My Impressions of Project Natal; or, If They Don't Do This Then it is a Failed Project.

Anyone who plays video games avidly, this doesn't apply to casual fans, has had the idea of a completely immersive experience. A game where you take every step that the hero takes. You swing the weapons, you duck the traps, and you place that crushing front kick to the chest of the baddies, a la '300'. During their press conference at this years E3 expo Microsoft announced the technology that will allow us to do just this. Project Natal (pronounced na-tall) is a virtual reality experience, minus the cumbersome headgear and funny looking pedestal we currently associate with virtual reality.


After seeing all of the things that Project Natal is capable of, based solely on the tech demos that were shown at the expo, it is very obvious that the technology will allow us to further surround ourselves in a digital world. During the conference it was shown that Project Natal is capable of facial and vocal recognition, tracking movement in three dimensions, and scanning in real life items (creating a skin by taking a picture of said item). These are not very general capabilities either, taking it as far as tracking the movement of each finger on each hand.


From the minute I saw Project Natal I began putting all of these possibilities to use in my mind. A new Grand Theft Auto where I'm actually walking down the streets of a digital New York. I bend over, make the motion of picking something up, on the screen the character bends over and picks up an empty soda can. I turn, he turns, I pull my arm back, he pulls his arm back, and I make a throwing motion, he throws the can, sending it flying at someones head. (The force of the throw tracked by the force of the motion, another thing Project Natal is capable of.) Maybe I want to tag a wall? Well I would have to shake up the spray paint first. Maybe some drug dealer is stepping on my turf? Well, it's a good thing I played baseball growing up, because I've perfected my swing, and I'm about to introduce it to his skull. What about guns? Well with the ability to track the movement of each finger I would be pulling the trigger every time I had to fire a gun, I would pull the pin on every grenade, and I would use my lighter to light the fuse on every stick of dynamite. But this technology can go above and beyond the violent games that our generation loves. What about a new Trauma Center game, where you actually perform the motions of a surgery? Revolutionizing the sports game is obvious and Microsoft has already shown us how to drive with Project Natal (both hands must be at ten and two and your right foot is on the gas).


Not only would these games provide an added layer of realism, but they would either ensure the limiting of ones play time, or provide for one hell of a workout. Maybe I'm the only person who feels this way. Maybe people don't want to walk every step in a characters shoes. Maybe people don't want to climb every ladder, or jump from one roof top to the next. And maybe parents don't want the virtual violence to go from the press of a button to a tangible motion. But as far as I'm concerned Project Natal may very well be the future of gaming.