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Project Natal - Peter Molyneux wants you to touch his child

george-xgeorge-x New YorkRegistered User regular
edited May 2010 in Games and Technology
Microsoft's newest tool for the Xbox 360...at first looked like another rumored MoCap gimmick....

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When i saw this kid doing jump kicks I was pretty skeptical....
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Then the paint app started to pique my curiosity....
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Then this girl goes nuts with the mocap that seems to react really well...
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...And then they introduce Milo.

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Enter: the creepiest demo Microsoft has ever done. This can be amazing - Milo reacts to her facial movements, voice tones, and even SCANS IN a picture she draws and COMMENTS on it. o_O Or it can totally suck, with pre-rendered acting, etc. But they are live-demoing it to a private group throughout E3...so i guess we'll hear about it sooner than later!

From Engadget: Molyneux talking about "a boy called milo" A woman walks up and talks to Milo on screen. he talks back, recognizing her voice, responding to her questions. He reacts with emotion, not robotic voices. Milo shies away as Claire asks if Milo has finished his homework. Milo gives Clair goggles and she 'catches' them. She simply reacts and 'puts them on," now she's putting her hands in the water, as though it were real. Waving the water about, swirling it, trying to touch fish.

Official release:
http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2009/jun09/06-01E3PR.mspx?rss_fdn=Press%20Releases

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Posts

  • LunkerLunker Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    The triumphant return of Dr. Sbaitso!

    Lunker on
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  • CadeCade Eppur si muove.Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    I for one welcome our future AI overlords that will create Skynet.

    Cade on
  • DarlanDarlan Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Cross posted from the E3 thread for discussion/excitement/revulsion
    Monger wrote: »
    Darlan wrote: »
    Seriously though, imagine the Milo concept expanded to a whole town, with people recognizing you and having conversations with continuity from the last one and using the motion controls to interact with the world and maybe farm like Harvest Moon or something...man, this could be awesome.
    This is my perspective. There's limitless potential for amazing things to happen with that tech.

    God help us if Japan gets their slimy tentacles on it, though.

    I know you're not all bad, Japan.
    But you do have a lot of catgirls.
    Yeah, at this point it's just a countdown to see who uses this to make the first truly interactive digital girlfriend.

    ...

    You have to admit it has the potential to outsell anything ever, as antisocial and horrible as it is.

    Darlan on
  • george-xgeorge-x New YorkRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    For such a horribly unevental (MGS notwithstanding) presser, these last 10 minutes were a huge ace in the hole.

    george-x on
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  • BrymBrym Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Anyone know if there's video of the Natale trailer online yet, other than as part of the long press conference? I want to link my friend.

    Brym on
  • LunkerLunker Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Although the title is a bit misleading—the whole AI thing with Milo is separate from Project Natal, which is strictly the motion, face and voice-detecting camera.

    Lunker on
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  • MongerMonger I got the ham stink. Dallas, TXRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Darlan wrote: »
    Cross posted from the E3 thread for discussion/excitement/revulsion
    Monger wrote: »
    Darlan wrote: »
    Seriously though, imagine the Milo concept expanded to a whole town, with people recognizing you and having conversations with continuity from the last one and using the motion controls to interact with the world and maybe farm like Harvest Moon or something...man, this could be awesome.
    This is my perspective. There's limitless potential for amazing things to happen with that tech.

    God help us if Japan gets their slimy tentacles on it, though.

    I know you're not all bad, Japan.
    But you do have a lot of catgirls.
    Yeah, at this point it's just a countdown to see who uses this to make the first truly interactive digital girlfriend.

    ...

    You have to admit it has the potential to outsell anything ever, as antisocial and horrible as it is.
    I think we have finally figured out what it would take to make a Microsoft console move units in Japan:

    Motion sensitive loli-touching sim.

    Seriously, though, Molyneux's presentation sold me on what this kind of tech will eventually be capable of. This seems fill in the interface hole in the full dynamic interactive narrative, and Lionhead may be on to the kind of AI that will govern proper digital actors. Between that, the dynamic soundscapes we've seen in a number of games, and Valve's AI Director work that can be applied to governing a narrative, I can just see enough light to start hoping that it's coming.

    Over the next few years, it'll be interesting to see if we start seeing middleware companies spring up to start popping out robust facial expression and language processing for application in games.
    Did that Doki Doki Mogwai Witch Toucher game even sell in Japan? I don't even know, but I'd assume not.
    Probably needed more catgirls.

    Monger on
  • george-xgeorge-x New YorkRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    True...but it is definitely paving the way for some veeeery interesting technical applications. I'm happy SOMEthing good came from this press conference...I mean..honestly... Yoko Ono?????

    george-x on
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  • BlackDoveBlackDove Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Natal.

    The future of gaming is without a controller.

    Fuck you Natal.

    That is all.

    BlackDove on
  • emnmnmeemnmnme Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    I did like how they added laser beam visual effects to scan that teen's skateboard.

    *pew pew* Scanned.

    emnmnme on
  • Jam WarriorJam Warrior Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Any vids of just the Natal bit out there? Not fussed about the rest of the conference.

    Jam Warrior on
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  • spamfilterspamfilter Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    It's on xbox live.

    spamfilter on
  • Idx86Idx86 Long days and pleasant nights.Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos.

    Idx86 on
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    2008, 2012, 2014 D&D "Rare With No Sauce" League Fantasy Football Champion!
  • SimBenSimBen Hodor? Hodor Hodor.Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    I introduce a motion to put "Peter Molyneux wants you to touch his child" in the thread title.

    SimBen on
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  • PeewiPeewi Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Wait? Milo was part of Natal? I thought it was a seperate thing.

    Peewi on
  • george-xgeorge-x New YorkRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    done and DONE

    george-x on
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  • george-xgeorge-x New YorkRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Peewi wrote: »
    Wait? Milo was part of Natal? I thought it was a seperate thing.


    It is separate, but it cant be done without Natal

    george-x on
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  • DarlanDarlan Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Peewi wrote: »
    Wait? Milo was part of Natal? I thought it was a seperate thing.
    Well, Milo is an application for use with Natal, so it seems as valid as a discussion point as any to me.

    Edit: Geeorge!!!

    ...


    X!!

    Darlan on
  • SaddlerSaddler Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Peewi wrote: »
    Wait? Milo was part of Natal? I thought it was a seperate thing.

    Milo is a runaway, who needs a strong, guiding hand to help him get comfortable in his own skin.

    Saddler on
  • DashuiDashui Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    My guess is that Milo video was all scripted. They said they only had a few months to work on it, correct? The actual thing probably doesn't respond nearly as well. If it does behind the closed door showings and the press likes it, then alright! I'm skeptical, though.

    But yeah, the future possibilities for this kind of technology is cool. Imagine a game like Oblivion or Fable where you can walk up to the NPCs and start up conversations. They'd probably be simple conversations, as something so fluid as that Milo footage is probably leagues away from reality (not to mention the time it would take to record and program all that would be ridiculous), but it would still be fairly neat.

    I could ask what shop owners have for sale and comment on certain things instead of just going down a list and pressing a button. It could be immersive. We'll just have to wait and see, I suppose.

    Dashui on
    Xbox Live, PSN & Origin: Vacorsis 3DS: 2638-0037-166
  • David_TDavid_T A fashion yes-man is no good to me. Copenhagen, DenmarkRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    "Milo, do you like... gladiator games?"

    David_T on
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  • PurpleMonkeyPurpleMonkey Why so derp? Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Posted this E3 thread but think it got lost in the rush

    I hope they sneak in some form of hidden 3D just so they can make it look like Milo is crawling out of the TV The Ring style

    PurpleMonkey on
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  • george-xgeorge-x New YorkRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Dashui wrote: »
    My guess is that Milo video was all scripted.

    I was thinking this as well...I'm SUPER curious to hear the hands-on impressions on the closed door demo...
    Posted this E3 thread but think it got lost in the rush

    I hope they sneak in some form of hidden 3D just so they can make it look like Milo is crawling out of the TV The Ring style

    D:D:D:

    george-x on
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  • SimBenSimBen Hodor? Hodor Hodor.Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    I'm getting faint flashbacks to late 2005.

    Remember, back when the Wiimote could do anything?

    Yeah. Good luck with everything, Microsoft.

    SimBen on
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  • DarlanDarlan Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Even if the AI stuff is way out there, it'd be cool if we could have some kind of persistent neighborhood with PSN Home like houses for us and those on our friend's list, wherein we could use motion control to vandalize each other's houses and write messages on a billboard to replace text messages.


    Or something.

    Darlan on
  • tbloxhamtbloxham Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    It just seems so far beyond anything else we've seen anyone do in terms of accurate motion capture interaction, I can't believe it will really work as well as it looks. I mean, yeah, I can see the swipe working for the movies and dashboard interaction, but not the way the guy controls the skateboard without the skateboard controller. If thats possible then why weren't the tony hawk people using it?

    edit - While it does look good, espescially with ricochet thing, notice how they had lots of balls at the same time to make it hard for you to track whether the moves were really responding properly.

    edit2 - And that Milo thing looked insane, if thats real then like everyone else thinks people will ABSOLUTELY be making girlfriend simulators for Japan.

    tbloxham on
    "That is cool" - Abraham Lincoln
  • george-xgeorge-x New YorkRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Darlan wrote: »
    Peewi wrote: »
    Wait? Milo was part of Natal? I thought it was a seperate thing.
    Well, Milo is an application for use with Natal, so it seems as valid as a discussion point as any to me.

    Edit: Geeorge!!!

    ...


    X!!

    HEhehe

    george-x on
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  • SaddlerSaddler Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    I can't wait until 3rd parties start selling accessory packs for the Natal. A bunch of pieces of cheap plastic that connect to nothing.

    Saddler on
  • george-xgeorge-x New YorkRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    SimBen wrote: »
    I'm getting faint flashbacks to late 2005.

    Remember, back when the Wiimote could do anything?

    Yeah. Good luck with everything, Microsoft.


    Yeah...they made the wiimote look like it could do even more than the upcoming motion plus will be able to do...

    I neeeed to see what Natal can really do damnit!

    george-x on
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  • SimBenSimBen Hodor? Hodor Hodor.Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Saddler wrote: »
    I can't wait until 3rd parties start selling accessory packs for the Natal. A bunch of pieces of cheap plastic that connect to nothing.

    And then Microsoft gets sued when people actually shoot their expensive HDTVs with a real gun instead of using the cheap plastic toy guns that do nothing to simulate gun-shooting.

    SimBen on
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  • DashuiDashui Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    You're all asking to see what it can really do, getting flashbacks to 2005 and all that, but didn't they already show what it can do? I mean, that ridiculous advert was totally bullshit, but then you had the girl play that ball game. I don't think that was staged, and it looked fairly fluid and accurate.

    Fuck balls, though. Give me a sword or lightsaber game with this. With these controls, I could not only slash my opponent, but kick them in the fucking face.

    Dashui on
    Xbox Live, PSN & Origin: Vacorsis 3DS: 2638-0037-166
  • george-xgeorge-x New YorkRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Dashui wrote: »
    You're all asking to see what it can really do, getting flashbacks to 2005 and all that, but didn't they already show what it can do? I mean, that ridiculous advert was totally bullshit, but then you had the girl play that ball game. I don't think that was staged, and it looked fairly fluid and accurate.

    Fuck balls, though. Give me a sword or lightsaber game with this. With these controls, I could not only slash my opponent, but kick them in the fucking face.



    Exactly, hence my notes in the OP - it totally started to get my curiosity piqued. My initial reaction called 100% bullshit...but the Milo stuff could have easily been tweaked to look much better and MUCH more intuitive than we think...we will definitely see, hopefully soon!

    george-x on
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  • SimBenSimBen Hodor? Hodor Hodor.Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Dashui wrote: »
    Fuck balls, though. Give me a sword or lightsaber game with this. With these controls, I could not only slash my opponent, but kick them in the fucking face.

    Oh my god, we ARE back in 2005!

    MUST INVENT TWITTER

    SimBen on
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  • The Fourth EstateThe Fourth Estate Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Dashui wrote: »
    You're all asking to see what it can really do, getting flashbacks to 2005 and all that, but didn't they already show what it can do? I mean, that ridiculous advert was totally bullshit, but then you had the girl play that ball game. I don't think that was staged, and it looked fairly fluid and accurate.

    Were you watching the same conference as me? Jerkiness and lag were fairly noticeable.

    The Fourth Estate on
  • george-xgeorge-x New YorkRegistered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Dashui wrote: »
    You're all asking to see what it can really do, getting flashbacks to 2005 and all that, but didn't they already show what it can do? I mean, that ridiculous advert was totally bullshit, but then you had the girl play that ball game. I don't think that was staged, and it looked fairly fluid and accurate.

    Were you watching the same conference as me? Jerkiness and lag were fairly noticeable.

    Maybe he was on a 56k connection?

    :P

    george-x on
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  • CristovalCristoval Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    The creepiest scenario I see this being used for is some real life Spielberg A.I. scenario, where a couple can program their dead child into Milo and interact with him from beyond the grave forever and ever. D:

    Cristoval on
  • DashuiDashui Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Dashui wrote: »
    You're all asking to see what it can really do, getting flashbacks to 2005 and all that, but didn't they already show what it can do? I mean, that ridiculous advert was totally bullshit, but then you had the girl play that ball game. I don't think that was staged, and it looked fairly fluid and accurate.

    Were you watching the same conference as me? Jerkiness and lag were fairly noticeable.

    It looked fucked when McDouchebag Sunglasses was playing with it. The girl, though? I don't know, it seemed fine. It wasn't perfect by any means, of course not, but it didn't seem terrible. I was kind of zoning out during that whole segment - too many people I wanted to punch in the face - so perhaps I missed something.

    I'm also going to punch you in the face, SimBen!

    Dashui on
    Xbox Live, PSN & Origin: Vacorsis 3DS: 2638-0037-166
  • SimBenSimBen Hodor? Hodor Hodor.Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    Cristoval wrote: »
    The creepiest scenario I see this being used for is some real life Spielberg A.I. scenario, where a couple can program their dead child into Milo and interact with him from beyond the grave forever and ever. D:

    Yes, because the leap between what we just saw and fully digitizing a human mind is trivial.

    SimBen on
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  • tbloxhamtbloxham Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    george-x wrote: »
    Dashui wrote: »
    You're all asking to see what it can really do, getting flashbacks to 2005 and all that, but didn't they already show what it can do? I mean, that ridiculous advert was totally bullshit, but then you had the girl play that ball game. I don't think that was staged, and it looked fairly fluid and accurate.

    Fuck balls, though. Give me a sword or lightsaber game with this. With these controls, I could not only slash my opponent, but kick them in the fucking face.



    Exactly, hence my notes in the OP - it totally started to get me piqued. My initial reaction called 100% bullshit...but the Milo stuff could have easily been tweaked to look much better and MUCH more intuitive than we think...we will definitely see, hopefully soon!

    This is just what worried me. If they had had her play that game slowly with one ball then you could see whether she was truly being mimicked by the onscreen avatar. If they truly had a perfect system they could just have had an avatar walk into the room and pick up a ball from a table using voice command, or typing on a virtual keyboard.

    In fact, for a perfect demonstration then all you would do is show someone controlling something with a 360 controller, but without using a controller and just having the 360 apply their movements to a virtual controller inside the game.

    It seems insanely impressive.

    tbloxham on
    "That is cool" - Abraham Lincoln
  • DarlanDarlan Registered User regular
    edited June 2009
    SimBen wrote: »
    Cristoval wrote: »
    The creepiest scenario I see this being used for is some real life Spielberg A.I. scenario, where a couple can program their dead child into Milo and interact with him from beyond the grave forever and ever. D:

    Yes, because the leap between what we just saw and fully digitizing a human mind is trivial.
    That is...out there, but, like Onlive announcement, this is really exciting not so much for the immediate future so much as what it reveals about the possibilities about the semi-distant future.

    Edit: ooh, a virutal keyboard is a great idea. Would be perfect if holographic displays were up and running at a marketable level, but again this is exciting for what it tells us about the future...

    Darlan on
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