Fable developer Peter Molyneux believes that
Microsoft's Project Natal could prove to be as important to home technology as the PC mouse.
Molyneux said that the mouse revolutionised home computing - but that Natal "could end up [with developers] creating something we can't even imagine now".
However, the Lionhead boss predicted that day one Natal titles would be far less game-changing - forecasting they would be "the obvious stuff".
He told Gamereactor: "[A hardcore gamer's] brain can decipher the emotions through the controller, but for most other people who aren't used to the controller or find them frustrating, they don't even begin to get the same emotion.
"Maybe Natal is in a way more for them. But I'd say this: IF you're thinking Natal is going to give you another version of an FPS, you're just not thinking broadly enough. After all, it was the invention of the mouse that gave us computing as it is today - not the invention of the microprocessor. That's how we ended up controlling our PCs.
"The mouse was the real revolution of the PC - not the Intel processor. And who's to say Natal [couldn't] end up creating something you and I can't even imagine now. It forces us to approach technology in a completely different way. Before the mouse, we only had the keyboard... That one little £9.95 device changed everything about computing. And things like Natal can be a bigger change."
Molyneux added: "My personal opinion is that the first wave of titles [for Natal] that come out will be polished and really good, but they'll be the obvious stuff. Even when a new console comes out it takes [developers] a while to get our heads round it."
Molyneux demo'd his own Milo for Natal at E3 2009.
duck for cover here comes the sony fanboys ready to slate this, starting with starsail calling it a eyetoy then giving us a unfair list of exclusives by purposely missing out 360 titles. then we will have hitman bazza giving us a disturbing sexual reference about his ps3, obv i will be slated because i am not pro sony and will receive abuse. *sigh*
any way i am intruiged by natal it could have mind blowing potentional and NO-ONE shud judge it till they see it involved with games and theve showing us some proper demos *hopes for gears of war rts with natal support*
its too out there to be as important as the mouse. no buttons will come back to bite them. despite what they say, i dont think it will be as flexible as the sony wand. which i dont like either, but having an 'anchor' to hold is important.
i think it must fault at mapping the entire body, the entire time. especially moving in and out of the sensor, at different angles and distances, different players' heights etc... at least the ps3 effort will be able to detect the glowing bellend at all times.
Natal is as revolutionary as 3DTV, people will buy it yes but it will not become anything more than a gimmick. For Molyneux to claim something as bold as that is nothing new either, he hyped up Fable 1 to the point of ridiculousness and is now shoving out Fable 3 pretty damned quick. People play games mainly with a controller, it is the quickest way to get an action the player wants the character on screen to make. The Wii wasn't revolutionary either, Nintendo took a control pad, split it in two, and added a light gun. The way Molyneux is banging on would make it seem as if millions of millions of people who wouldn't touch a videogame with a ten foot pole are going to come flocking to play. It isn't some miracle machine. It is a gimmick cashing in on Nintendo's cow.
Oh, Molyneux says it's revolutionary? I was worried Microsoft were giving their product too much hype-service, but golly, I believe Molyneux. I mean, it's not like he'd ever over hype something in the games industry or anything.
Oh, Molyneux says it's revolutionary? I was worried Microsoft were giving their product too much hype-service, but golly, I believe Molyneux. I mean, it's not like he'd ever over hype something in the games industry or anything.
lol Agreed. Given his previous track record, i`ll take that with a grain of salt.
I don't care what console guys have to say about this statement. I want to hear from PC users who are playing FPS games claiming that mouse is an ultimate tool for it.
I don't care what console guys have to say about this statement. I want to hear from PC users who are playing FPS games claiming that mouse is an ultimate tool for it.
Well, I would have to say it's a very useful tool for playing fps games. However, if it had never been invented then someone would have come up with something else that did the job. I reckon though that I would be much more screwed if I didn't have a monitor...
So, would anyone prefer to stand in front of tv holding and shooting an'air gun' or use mouse instead? From the other point of (non gamer) view, could natal work instead of mouse as a tool to access internet/programs on the computer? Hell no. It will end as wii alongside with wand/arc, as something to gather casuals to the core platform.
First off I agree it won't be the revolution he's claiming but....
"its too out there to be as important as the mouse"
People lost their f**king minds when they first saw an arrow moving round a screen from a mouse. I remember seeing in on Tony Hart and wondering what kind of voodoo it was.
Also - the mouse was an idea R&D'd by Xerox that apple bought cos Xerox were going to chuck it out, so it also shows that products that people can't get their heads round can make a massive difference if they're properly developed for by someone that understands their potential.
It has potential, but i see it more as a feature in tvs, to access menu, volume down/up or changing channels by waving hands or telling celebrities to f**k off my screen. It all was before, motion sensing, head tracking, voice recognition, but not all in one device. So why this time it will be something revolutionary? Or am i missing something?
It's weird that the game developers themselves say that Natal might create something never before seen, if only the developers figure out what it is.
Well, if you developers don't know what it is, then, I'm sorry, Natal will get just the "obvious stuff". Bowling. Baseball. Fishing. Talking with a virtual kid. Snoozefest for the Wii-people.
I have yet to see or hear anything innovative being done with Natal. It will become one of those long-forgotten gimmick toys that websites make fun of in 10-20 years time.
And just to clarify, I own a X360. Not a Sony fanboi.
Time will tell. Eye pet and Wii always spring to mind both being fun novelty items I expect Natal to be no different. I'm not even commenting on the wand thing because I've not much interest in the whole motion control thing.
I'm just curious here but if I have Natal..and play it on a 3D TV, Will I be able to slap Milo around? or wander round Bowerstone market really genuinely groping women etc...
Head traking? I'm always confused by this, why would you want it? If I turn my head......... I'm no longer looking at the TV screen! So I fail to see how this works.
Head traking? I'm always confused by this, why would you want it? If I turn my head......... I'm no longer looking at the TV screen! So I fail to see how this works.
You can't turn your eyes independently of your head? The idea is that you move your head slightly, and the movement of your ingame head is exaggerated. It is still perfectly possible to see the TV. PC simulation users have been doing this for years, thanks to TrackIR. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wXx3vMy_AQ
Look..Peter Molyneaux might look like Golems brother but he might be onto something, after all he's played it more than us.
You lot are always to quick to right things off before you have had a go..I have said so much before...for me it will be about the level of interaction you will be able to have with games...like fable were you can interact with the characters like Milo, and Pete is bound to bang on about it, its his precciouusss
Wasn't the mouse a revolution not an evolution of someones product of 6 years ago.Whatever you say about tech,Natal is an evolution of Eyetoy and Pete loves to overhype,and of course MS pay his wages now. The only 3rd party comment I've read was from Travellers Tales and he said it had lag and was less interesting than Sonys wand.
I don`t doubt that it doesnt have potential. It`s the man that`s saying all this, that makes me wary, is all. I like both Fables but they were both overhyped.
Aye, many people were mocking the Wii before it was released. I was one of them.
Now I'm sat here (still) eating humble pie.
Natal could potentially be awesome- but it's up to the developers to use that potential. Roll on Fable 3!
While what you say is true, this is coming from the man who, to quote someone else's post from another site: "eats hyperbole for breakfast". He bigs up everything of his own yet its never anything more than just 'good'.
Having said that, if we ignore him and Microsoft's big ups, its might do well. But like you say about devs, I also wonder how they'll tackle it. They seem to struggle with the Wii and still to some extent do now. Granted this offers more, but I'm still very sceptical
I've been gaming for a long time now and have never heard of anyone using a head tracking device, so I can only asume its used by people playing microsoft flight sims. I don't see how this is going to revolutionise gaming, but then I could just lack the imagination to see how it works. It sounds very much like a next gen eye toy and look at the games that came out for that! How do are they going to be able to do much else I keep asking myself? Driving games without need for a wheel.... maybe but how do you use the peddals? FPS's maybe....... head tracking for view but what about forward/backward movement?
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Pete mate no i dont think so.
