GeekTyrant

When the action flick Minority Report hit the silver screen, I remember being wowed by the futuristic operations center which was the main focus of the movie. People moving information from screen to screen with a flick of the wrist, looking up suspects and whizzing through data by doing nothing more than moving their fingers. The technology seemed so far away.. and what a difference just a few short years have made.

Today we have similar wonders, including the multi-touch screen, and now.. Project Natal. We have seen glimpses of this project, hints at what it can do. How it will be integrated with XBox Live and the Live Vision Camera. How interactive it will be with friends, products, and games. Until now though we haven't seen it in action, with a game that requires constant input. A video was leaked showing what appears to be Halflife 2 being operated through Project Natal's interface.

No Audio. The video was shot from behind, almost as if the Natal operator was unaware of the video footage. Because of this, we are not sure if this was an approved release, or released without permission.

Regardless of the level of approval, the concept of this leaked footage is amazing; to be able to control an FPS like Half-Life 2 through the motions of one's hand.  I just don't think the technology is mature enough to give the precise control that an FPS player requires. I can think of a lot more fun, and.. interesting applications for the technology. Ones that would be more intuitive, and less precise, than the pinpoint accuracy needed to snipe someone across the map in a game like HL2. Platformers, RPGs, puzzle games, and just about anything else (maybe not RTS) would seem to be great for this Project Natal interface.

Either way, the silent film definitely seems to be that of the popular shooter. You can see 1/4 of the way through the video, the female Half Life character, Alyx Vance runs infront of the screen.

The real focus for me is not the fact that HL2 is being played through a control interface that really isn't suited for it - you can control an FPS with a joystick if you really wanted to, but you wouldn't be very good at it. It is the advancements the industry is making in how we interface with our consoles and our computers that really excites me. Combine something like Natal for actions with something like OCZ's Neural Impulse Actuator for aiming and movement, and suddenly it seems that the future is very near. Imagine aiming with nothing more than a thought, and firing with a pull of your finger on a virtual trigger.

Now THAT would give just about anyone chills of excitement.

What do you think?

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