Topic: Mechwarrior/ other simulator for Kinect

Hail all,

At the Tokyo Game Show recently Microsoft announced that there was to be a new Stell Batallion title using Kinect for the Xbox 360 console. What you may not know is that Steel Batallion was originally an Xbox exclusive franchise which came packaged with a 40 button controller and created a heck of a simulation.

With the new Steel Batallion apparently not requiring any additional peripheral, it has been suggested that MS is keeping an eye on the development. It is possible that MS is using the Steel Batallion title as a test-bed to see if a tank or robot simulator is workable on Xbox 360.

And if that's the case, then they could be considering making a simulator title for Kinect. Something like a new Flight Simulator, Train Simulator or Mechwarrior for instance. While obviously they would require tuning for the console, I can see that the games could be ideally created. This would save MS the expense of creating a new franchise and also help usher in new ideas for Kinect.

They've already dabbled in simulation with Kinect, with showings of Catan and of course Kinectimals showing that with the right interface, Kinect can compellingly do simulators. Is it out of the question that a Mechwarrior title would be suitable for Kinect?

It'd be amazing if they could somehow pull it off but I imagine something as complicated as a flight Sim would have to make use of the controller or some other peripheral at the very least. I get the feeling if that doesn't happen (which is perfectly possible as kinects main selling point is that YOU are the controller) I think at best we can only expect very simple and dumbed down versions of games.

I think a mechwarrior game would be a perfect showcase for kinect. Why? because for exactly the reasons soaduk mentioned "Because you are the controller" Harmonix went to great lengths to take their User Interface above and beyond for Dance Central to make it intuitive and fun so much so it shames what microsoft came up with for controlling kinect (Hover and wait vs HMXs swipe and connect).

So we can say that ANY developer on any game does not have to be "dumbed down" it really just takes the developer and their programmers understanding and envisioning what is possible with kinect and using the human skeletal motion and facial tracking and rgb input to control elements of a game or sim.

A mech warrior is a good candidate. Think Avatar and the exo suits... your hands move the robots hand in a "waldo" like set up, your feet move its feet, you jump, jets come on etc. How ever I will agree sims like race car driving or flight sims are better enjoyed with a racing wheel or a flight deck controller respectively.

But again our kinect games dont have to be dumbed down, its really up to the developer to get off their asses and creatively solve how to interface with you thru Kinect to give you an immersive experience.