In recent memory, voice commands were implemented in such games like the Nintendogs and Phoenix Wright franchises on Nintendo DS, where you could yell commands such as “Sit!” or “OBJECTION!” as watch in enjoyment as your vocal commands affected the action on-screen. Now, famous game developer Rare is looking to expand on the somewhat limited vocal functionality is available for Microsoft’s Kinect peripheral, and take voice control to level that surpasses what we’ve seen before.
When Microsoft Kinect was first unveiled, audiences were shown projects such as Milo and Kinectimals, with both games taking advantage of the voice recognition and voice command features of the motion controller. Both projects were highly ambitious and showed promise to deliver an amazing experience, however the Milo project has yet to see the light of day with constant on-again off-again rumors of its release. Kinectimals did release and provide evidence of Kinect’s motion controller abilities, but in terms of vocal commands, it’s still an HD Nintendogs. In addition to it’s games, users are able to use voice commands for the XBox UI, which make for convenient experiences while playing music or movies. Still, Rare believes that there is more to come.
In speaking with MCV, Rare’s studio manager Scott Hanson stated:
“We’re going to make using your voice much more front and centre – we’ve just scratched the surface on that….The ability to say ‘Xbox Pause’ and it pauses is just the beginning. It’s magic, but it should be just like having a conversation moving forward…We’ll continue to advance and continue to make it better for both your body and your voice. I would say we’ve only scratched 10 per cent of the possibilities of what we can do with Kinect.”
Voice commands may not have been shown off as an integral part of hardcore gaming experiences yet, but a developer like Rare has the potential to make the Killer-App (get it??) that many fans didn’t even know they wanted. Their statements echo the rumors first mentioned by HipHopGamer, that Rare is looking into a Killer Instinct game for Kinect. Let’s hope that Rare is thinking along the lines of a Killer Instinct-level title rather than Kinect Sports 2.
Original Source: MCV
