of both controller and natal games. If they do, they might likely make it a game that doesnt really appeal to those of us who are not fans of wiis.
asyouburn's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 22:57
asyouburn
Everybody keeps saying natal + controller = awesome, but am I the only guy who remembers Microsoft saying no controller necessary? If you still need a contrller then what's the point
Brlito's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 23:26
Brlito
Fuck what the guy said. If the man actually bought two Wiis because he was too lazy to UNPLUG and LIFT (about 5lbs for the full Wii kit? It's fucking light) I don't think Microsoft's trying to get people like him to play, unless they release another EA Sports Active for it. Natch!

I'm not sold of Natal either, Sony's Eyetoy looks cool, and Wii's always been alright in my book. But Natal... Damn I just can see myself having as much fun as the family in that YouTube video is telling me I'll have.
Chronic Logic's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/05/2009 23:49
Chronic Logic
Where's my fucking rail shooters?!
pikeir's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/06/2009 00:17
pikeir
How would your in game character move around? Hope you don't have to walk on the spot.
Dexter345's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/06/2009 00:19
Dexter345
Of course there will be a deluge of crap games, but I'm still hopeful that there will be a few really compelling titles that make Natal worthwhile.
Arkhon's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/06/2009 01:36
Arkhon
Natal-type technology is really better suited for computer terminal user interfaces than video games.
ChaosTeaCup's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/06/2009 03:40
ChaosTeaCup
"but even if there is one it is well beyond the creative scope of Microsoft to find it."

Now I'm no massive fan of Natal (or anythging motion control - but they're not making it for me exclusively), but this is the statement of a total prick. Microsoft have it well within their scope to create something decent with this technology otherwise they wouldn't be pursuing it. Dickhead.
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