The Motus Darwin.. Possibly good for the industry?
So Rumors have been floating around for months (possibly even years) about Microsoft possibly having a motion controller to compete with the phenomenal sales of the Wii. We've seen rumblings of new designs that Microsoft may be working on, but it seems that A company known as Motus has come up with a controller that seems to do everything the Wii remote can do , and possibly more.
The Darwin Controller, by Motus Corporation looks at first glance like a toy, or a companion piece to collection of Japanese Katanas. The controller itself is in fact a combination of two controllers. as stated by Brian Crecente's article on Kotaku
The top controller includes a power button, left, right arrows, D-pad, A button, wireless connection and battery indicator and upper and lower triggers. The bottom controller has a power button, left, right arrows, analog controller, upper and lower triggers and wireless and batter indicator. Both include straps.
The Darwin functions by use of gyroscopes in conjunction with accelerometers which is said to give the Darwin a better sense of control due to it's magnetic north default orientation. This combination of diferent technologies was born from Motus Corporation's work on the iclub, a golf peripherial used for improving the user's game through motion capture analysis.
The Darwin will be available for PC gamers, and possibly the Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles, and by the videos given the controller has been used with games like Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008. Lego Star Wars II, and Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix.
At this point I'm sure you're asking me "why aren't you ripping into this?, i mean they're totally trying to steal the Wiimote's thunder!". I know that i've been on Sony's case for their blatantly "last minute addition" of motion sensor controls, but I'm actually interested in seeing where this is going.
N2Games came out with their "Fusion" controllers after the Wii first hit the scene, and I'm still interested in that as well. why? It has absolutely nothing to do with fanboyism, or anything as trivial as that. It's more the progression of Technology. It's apparent with the I-Phone, and how development of that lead to rival companies creating the Samsung Instinct, and the Google Android phones. In the same vein, By Motus Corp attempting to improve on the design established by Nintendo, There could actually be large innovations that will be made in the next couple of generations of gaming, as well as forcing an industry of developers to stop hiding behind craptacular "Waggle" controls and to actually try to take a step forward for games that offer the option of motion based controls.
Well, dear reader, If building on this technology is the gateway to ultimately getting that sweet future where we can play games just by waving our limbs around Minority Report style or getting that awesome fighting sim like in "The Island", then I'm definitely all for it.
if you want to read more about what's talked about in this blog, check these links, but don't take my word for it ;)
Link'd - http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/20150/?a=f
Link'd - http://www.gizmag.com/go/3963/
Link'd - http://www.technologyquestions.com/node/70
Link'd - http://gizmodo.com/352454/darwin-controller-hopes-to-challenge-wiimotes-supremacy
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The Darwin Controller, by Motus Corporation looks at first glance like a toy, or a companion piece to collection of Japanese Katanas. The controller itself is in fact a combination of two controllers. as stated by Brian Crecente's article on Kotaku
The top controller includes a power button, left, right arrows, D-pad, A button, wireless connection and battery indicator and upper and lower triggers. The bottom controller has a power button, left, right arrows, analog controller, upper and lower triggers and wireless and batter indicator. Both include straps.
The Darwin functions by use of gyroscopes in conjunction with accelerometers which is said to give the Darwin a better sense of control due to it's magnetic north default orientation. This combination of diferent technologies was born from Motus Corporation's work on the iclub, a golf peripherial used for improving the user's game through motion capture analysis.
The Darwin will be available for PC gamers, and possibly the Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles, and by the videos given the controller has been used with games like Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2008. Lego Star Wars II, and Harry Potter: The Order of the Phoenix.
At this point I'm sure you're asking me "why aren't you ripping into this?, i mean they're totally trying to steal the Wiimote's thunder!". I know that i've been on Sony's case for their blatantly "last minute addition" of motion sensor controls, but I'm actually interested in seeing where this is going.
N2Games came out with their "Fusion" controllers after the Wii first hit the scene, and I'm still interested in that as well. why? It has absolutely nothing to do with fanboyism, or anything as trivial as that. It's more the progression of Technology. It's apparent with the I-Phone, and how development of that lead to rival companies creating the Samsung Instinct, and the Google Android phones. In the same vein, By Motus Corp attempting to improve on the design established by Nintendo, There could actually be large innovations that will be made in the next couple of generations of gaming, as well as forcing an industry of developers to stop hiding behind craptacular "Waggle" controls and to actually try to take a step forward for games that offer the option of motion based controls.
Well, dear reader, If building on this technology is the gateway to ultimately getting that sweet future where we can play games just by waving our limbs around Minority Report style or getting that awesome fighting sim like in "The Island", then I'm definitely all for it.
if you want to read more about what's talked about in this blog, check these links, but don't take my word for it ;)
Link'd - http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/20150/?a=f
Link'd - http://www.gizmag.com/go/3963/
Link'd - http://www.technologyquestions.com/node/70
Link'd - http://gizmodo.com/352454/darwin-controller-hopes-to-challenge-wiimotes-supremacy
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