Your living room will never be the same again

I want to talk about the Kinect today, BUT this post is NOT about video games. Even if you're not interested in Xboxes, Kinects, or video games in general, you may still want to read this because the point I'm making (I'll get the mystery out of the way right now) is that the Kinect is not a videogame controller. Whatever it's marketed as, it's really an interface test, and one that suggests the future really is going to be awesome. It's the beta test for the scifi living room.

For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about Microsoft has just released a device called the Kinect which attaches to the Xbox. Using cameras, infrared detectors, microphones, and sundry other "sensors" the Kinect is capable of recognizing body movements and sounds. Speak and the Xbox will hear you. Wave your arm and your onscreen avatar will wave its own arm and I don't just mean "an avatar," I do mean "your avatar" since the software behind the Kinect is capable of recognizing individuals. It's motion control without the remote. The Kinect is being compared to Sony's Move controller and Nintendo's Wiimote. I do not believe this is an appropriate comparison. They're playing in the same market, for now, but they're not the same thing. I think Microsoft was making something else entirely, and it all hinges on that phrase "without the remote."

This was supposed to be the future, goes a common joke, I want my jetpack. I want my video phones. I want my voice-controlled computers. I want my "Minority Report" gesture control. Well, four out of five isn't so bad. We'll keep working on the jetpacks, but in the meantime, the Kinect prototypes all those other things (and quite a few more)

Sure, you can play games with it - some of them are even fun - but the real point is that you can control your Xbox with it. The games are incidental.

I call it a prototype and a beta test because right now it has bugs that need to be ironed out. A video game system is the perfect place to start such a technology. No business will accept such bugs, not if they have to pay for it, but market it as a game and suddenly people will line up for the thing. They'll deal with the bugs because they're having fun. They'll complain, and Microsoft will listen. They'll be delighted, and Microsoft will listen to that, too. They'll play with this new toy and Microsoft will learn enough to turn that toy into a tool.

The Kinect has already been hacked. It took less than a week for clever programmers to write whole new purposes and functions for the Kinect. Microsoft initially released a statement condemning such hacks. At the time, I thought it was a legal CYA: If someone figures out how to infiltrate the FAA and take over airplane flights by holding out their arms and making buzzing noises, Microsoft could always claim "we told them not to." That initial opinion was reinforced when a Microsoft employee admitted they're not actually going to do anything about the hacking, that they are, in fact, delighted. But just the other day, Microsoft made a third clarification: they ARE delighted, they do want people to continue what they're doing, but what they're doing isn't hacking per se. The so-called-hackers are using the outputs without modifying the internals. That's fine, says Microsoft, please continue, the other stuff is still illegal. So now I just think it was supposed to be an IP CYA and someone in the R&D department failed to notify the legal department that the rest was highly desirable. It's free research from the masses. It's crowdsourcing (although disorganized and organic). I'm sure Microsoft has someone taking notes about, devising applications for, and learning from every new hack that gets posted on the net.

And there are already some pretty exciting things out there:

• The guy who can render what the Kinect sees as a 3D environment, even going so far as to accurately measure the objects in it
• The guy who can modify the skins/appearance of the people (and cats) in Kinect's sight
• The pair who turned the Kinect into a digital puppet show
• The group who combined the Kinect and the Roomba into a robot that accepts takes gesture control
• The group who uses the Kinect as a multitouch, multiuser interface for Windows 7
  

I'd expect that Microsoft is pretty excited about that one, but I'd also expect that they've been working on that exact interface before they ever released the Kinect to the public. Consider that Microsoft is the same company that produces the Microsoft Surface, a multitouch interface designed for use in a public/group setting. The lessons and applications learned working on the Surface will almost certainly translate well to the Kinect, and vice versa. The big difference is that the Kinect can do it in three dimensions.

Now consider that the Xbox already permits DVD watching, as well as access to Netflix, Twitter, and Facebook. The update that allowed the Xbox software to handle Kinect integration was the same update that added access to ESPN 3. I am certain that this is not a coincidence. It's one more incentive for people to interact with this new device, one more thing people can do without hunting for a remote. Once people are comfortable with this in the living room, it won't be difficult to move it to the office, or anywhere else for that matter. Once people are comfortable with this in the living room, they won't want to operate any other way.

I'm really looking forward to the future. Jetpacks can wait. This is cool now.

Game Faces

For my first post back in much too long I wanted something profound and fascinating to talk about. Recently it has occurred to me that seeking such a topic has added at least a few months to the delay (same reason it takes me so long to respond to birthday emails from friends I haven't spoken to in a while). Therefore, in the interests of simply getting started again, you're not getting "profound and fascinating," you're getting whatever I'm ready to write now (which is at best "curious and mildly amusing").

I play video games. I particularly like multiplayer games (several players fighting each other) and I especially like cooperative games (several players working together to fight other things). As I’ve mentioned before, it’s a good way for my separated friends to spend time together.

The two most recent games to serve this purpose are Gears of War 2 and Left 4 Dead. Gears of War 2 continues the original Gears story of testosterone fueled warrior-thugs fighting testosterone fueled alien-thugs (who may not actually be aliens). It’s a shameless exercise in bad-assery. Left 4 Dead, on the other hand, skips the testosterone clichés and instead focuses on zombie movie clichés. Indeed, it’s pretty much based on zombie movie clichés, deliberately and proudly so.

But I’m not really interested in comparing the games. I’m more interested in comparing the avatars we use to play the games. Both games do avatars a little differently than other games we’re used to. Most shooter games I’ve played, like Halo, give you a character model and let you choose the colors to adorn it. Other games give you a set of tools to craft an avatar yourself. Most of my friends use those tools to craft cartoon approximations of themselves.


Both Left 4 Dead and Gears of War, however, have already made the avatars for you and all you can do is pick one. This allows them to offer detailed character models that are also dramatically different from each other while still fitting into the story context. Considering that each game is highly dependent on cooperative gameplay, this makes sense. I can pretty much tell at a glance who I’m looking at and know immediately who to yell at for getting in my line of fire (or, more accurately, who I should be apologizing to). In the heat of the battle we’ll use character names if we can’t remember who the human player is behind the mask. “Cole you’ve got incoming on your left!” is much easier to both say and interpret than “Red guy with the yellow skull symbol.”

We do try to be consistent, though, because “Diehl” is even easier to interpret than “Cole.” So we play the same characters whenever the games permit. In Gears of War, Diehl is always Cole, Pennock is always Tai, and I’m always Baird. The goal is to reach a point where I see “Cole” and I think “Diehl.”

Apparently we’re being consistent across games, too. It wasn’t planned, which makes it even more interesting. Now two games does not constitute a trend, but I’m going to treat it as one anyway. In Left 4 Dead, Diehl plays Louis and Pennock plays Francis. For those of you who are not familiar with these characters, let me provide you with some pictures:



Curious. Diehl always plays as a black man, and Pennock always plays as the tattooed guy. I wonder what that says about them? Is it video games as wish-fulfillment? Or could be video-games as a chance to be “other”?

Perhaps I shouldn’t wonder too hard. After all, I play Zoe.

Johnny Lee!

Johnny Lee is awesome. More awesome possibly than even I am. That's pretty awesome. Want proof? Watch the video below.



I spotted this on one of the design blogs I read (Core77, if you must know - their writeup on the video is a nice compliment). I sort of skimmed past it, but the name caught by attention and I backtracked. It was indeed my friend from UVa! I was very excited to see someone I know. Then I watched the video. Then I shared the video with every person in my class, probably twice. Then I read his website, checked out his projects, and browsed his photos. A day later, one of my professors passed around a copy of Make magazine during a discussion and there, on page 84, was Johnny's $14 steady cam. I'll say it again, Johnny Lee is awesome.

Who is Johnny Lee? Many of my readers know him, or have met him even if they don't remember it. I went to UVa with him, we were both in the Rodman Scholars together and shared a number of classes. Even before he got there, he had already patented a 360 degree camera and continued to awe the Rodmans from that point forward (a pretty impressive group themselves). Watch carefully at the minute mark in the video above and you'll spot the electric cello he designed and built in a group project our freshman year. He's at Carnegie Mellon now, pursuing his doctorate (it doesn't stand a chance). Aside from being incredibly intelligent, he's also one of the nicest people I know (and I know a lot of nice people). I'm delighted and excited for him that he's doing so well.

With this video, it's entirely possible he just revolutionized video gaming. I can't wait to see what he does next.

Men are from Delta Halo

Video gaming is still a predominantly male pastime. In my social group, this is certainly the case. Most of the girls play one or two games, but the guys spend a far greater amount of time at it. As Penrock and I have recently discussed, this is having a curious effect on the paths of communication within our group. The girls call and email each other periodically, but the boys play together over Xbox Live on a more regular basis. Significant information is flowing through that channel faster than through the women's channel. Xbox Live has served host to such important announcements as a pregnancy, a new house, two new jobs, and an engagement (not all for the same couple).

The trouble with this particular communication channel is that it has men on either side, and as far as their wives and girlfriends are concerned, they're not conveying enough details. It is unclear as yet whether this is because the men are distracted by gunfire during the conversation, or if it's because as guys, we just don't think to ask. Regardless of the reason, it's driving the girls crazy. We get the big news first, but are completely unable to answer their questions about it when we relay it to them. The guys cannot tell them when the baby is due, what the fiance's name is, when the move will be happening, or who the new job is with..

So it's not the boradest band of communication. It does at least serve as a prompt for the ladies to call each other and retrieve further information.

I suspect this is a similar phenomenon to that experienced with poker games, sports nights, and other regular traditionally male gatherings. The difference here is that this network, thanks to Xbox Live, exists across hundreds of miles.

Hmm, maybe I better get one of those Xbx360 things for myself. It might be prudent.

WHEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

The Wii (pronounced "wee") from Nintendo arrived in stores this weekend, and I do not own one. I thought about it, and if I still had a salary I'm sure I would, but money is an issue, and there's a lot of hype to wade through before we find out what this thing can really do, so I'm holding off. Eventually, probably, just not now. We'll see what develops.

In the meantime, it's probably about time I finally talk to YOU about this device. I have mentioned it a number of times, always promising to devote an entry to it later. Well, this is that entry. [Those of you who do not play videogames, stick with me, this might be interesting to you, too. Maybe. Nintendo certainly hopes so.]

What is the Wii and why am I excited about it?

The Wii is Nintendo's newest video game console. As they would have it, however, it's a console for everyone, not just gamers. The Wii brings something new to gaming, a control system centered around motion-sensing. They've done other things as well, such as introducing a revamped "channel" interaction system (get the weather every morning from your Wii), providing connectivity for wireless networks, and offering every previous Nintendo game as downloadable content. That's all nice (well more than nice, even if the wifi option shows little signs of any actual application in the games themselves yet), but the Big Deal is the motion-controller - known as the Wiimote.

There is a concept in gaming, and I'm including other types of gaming besides the electronic, known as "Orthogonal Unit Differentiation" (I'm stealing most of this paragraph, to a greater or lesser degree from a powerpoint presentation by Harvey Smith of Ion Storm). It refers to the creation of game units with different functions or abilities along entirely different "orthogonal" axes. This means the abilities are not just different but non-stackable so that no amount of Unit A will ever be able to compensate for a lack in Unit B. Imagine three games units - a Soldier, a Big Soldier, and a Boat. The Soldier does 4 damage to enemy units. The Big Soldier does 8 damage to enemy units, and the Boat enables other units to cross water terrain. Two Soldiers can replace one Big Soldier, but no amount of Soldiers will ever reproduce the abilities of the Boat, and no amount of Boats will ever be able to reproduce the abilities of the Soldiers. Thus Boat and Soldier are orthogonal. The Soldier and the Big Soldier are not.

Why am I telling you this? Well, it turns out that this concept has application outside of games. It's actually a pretty useful design concept in general and in this discussion applies to the consoles themselves instead of the games they run.

The last company to introduce what I consider to be an orthogonal development, an additional ability that grants players access to something new instead of simply improving what already exists, was Microsoft with their "Xbox Live" online service. This time it's Nintendo. To see what I mean first look at the other consoles. The Playstation 3 came out last week as well. It represents a significant jump forward in graphics capability, data storage, and processing speed over the Playstation 2. The Xbox 360 (which came out around this time last year) is also a large leap forward in graphics, data storage, and processing speed over the original Xbox, and includes some additional features and options for the Xbox Live service. Both of these consoles are taking steps along existing axes, and the biggest steps (or in Sony's case, only steps) are along the processing power axis. These two consoles are competing head to head, and they have determined that this is the arena and these are the measurements which define victory. They're going from Soldier to Big Soldier. Nintendo seems to have shrugged, and said "Well, that's nice, but what about Boats?" The Wii barely surpasses the Gamecube (Nintendo's previous console) in processing power, but Nintendo has decided to proceed along a different axis, specifically, the controls.

The Xbox controls and the PS3 controls haven't changed much in several generations. They are, and always have been, buttons and joysticks. There have been minor modifications (more buttons, a vibration feature, a more ergonomic grip) but no significant differences. The Wiimote does something new. It detects and responds to motions in three axes - up/down, left/right, and forward/back. This means making a swatting motion with the controller to play a tennis game, thrusting to stab an enemy with a sword, or pointing to aim a gun. That's a very new experience. It's also (hopefully) much more intuitive than the current buttons and joysticks arrangement. Nintendo has stepped away from the powergamer and is hoping to woo the non-gamers, those people who haven't played games because they simply do not enjoy them. No amount of improved graphics is going to draw in such a person, but a new way to play just might.

We'll see if it does. As I said, Nintendo has introduced a number of other refinements and most of them seem aimed at distancing themselves from the "traditional" console approach. I'm very interested to see how this turns out. I'm also very interested to play a swordfighting game where I actually get to swing a sword.

WELL, I CARE

E3 is happening right now, well, it’s happening as I write this [actually, the dates are wrong – for a variety of reasons, this post has been backdated]. By the time I type it up and post it, E3 will be over and done with. Its repercussions will, however, still be . . . repurcussing. That’s what it’s for, after all.

E3 is the Electronic Entertainment Expo. It’s a videogame conference, or rather THE videogame conference, much like the Oscars is THE film awards show (except E3 happens before the games come out, not after, and the self-congratulatory backpatting is referred to as “marketing” instead of “awards”). This is where “electronic entertainment” companies wave their hands in the air, make fabulous promises (that many won’t keep, but which some will exceed), and in general try to woo the hearts, minds, and wallets of the gaming community. It is a time for big announcements. This one, in particular, has been much anticipated.

See, this is a nextgen year. The major console manufacturers have just put out their product (Microsoft’s Xbox360) or intend to do so before the year is up (Sony PS3, Nintendo Wii). This E3 has been our first real glimpse (as much as anything at E3 is ever “real”) at those last two. Both Sony and Nintendo are revealing secrets, abilities, and release details. Even Xbox, which has been out since November, had some new and exciting things to talk about.

Here are a few of the announcements that interested me:

Nintend Wii –Nintendo didn’t say as much as they could have (still no price and no specific release date), but what they did say was pretty cool. Here’s a quick link to their announcement, but my discussion of it will have to wait. This console deserves a post of its own for reasons even non-gamers may find personally relevant.
Why non-gamers should care: see future post

Halo 3 – If you don’t know what Halo is, I’m not going to be able to get you any more excited. For those of you who do know what I’m talking about: Bungie has produced the first teaser trailer for the final (yes, I said final) installment of the Halo series. The launch date has been revised from “probably in the future” to “2007.” That’s not very specific, but considering the studio was not willing to admit they were even working on the game until E3, it’s a good deal more specific than it has been.
Why non-gamers should care: The guys will be playing something new at beachweek next year.

World of Warcraft – The expansion race has been declared. I’m excited. People who are interested in the expansion pack are excited (and given WoW’s tremendous popularity, that’s a pretty big group), but that has very little relevance for non-gamers.
Why non-gamers should care: They probably shouldn’t care about that. But what might affect them are Blizzard’s plans to make a movie out of this universe. Non-gamers you may have to put up with that in the not too distant future (although they’re using the same studio that created Batman Begins, so here’s hoping they produce a piece of similar excellence).

PS3 – The 3^rd generation of Playstation is going to cost way more than I’m willing to pay. While it’s not GOOD news, per se. It’s still relevant to me. One less console on my shelf.
Why non-gamers should care: this is not just a part of the console-wars, it’s also going to play a role in deciding the primary format for our next generation of DVD-players. Sony is using the PS3 as a way to get their chosen format (Blu-ray) out into the wild. In fact, the inclusion of a Blu-ray player in the PS3 is the very reason for the high price. This will affect you eventually in much the same way the betamax-VHS battles did.

There are, of course, many other announcements, booths, and exhibits going on throughout E3. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are just the current industry giants – the 800 pound gorillas.

If you have any interest in videogames, take a look at some of the links. I you don’t, well, wait a week and I’ll talk about something else.

How about cooking? I’ll talk about that. (Did you know the Wii is going to have a cooking game? You use the motion-controller to cut vegetables, sautee the. . .)

ALL IN A NAME

Nintendo recently announced the official name of their next generation of console. Up to this point, it has been known as “The Revolution.” That, however, was a codename only., a placeholder until they came up with the real name. That real name is “The Wii” (pronounced “we”).

As you might have guessed, this name has caused a lot of discussion and more than a little name calling. Actually, the word “discussions” implies civility, which is a concept the internet struggles with. So in the interest of keeping this PG, and not exposing my poor readers to language that would challenge a pirate, I’ll restrict my links to those few pockets of the internet that DO practice civility. Here’s someone who hates the name “Wii.” Here is someone who does not hate the name “Wii” (finding someone who admits to liking it is a little harder). Thanks to Slashdot for pointing me to these in the first place.

The official announcement, which I recommend you take a look at, shows a flash animation and is accompanied by text that describes what the name means.

One of the negative responses to that intro (which appears on the page I linked above) claims “anytime a company starts explaining their brand name, it’s a bad sign.” Other naysayers have similar comments.

Eh, that’s an easy argument to make, and it sounds good, but meaning that must be explained should not be so easily dismissed.

I should probably pause here and admit that I have no marketing experience or training so I’m not “professionally” qualified to comment on this. Fortunately for me, this is the internet and those sorts of “credentials” are not required here.

Nintendo is trying to turn Wii into a symbol, to use a simple form to express a complex concept. Unfortunately for them there is no symbol for "innovative social games that even nongamers will enjoy using a totally new kind of controller and please do not think of this in the same category as any other game system this is something completely different" which is what they are trying to convey. So they had to make their own symbol: The Wii. In order for a new symbol to become a symbol, it has to first be explained. How many people could have told you Nike was the Greek goddess of victory BEFORE the sneakers came out?

It’s kind of a hard name to like at first glance. It is, however, the name. No matter how much the internet whines, this machine IS going to be called The Wii. And Nintendo has its reasons, many of which they have told us (including the fact that it’s a name both Americans and Japanese can pronounce). I’m okay with those reasons. Eventually, I’m pretty sure the name won’t sound strange anymore. The system, from what I’ve heard so far, has enough appeal for me that I plan to get one no matter what they call it.

[Note: The actual announcement was the last week in April. This entry was added later and backdated – see 5/16 entry for the reasons]

ODDS AND ENDS

Here are a few observations I've been meaning to make but which are not really worthy of their own individual entry. So I'm grouping them together, even though they really don't have much to do with each other

UNDERCOATING AND VALET PROTECTION
My car, a Honda Civic, is equipped with a few features specifically designed to foil valets attempting to get into my trunk without my permission. I received, with my regular key, a valet key that will not work to open my trunk. I appreciate the concerns of the designers, those valets can be a crafty and nefarious bunch. I would like to point out, however, something they may have missed, namely that it's a Honda Civic. I have nothing against the car itself, I am actually quite fond of it and intend (and can reasonably expect) to drive it for a long long time. But it's not exactly the car of the glitterati. The people who prefer valets to do their parking for them do not drive anything so sensible as a Civic. The people frugal enough to buy a Civic in the first place are not likely to spend the money they save in mileage on valets. So, as a Civic owner, I'm not really afraid of valets and do not believe the security measures (and the few frustrations they cause) are necessary. Unless you're talking about the roving bands of valets who sometimes stalk the streets at night. Those valets I am afraid of.

MACHINIMA
This is an interesting concept and one that proves a lot of people really have more time than they know what to do with. Basically, it is a form of animation using game engines. Manipulate the characters on screen, record the result, cut and edit, throw in the sounds you want, and you've got your own puppet show made with digital puppets. The best known example of this (at least in my world) is Red vs. Blue which uses the game Halo (and more recently Halo 2) to perform skits. It's absolutely hilarious. Jamie (the fellow who posts comments long enough to make you wonder whether he thinks this is his own blog site) introduced me to the first season and I couldn't stop laughing. But beyond the hilarity, its form is fascinating to me (a recent reintroduction to RvB is what brought this topic to my mind). There are people who have used various games like Balder's Gate to recreate movies and plays or to make up their own stories. Greg Kostikyan talked about it in his blog some time ago. It's an example of the many ways we find to entertain ourselves with tools and games well beyond their original intended use (think kids and cardboard boxes).

THAT'S IT
No really, I have nothing else to say today.