Ghost Recon: Future Soldier’s IP director Adrian Lacey has likened Kinect’s motion controls to expensive, opened-mouthed inflatable sex toys.
Wait, what?
Responding to Spong’s question about about the possibility of Kinect replacing traditional controls, he responded with a headline-grabbing “That’s like asking whether an inflatable doll replaces a woman.”
Interesting analogy- and it’s spot on – neither are capable of making a sandwich.
“Perhaps its uses hinge on one particular gameplay mechanic,” he pontificated. “Maybe its uses are all about hitting and dodging things with your body. Maybe it’s uses in gameplay can be as subtle as a gesture made with a controller in hand to enhance the traditional experience. Maybe it’ll get so sophisticated that it will replace all traditional methods. We’ll have to wait and see. Kinect is still in the first stages, so as developers we’re still learning how to explore this. You’ve gone from traditional controllers, to iPads and iPhones in the space of four or five years. “For us, we’re learning how these things work, so we’ve gone from the dream of Minority Report to actually being able to do it in your living room. So there’s a learning curve for us on the development side.”
What that means to me is that traditional game developers still haven’t quite gotten their heads around how to utilise Kinect for “core” games properly. It’s a curious statement from a developer who’s invested in the technology.
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier ships with Gunsmith, a Kinect-powered feature that allows players to customise weapons using gestures – but he’s quick to point out that it’s not core to the game’s experience, and is naught but a fun diversion.
“What we’re trying to show with Gunsmith – and it’s the first step of putting something that’s effectively a toy – something that’s fun – for fans to mess around with and have a good interactive experience. If you’re a weapons fan, and you like the idea of changing up gun modules, it’s kind of cool. We’ve also ensured that we don’t forget that something like Gunsmith is a mere step. The controller is still very important to the core experience, which is why you do everything else in the game with it,” he added.
So Kinect might be nothing like a blow up doll, but it certainly has the potential to revolutionise the adult entertainment industry.
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier hits HD consoles in May, with a PC version to follow.
Last Updated: January 27, 2012
