MoCap with Kinect 2.0 in Project Spark

So a lot of people have called the Kinect a useless tool for gaming. I never entirely disagreed with that sentiment, though I'd always knew I was going to keep an open mind until more people had interacted with it. 

No games (until Gamescom) were specifically mentioned with Kinect in mind, aside from Kinect Sports Rivals. Now, Ubisoft's The Fighter Within is being made, and it doesn't even look very good.

This continues the assertion that the Kinect isn't a good peripheral for gaming. 

Then, this http://kotaku.com/xbox-ones-game-making-project-spark-can-record-mo-cap-1174219557 story broke. Essentially, in the newest Minecraft-style building game, Project Spark, you can use your Kinect to motion capture and then put said captured models in the game.

Given that eventually every Xbox One will be a dev kit, and that you can use the Kinect 2.0 to Motion Capture in your living room,  is this not the most innovative feature of the next gen for either console? Seeing this MoCap idea fleshed out over the years can only be incredible, especially for indie developers.

Thoughts?

Its a shame but not a shock Project Spark has been pushed back from launch to 'sometime next year'. Its better to do it right than to do it fast.

Also, its unfortunate there doesn't seem to be anything clearly identifiable as mocap footage floating around the net.

Anyway, here's a link to my old Project Spark thread and a couple screenshots I found when looking for mocap footage.

http://www.gamespot.com/forums/topic/29426091/newish-impressions-of-the-very-impressive-project-spark

Sounds neat, and smart use of the camera. However, I still don't know enough about the game to know how it would be used. Is the mo-cap applied to NPCs?

Sounds neat, and smart use of the camera. However, I still don't know enough about the game to know how it would be used. Is the mo-cap applied to NPCs?

shellcase86

[QUOTE="shellcase86"]

Sounds neat, and smart use of the camera. However, I still don't know enough about the game to know how it would be used. Is the mo-cap applied to NPCs?

CarnageHeart

That's pretty amazing.

I saw this on kinect earlier and thought it was a horrible use of the device.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01y1vXBl1-8#t=4m25s

Only cool thing in that video is the kinect knowing who it is when you exchange controllers, amazing, no need to switch users or change settings.

Then I read this and thought wow, now that is awesome.

dvader654

And least we forget that the Kinect 2 also turns your TV into a smart TV. :o

Ok in all seriousness...And I m stating the obvious here. .This device really seems to be geared towards the casual gamer.  Just look at Kinect Rivals for example by Rare. Party game in my mind.

Here's an interesting video with some mocap in it (at the 7.30 mark).

Here's a Neogaf thread which contains of ton of link to Project Spark sites including a Reddit forum which gets really deep into the weeds. Below is an example of a question and answer from the reddit forum.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=660061

http://www.reddit.com/r/projectsparkgame/

About PS Physics (self.projectsparkgame)

submitted 3 daysago by re_kinect

Can you control drag, buoyancy, down force, gravity, speed, angular and linear velocities, etc... if you make squirrel mx game does it have the

DO if right trigger press move WHEN wheels are touching the ground

if i'm turn a corner can i make a squirrel cart drift?

Does it have wind?

Can you control how it interacts with different surfaces. i.e. sliding on ice. slowing down in mud

This would be a good to do a show about. Just controlling physics.

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[+]mescadXboxOne/PC 3 points4 points5 points 2 days ago (0 children)

[]mescadXboxOne/PC 3 points4 points5 points2 days ago

drag - yes buoyancy - yes (with density) down force - not sure gravity - yes speed - yes velocities - I think so

DO if right trigger press move WHEN wheels are touching the ground

Seems possible.

Squirrel cart drift?

Combining the above, it seems possible.

wind?

There are wind effects. If there is not actual push-you-around wind, you could fake it fairly easily.

Can you control how it interacts with different surfaces. i.e. sliding on ice. slowing down in mud

Yes

This would be a good to do a show about. Just controlling physics.

A new Project Spark demo was posted yesterday (which the creator mentioned in the neogaf Project Spark thread). It shows a tiny bit of character creation (only the clothing selection and choosing colors) and it shows how you can alter the character's movement speed, jumping abilities and give them the ability to fly. Its also worth mentioning that you can customize the character's brain (AI).

One really cool thing the designers showed is level links, which give players the ability to connect to different worlds. The level link feature starts at the 7:20 mark.

A somewhat interesting Project Spark video just hit the net (credit for the find to the Neogaf). It sounds like you can share individual objects with the community. In LBP one has to visit a creator's level to obtain their objects, In Project Spark it sounds like make you could type in 'demon' and scan through a list of user created demons, which would be pretty awesome. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it. Time will tell.

The guy does go into great detail about the programming language one uses to mold the AI. Very interesting stuff. Also, there is a fight at the beginning which shows the player character punching and flipping off a lumbering troll.

The demo ends by highlighting some of the cool stuff the community has done.

http://www.vg247.com/2013/09/03/team-dakota-shows-vg247-how-to-make-a-game-in-project-spark/

Also I found an ancient (5 days old!) but interesting Polygon interview.

http://www.polygon.com/2013/8/31/4677308/project-spark-shattered-any-foresight-its-developers-had

"We thought we had foresight, until people started building, and then we had no foresight," Persson said. "People have an appetite for coming up with new mechanics and showing us things we never thought about. "

Persson said that while the team expected players to use the game to tell their own stories, they didn't realize how far their interest would extend. In one of the more impressive displays Persson has seen, a user created a tribute to Miami Vice, complete with car chases and boat explosions. Every time the team playtest, Persson said, they see something new.

Does anyone know if is gonna be possible using the new Kinect sensor as Mo Cap device for pc?

I mean with softwares like Maya, Motion Builder, IPI mo cap studio. Recording body, face and fingers animations?

Thanks

Gabriele

@supergab851: I know there is a special PC version of Kinect 2.0 in the works but I don't know any details.