NaturalMotion for Next-Gen Animation / "Motion Synthesis"

[Haoshiro]

IGN recently posted an article on Indiana Jones (http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/702/702389p1.html) (next-gen) and it's use of euphoria, an advanced animation system developed by NaturalMotion (http://www.naturalmotion.com/).

This stuff sounds and looks amazing, looks like what I have been waiting to see in games!

[Abulia]

Ah, this isn't what I thought it was.

A few years ago there was a company (Virutal Motion?) who had a device that hooked on the back side of your ear, kinda like a Bluetooth headset, that sent electrical impulses to a nerve ending back there. This is the area of the brain responsible for the sense of motion and balance. By using an SDK, a game could send motion data to the device which would then simulate (via electrical impulses) the movement in your brain. So if you were flying and dove your plane down, you felt the plane dive down.

They did demos at CES, had working units, and a release date. Then they just disappeared....

I guess they were the Phantom of gaming accessories, but they never made any outlandish claims on when it would be available.

I'm still hopeful someone does something like this eventually. Coolest gaming technology application that I'd heard of.

[Edit] Found their website. Looks like it hasn't been updated...well, forever. http://www.virtual-motion.com
MotionWare represents a paradigm shift in the art of virtual reality. Instead of relying on optical illusions, moving the screen image to give you the visual impression of movement, our system uses a scaled-down version of widely-used medical technology to create the sensation of actual movement by stimulating the neurological system. Just put on the headset, and you feel every movement as if you were there! Move from stereo to the virtual reality equivalent of surround sound for less than $100.

MotionWare uses galvanic stimulation of the vestibular system--that is, electronic stimulation that influences the user's sense of balance.

Oh, sorry for the OT post! :)

[Haoshiro]

Still, that sounds awesome too :D

[Sdashiki]

I know lots of games lately have guys "slump" against a wall if they die next to one. But no matter what things happen and they end up half inside boxes, walls or other items.

I am glad to see someone writing an engine for physical contact between objects.

Now if someone would just write the Ghoul II engine into new games, Id be alot happier. That engine was in Soldier of Fortune, and pretty much nothing else. And not ONE game I know of even tries to come close to its abilities to simulate damage.