Halo will incorporate Natal 'when it makes sense'

by Richard Mitchell on Sep 11th 2009 7:30PM

Speaking to VideoGamer.com, Halo 3: ODST producer Alex Cutting said that the Halo series will only incorporate Microsoft's motion-sensing Natal "when it makes sense." Cutting noted, "We're going to make the games we want to play," adding that the company "will definitely investigate it," though he didn't elaborate on any plans Bungie might have.

Regarding the feasibility of Natal control for first-person shooter, Cutting says that many doubted console FPS play before the advent of dual analog sticks. In other words, there's room to see controls evolve again. Cutting concluded that he wouldn't "bet against" Natal, saying, "There is a lot that can be done with it."

Joystiq readers will recall that Bungie boss Harold Ryon stated earlier this year that he "absolutely" thought Natal could work in Halo: Reach. Given Reach's likely proximity to the Natal launch, and Halo's massive following, we don't think it's reaching too far to assume it will incorporate the device in some way.

Source

Tags: bungie, halo, halo-3-odst, halo-reach, microsoft, natal, project-natal, Xbox-360

Reader Comments (61)

I didn't even read the article because I'm still in bewildering awe of those captions.

IS RADD

Thanks, you brought back memories. Bad memories.

ARRGHHHHHH IT CANT BE UNSEEN, IT BURNS US.

Photo captions full of win.

I noticed that Scribblenauts has summaries od the levels you are about the play. One is "Two buttons, One switch"

OMGMEMEMG

those made my fucken day

Halo+natal= u doing the t-bagging

http://5secondfilms.com/watch/aggressive_marketing

I want My @*#$^ chocolate milk.... THIS IS A CLAN MATCH!!!!!

You should see the MLG matches...

im sorry but am I the only one that's NOT really psyched about the whole Natal business?
motion control is well and good, but i wouldnt want to play a "serious" game only with motion controls.

You're not the only one. It feels like the 90's again, with the Sega CD and 'interactive' FMV games being the 'new hotness', when it's really just a very cheap (albeit expensive) gimmick. I play with a controller. If I wanted to move around, I'd go outside.

Easy: hold the controller in your hands like normal. Everything on the pad remains the same except hey, the target reticule is moved with your arms and the right stick just controls camera. The game could work with or without Natal then, and probably end up being more fun WITH it.

Open your minds, people.

Isn't that pretty much what shooters are on the Wii already?

Also, I'm not a person who keeps an open mind. Humanity doesn't deserve it.

Nah, Wii only has one analogue stick, so turning is clunky and sucks ass.

So long as they make it optional and not a critical part of the game, I don't see the problem.

Nobody has implied you should. Ever. I don't understand where people keep getting this misinformation from.

Natal will supplement "serious games" (as you put it) for the most part.

Demaar has the right idea. I just can't wait until they split the current controller for the ability to aim each arm independently.

i really trust bungie to the the right thing here. i guarantee there will not even be an option to use only motion controls. the only way i could see it being used is for hand signs to direct a squad or something.

Natal isn't for "serious games" its for people who can't use a dual analog stick with 6 face buttons, 4 shoulder buttons and a d-pad.

i know it's been said before, but with the recent allusions that Reach will be squad based at least to some degree it's entirely plausible and to me at least a cool idea that instead of mapping squad commands to the D pad, you could do the actual hand movements yourself. I.e. closed fist for hold, two fingers forward for advance, circling the air for regroup etc.

Call me skeptic, but I will be believe it (FPS) when i see it demoed, not prerecorded, on joystiq, ign, gamespot, ...

So far nothing I've seen makes me interested in Natal.

But I'll save judgement until it's out and we have some Natal games.

Get the hell off my plane!!

*kicks Longhorn*

Obviously shoe-horning anything isn't going to work, Nintendo has shown that. For all their bluster about motion controls, they've only used them where they actually help. The only proper shoe-horning that went on was back with Zelda, and even that had some good practical uses

Despite the Burnout tech demo, Natal's success is going to come from original software.

WTF is the obsession with putting NATAL into every project?

Was this even a consideration for anyone that has been playing Halo over the past 7 years?

Huh? Where do you get that from? I've only seen a small handful of devs/pubs even mention they're interested in seeing what it can do. We haven't seen any names apart from that 'Ricochet' techdemo.

I have enough confidence in Bungie that they won't implement a vastly inferior control scheme.

Ummm...You do understand that a controller can be used with Natal, right? If I had to guess, there would be very little change to the control scheme.

You would use hand (or voice) signals to issue squad commands (which would most likely be mapped to the d-pad if you didn't have Natal) or possibly a quick jerk to the side would send your character diving out of the way of an inbound rocket (which, again, could be mapped to the controller).

Nothing about Natal is limiting developers, it's just giving them additional resources beyond the controller.

I don't dispute any of that. But if they do use Natal, something definitionally in the control scheme will be different. And if the new options don't work as well as the old options, Bungie will probably use the old options.

And I think furthermore, this will be the trend we'll see across developers.

yeah and i wont wear my helmet dad F YOU!!!!

Didn't they say Reach is gonna be their last Halo? If thats the case, then Reach will be their last chance to implement it.

Just because Bungie's staple is Halo does not mean that they will just stop making games when they are done making Halo games.

I don't expect to see a controller free FPS in the next few years at least but as more and more developers become comfortable with the technology they will incorporate it more and more. As Khan said shoe horning isn't really the best option, the game should be built around the interface not stuffed into it.
I expect at some point FPSs will go controller-less but not this gen and maybe not even next gen but at some point they will as will many other genres.

thats a funny ass caption

Halo will incorporate Natal 'when it makes sense'.... which will be never.

How does changing the control scheme to a beloved video game franchise to keep up with the ever innovative, technological times not make sense? Don't knock it until you try it, just because the Wii is worrying about grandma doesn't mean Bungie wants us to take Master Chief to a fantastic getaway resort to go wakeboarding. ...Not that that wouldn't be sweet or anything.

If Natal + Halo: Reach promises one thing, I'm sold.
1:1 screen punching energy swords

It makes more sense in FPS than most other genres. You should look at current head tracking tech in PC fps games. That's only the start of it.

EFF OFF, MOM! I'M GONNA RIDE MY BIKE WITHOUT A HELMET, AND THEN PLAY SOME FRISBEE, BY WHICH I MEAN A LOT OF EFFING FRISBEE!!!

MS has done a damn good job (sans rrod) with the 360. But then they go and announce Natal. I'm sorry but I've hated it since I saw it.

Natal, GTFO!

Yes. This comment is pure logic. Natal does suck-I don't have a Wii for a reason, and control is a big one.

You obviously don't understand the hardware if you're actually comparing it to the Wii. Nice regurgitation without research.

@Mecha

If you were referring to Harrison Ford, it's "Get off my plane!"

For future reference.

superior

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLbMloO6wXM

The more everyone hates on motion controls, the longer it takes for us to get VR gaming that doesn't make eyes see only red (and then promptly bleed). Give Natal, Sony's goofy-ass wand, and "some" Wii games a chance. If it turns out the next Halo sucks, we can all go back to playing 3 and bitching about it on Joystiq.

Here's the full clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJMxtvm-O5s&feature=fvw

People keep missing the point of Natal. Yes, there will be games that use full motion control and no controller. But there will also be games that use motion control only minimally, in conjunction with the standard controller. And still other games that might not use the motion control at all.
For a FPS like Halo: Reach, they're basically saying that if they find a way to use Natal to enhance the gameplay, they'll implement it. But they won't just tack it on just to make it use Natal.
One of the possible examples that keeps coming up is headtracking for FPS games or driving games. You'd still use the controller, but Natal could track your head to change the view onscreen slightly. Also, these types of Natal controls will probably be configurable, so you will still be able to use the controller for everything if you so desire.

Just like how you can't put one foot forward to accelerate and that same foot forward to reverse on Burnout, it can't be done.

Oh, wait... It already has been done...

No edit button for the lose. I meant backward, but that serves me for Joystiqing while drunk. Don't do it, kids, because everyone loses.

who the fuck parks their bicycle next to the dining room table?

hahahaha... i read all the normal comment responses, then this gem of a comment pops up... boss walked in again "Wtf, you laughing at"

You know what I just thought of? The Sega Activator. Using your arms, you would hit sensors in a octagon shaped device to activate a button ("Punch left to press B") and as you'd expect, it didn't work. Mr. Cutting may have remembered such and similar crap and may have thought ahead to preserve the franchise (or to not look like an idiot) unless it just invested into something potentially a gimmick. I'm still a bit iffy about trading my controller for something I'm so unsure of.

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Halo will incorporate Natal 'when it makes sense'

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