Stuff..

Been a long time since I posted anything so I'll summarize a bit.

I'm still horribly addicted to TF2 - I'm hoping that I will start to get sick of it soon, but so far it hasn't happened yet. The last time I was this into an online game was Quake2 and that was nearly 10 years ago. Stay away from it!

We had our open house at my workplace - my multitouch table was on display and it was a pretty big hit. I've since added a second 144 LED IR illuminator to the table to help get a more even IR distribution. The table works and is very sensitive even in daylight (there's a window next to the table). Plus I can leave it on all day without having to recalibrate or otherwise mess with it. I'll try to post some pics..

I picked up a usb-bluetooth PC adaptor yesterday. I'll probably try messing with some Wii-mote stuff at some point. A Wiimote -> OSC application should be pretty easy to make.

I also managed to get 1 or 2 things done on Genome though I am still trying to get back into the swing of it. It's a large project with a long list of todo's which can make getting started discouraging. Before, I was able to meet my goal of doing one thing on it every morning (working for like 1/2 an hour).

Stuff, Zelda:TP Thoughts

Things have been crazy hectic at my new job. As a result, I've been too stressed out to work on Genome or Touchlib after work. Hopefully things will calm down soon and I'll be able get some stuff done again.

I have been playing a little Zelda: Twilight Princess to calm down a bit. So far it has been a really enjoyable game. I was a little hesitant to buy it after FFXII since I didn't want another game that forces you to play for hours or requires you to cover the same territory over and over again. The last Zelda game (Windwaker) suffered from this problem in that the sailing sections ended up being very time consuming and were pretty boring to me. I'm happy to report that Zelda: TP doesn't suffer from any of those flaws - the level design is very tight and there is little or no need to re-cover old terrain so far. Also, you can save your game wherever you want. The puzzles are clever but not so tough that you can't figure them out on the first or second try. It's a great example of how games should be designed. Your goal is always clear, you receive constant feedback when you do something right, actions that your character can perform are always highlighted on screen, dying is only a temporary set-back (you can restart at the beginning of that room), hints are available if you need them, and it's usually obvious when you need to use a particular tool in your arsenal. Also, the levels themselves act as tutorials for learning how to use your tools when you acquire them - they gradually show you all the different techniques you can execute. It's a far cry from the original Zelda when you had to bomb the fourth rock from the right on a specific map screen (a rock that looks exactly like all the other rocks...). Also, all the items provide different abilities rather than just being stronger versions of the same weapon as most FPS games are. This way the game is always throwing at you fresh variations on the gameplay. Overall, I highly recommend it.

NY Times article on Wii controllers

Just a little article on the technology in the Wii-mote. Read it here

Rayman: Raving Rabbids (for Wii) mini review

For those who read my blog and couldn't care less about video games, I'll keep this one short. Rayman is basically a collection of humorous minigames. Going with this approach is probably a good idea with the Wii, since the wii-mote is capable of so many different methods of input. Each mini-game features a different play mechanic. Some simply involve pointing the wii-mote and shaking the nunchuck while others have you tilting the wii-mote to control your character as he sky dives, flies, or races a giant pig. As a whole, the mini games are a mixed bag. Some are really clever and fun, some are lame. Some are challenging (but not hard) and others really easy. The highlights for me are:

• Shooting sequences where you shoot bunnies with plungers. Most of these seem really easy though.


• Music sequences where you must time shaking the wii-mote and nunchuck to the beat a la guitar hero or DDR.


• The choir game where you must find the rabits who are singing off key and slap them


• The racing / flying games are also fun

Some of the minigames can be played with up to 4 players, others can be played one at a time. Overall I'd give this game a C+. The art style is nice and some of the mini-games are memorable but the game is just not very deep and I've progressed though it fairly quickly. It seems like it would be more suited towards younger kids, casual players or as a 'party game'.

Wii Impressions

Now that I've had a few days to play with Nintendo's Wii I thought I'd share some impressions of it. First, I am pleased with the general experience of using the console and the fact that you can do more than just play games with it. You can download games and applications (a web browser is expected), view pictures, listen to music, send messages to friends, etc.

The wii-mote and nunchuck work well (they met my expectations going in) and are very responsive to motion. The mouse-like functionality (which as we said earlier, relies on infrared LEDs and a camera inside the wii-mote) also works well, though it's not 1:1. The cursor doesn't appear exactly where you point. This is okay, since it' just feels like using a mouse. It would have been nice if you could calibrate the cursor so it mapped perfectly to your TV. Interestingly, you can also roll the wii-mote and the cursor rotates on screen - a nice touch that shows what the wiimote is capable of. The wiimote can also tell how far you are from the screen. The wiimote seems to be able to tell how it's pointed in full 6DOF 3d though I suspect it might just be extrapolating that from the motion sensors, since it seems to be a bit slow or innaccurate in that department. My fiance was playing Wii Sports golf and the game thought she had swung when she moved the wii-mote in the opposite direction. Still, all these things aside, the experience of treating the controller like a bat or a golf club or a tennis racket really feels immersive and is kind of novel. It has been done before in games like Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero, and others but it will be the first console that really emphasizes this style of gameplay. And I think it's good that kids will be able to get some excercise. I wonder how long it will be before we see a fitness oriented game? I also think the wii-mote has the potential to be a very accurate input device for FPS games (as good as a keyboard / mouse setup).

I think the console will appeal to parents and non-game players more than past consoles. As a test, I showed my grandmother in-law Final Fantasy XII and then the Wii. She was fairly turned off by the fantasy stuff and the violence in FFXII, but she got excited when she saw Wii sports and watched us play for quite a bit. I've already heard several "grown ups" talk about the Wii around the office, so this is a good sign for Nintendo. It has a very good buzz right now.

The wii-mote is dangerous. I can easily see why people have broken TV's and/or injured onlookers with this thing. The problem is that the wiimote is both slippery (if you are perspiring) and fairly weighty. Excited gesturing could easily send it flying. My fiance has already smacked me a couple times with the controller. I think I will spray the battery door with some rubber spray that I have left over and see if that helps.

There are only a few downers for me about this system. One is the graphics. It's too bad that Nintendo couldn't find a way to add more graphical power to the system. Sure it's a nice, compact little system that's affordable, but I would rather have a slightly bigger box and pay a little more for better graphics. I'm not saying this ruins the system, but it could have turned a very good console into an even better one. Also, it's disappointing to think I'll be playing the same Gamecube grade graphics for the next 5 or so years. But, in a way it forces developers to be more creative and to leverage the unique controls rather than going for eye candy. The other downer is the current lack of content on the online service and lack of titles that support online play. Right now the weather and news channels are not working yet and there are only a dozen or so games available for download in the virtual console. But, I'm sure these things will be addressed in time. Hopefully Nintendo will make their online offerings equal to Microsoft and Sony's.