Leap motion controller looks better than Kinect

THIS looks pretty cool. It's for the PC, too, although that looks like Mac display.

Leap motion controller looks better than Kinect

Looks like something I would expect from Nintendo.

I was getting ready to spout a smartass sarcastic remark, but that does look pretty damn cool.

As in, not just cool, but truly practical for a lot of games - unlike Kinect.

This sort of input device, like it or not, will be the future. I think it's cool that the technology is getting better and better.

Agreed. (both on the cool and future!)

When I was doing my MBA back in the late 90's, I took an entrepreneurship class where we had to build a business plan. One guy did his around an idea he had patented (he already had a PhD) for essentially a keyboardless keyboard. You'd put something on your wrist that would track your movements while you typed on any surface (presumably with some type of outline to show you where the keys were). It would be customizable so that if you regularly hit an R for instance when you meant a T, it would learn and gradually adjust to where you typed when you meant T.

Most of the people in our class thought he was nuts. My roommate told me just wait 10 years and that will be the norm. Not quite there yet, but the Wii first came out, I immediately thought of that guy.

Yeah, bulky keyboards and mice won't be the norm forever. I'm just surprised how quickly the technology is coming about.

Some day people will have mouse and (like you said) keyboard emulators for old games.

The problem with such controllers for games is the complete lack of tactile feedback, which is why the Kinect turned out to be pretty poor for many traditional game types (though there were games that it worked really well for as well), so I don't think these types of controls will completely replace our traditional input methods for games. It would not surprise me if they become the norm for both consoles & PCs in a not too distant future though, as a for of complementary controller.

Making a "gun" with my hand and shooting people like that is plenty tactile for me, I think.

That's something the Kinect could never do.

I expected this level of precision - at some point, but not so soon, and not so elegantly. I'm really impressed.

Personally, I think it would get old pretty fast.

That sort of gimmick would only be fun for short sessions imo. Do you really want to be holding your arm up like that for hours at a time?

Not the future.

Originally Posted by JDR13
Personally, I think it would get old pretty fast.

That sort of gimmick would only be fun for short sessions imo. Do you really want to be holding your arm up like that for hours at a time?

I don't think you have to hold it up when you're not shooting people. But, yeah, I think it would be cool to put up my hand and shoot like that when it's called for.

But, like with so many things, it depends on the implementation. I don't see myself playing complex RPGs in that way - but for immersion, I'm convinced it could be a great addition for certain games.

These sort of aspects can be tweaked to make it comfortable. The lack of tactical feedback is a good point, though.

Near future it seem, in video certainly you can see a nice presentation but I wonder how it will work and if the ppl who can dedicate 709.8 hrs to a single game product will want to use this technology and be comfortable with it.

If it is sensitive enough, the amount of movement could be less than using a mouse. For example, tracking eyes, and any other body part for that matter.

I would't be surprised if this gets quickly superceded by a direct connection to one's nerves/brain, obviating the need for any muscular movement whatsover.

I highly doubt that particular device will ever be as comfortable as a mouse.

Don't get me wrong, it's pretty neat. I just don't think hardcore gamers will have much use for it.

Originally Posted by JDR13
I highly doubt that particular device will ever be as comfortable as a mouse.

Don't get me wrong, it's pretty neat. I just don't think hardcore gamers will have much use for it.

Depends on what you mean by hardcore gamers - and even hardcore gamers can enjoy new toys.

But, let's say you're playing an online shooter for 30-60 minutes. Did you watch that video? I'm pretty sure I'd be more precise with my hand than with my mouse - and I'm pretty good at shooters. Not saying it would be comfortable for extended play - but for hardcore shooter fans, I actually think it could be better than a mouse for short periods of time.

There's no reason you couldn't have both your mouse and that device active at the same time. So, you could move around - and then quickly switch to your hand for the actual shooting - and back to the mouse for movement. Stuff like that.

I'm definitely going to try it - anyway

I didn't say it wouldn't be precise, but there's no way of knowing if it would be more precise than a mouse just from watching a video.

As far as switching from the device to a mouse and vice versa, yeah, I think it would be necessary to be able to do that mid-game.

Hopefully the developers don't have the Nintendo mindset that you should be forced to play with their device the entire time.

Unless they "cheated" in that video - I'd say it's obviously more precise. Unless, of course, you can comfortably hit ~5 targets in 2 seconds with a mouse. I can do that on a really good day, I suppose, but not in general. But looks like it will be possible with this device.

I'm willing to bet there's some kind of aiming assistance in action there. Have you actually tried holding out your hand in front of your monitor like that and emulating what they're showing? I have, and I can't imagine that it's more precise than a mouse. In fact, I'd say that's pretty much impossible without modifying the hit detection.

Originally Posted by JDR13
I'm willing to bet there's some kind of aiming assistance in action there. Have you actually tried holding out your hand in front of your monitor like that and emulating what they're showing? I have, and I can't imagine that it's more precise than a mouse. In fact, I'd say it's pretty much impossible without modifying the hit detection.

Yeah, of course I have

It reminds me of the arcade games with a plastic pistol. They can be really precise, actually

But you need a crosshair - of course, and you can't hit shit without it. Just like with a mouse. But with a crosshair - you get the best of both worlds.