Kinect Hacks: Keyboard Anywhere slaps a keyboard almost anywhere
by David Hinkle 
on Dec 14th 2010 12:30AM
53
Reader Comments (53)
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 12:35AM DontFwithMeimOnPCP said
whaaaaaat!
Super neat!
Super neat!
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 12:35AM Sambone said
I'd love to get my nephews and nieces on that floor piano... would get them out of my face for a good several hours...
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 2:26AM KobaltKode said
@Sambone
Better have the worst sound system on earth, giving kids a toy that makes noise is never a good idea!
Reply
Better have the worst sound system on earth, giving kids a toy that makes noise is never a good idea!
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 12:36AM Rizraz said
Cool.
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 7:37AM Spookimitsu said
@Rizraz
Go back and play it again with no volume = becomes HILARIOUS
Reply
Go back and play it again with no volume = becomes HILARIOUS
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 12:43AM Hunter141072 said
well it´s official, kinect is the number one toy on the p.c . hacking community, too bad the idea was to be number 1 on the xbox.....and all the kinect games that are sold can´t do anything like this, looks like next service pack is going to have a kinect driver.......
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 1:09AM Flapjackal said
@(Unverified) number one based on a handful of hacks? seriously?
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Posted: Dec 14th 2010 1:22AM Prboi said
@(Unverified)
Dude there are only a few hacks out there. Kinect didn't sell over 2.5 million in 1 month because of PC hacks. Don't be so narrow minded. Kinect is a family device & it was marketed as such. Just because a handful of hackers know how to make Kinect do other things, doesn't mean that's the number 1 reason why people bought it.
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Dude there are only a few hacks out there. Kinect didn't sell over 2.5 million in 1 month because of PC hacks. Don't be so narrow minded. Kinect is a family device & it was marketed as such. Just because a handful of hackers know how to make Kinect do other things, doesn't mean that's the number 1 reason why people bought it.
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 2:29AM Hunter141072 said
@Prboi
oh really?? well you are right i guess they bought it for that awesome game.....yeah....that game that is called......eh.......you know right?? that one title that has sold hundreds of copies....yeah...that one is called....eh, it´s called.....ah.....ok you can tell me the name ok??..... in the meantime, we have heard more of hacks than kinect games, and it´s only a Mather of time when you start seeing games, and even utilities for the kinect on the p.c.... just wait......meanwhile what was the name of the best selling kinect title for the xbox again???
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oh really?? well you are right i guess they bought it for that awesome game.....yeah....that game that is called......eh.......you know right?? that one title that has sold hundreds of copies....yeah...that one is called....eh, it´s called.....ah.....ok you can tell me the name ok??..... in the meantime, we have heard more of hacks than kinect games, and it´s only a Mather of time when you start seeing games, and even utilities for the kinect on the p.c.... just wait......meanwhile what was the name of the best selling kinect title for the xbox again???
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 3:56AM Dam0wned said
@(Unverified)
Do you know, well, anything?
I have Kinect for the Xbox (and a few games) and it's great fun for me, and my younger siblings.
And sure they might one day make it officially compatible with the PC, but so what? Surely they can do what they like with their device? Or they'll only do it because they read this article and saw your comment. Whichever you'd like to believe.
On topic, though, this video is freaking awesome.
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Do you know, well, anything?
I have Kinect for the Xbox (and a few games) and it's great fun for me, and my younger siblings.
And sure they might one day make it officially compatible with the PC, but so what? Surely they can do what they like with their device? Or they'll only do it because they read this article and saw your comment. Whichever you'd like to believe.
On topic, though, this video is freaking awesome.
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:29AM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said
@(Unverified)
I certainly see a lot of people online trying to downplay the number of people who bought Kinect explicitly for hacking and messing around with it. That fact alone tells me its more widespread than these people would lead me to believe. I'm guessing at least a quarter million.
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I certainly see a lot of people online trying to downplay the number of people who bought Kinect explicitly for hacking and messing around with it. That fact alone tells me its more widespread than these people would lead me to believe. I'm guessing at least a quarter million.
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 9:34AM Spartan117458 said
@(Unverified)
And you think that Microsoft somehow cares how people are using them when they're selling millions of them?
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And you think that Microsoft somehow cares how people are using them when they're selling millions of them?
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 10:54AM Hunter141072 said
@Spartan117458
of course not, funny though they never ever showed any kind of support for the pc even though they knew it could be connected, and now they can´t hide the fact that this little "useless" hacks" have more creativity than any of their dance games.
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of course not, funny though they never ever showed any kind of support for the pc even though they knew it could be connected, and now they can´t hide the fact that this little "useless" hacks" have more creativity than any of their dance games.
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 10:56AM Hunter141072 said
@JCat
oh yeah!! how could i forgot them!!! sorry man, but i thought we were talking about REAL games, not cheap excuse for not doing excercise.... Which by the way is the main reason this kind of stuff sells....
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oh yeah!! how could i forgot them!!! sorry man, but i thought we were talking about REAL games, not cheap excuse for not doing excercise.... Which by the way is the main reason this kind of stuff sells....
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 11:03AM Hunter141072 said
@Dam0wned
about dancing games?, not really.... it´s funny though that you don´t like my opinion about the fact that this hacks are showing BETTER stuff than what the real developers have showed so far, with the exception of those dancing games....or should i say? mimic a "dance" games?? but at the end you said that this is awesome, of course it is....and once again it had to be done not by the developers....but by a small community, that´s my point, this guys are showing stuff that the big companies didn´t, but i guess now i know why... guys like you who accept another "dancing" game are what are stopping the real development. Why to waste time doing something new when you can give them dancing game number 1,243???? yeah, so go ahead...and dance.....
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about dancing games?, not really.... it´s funny though that you don´t like my opinion about the fact that this hacks are showing BETTER stuff than what the real developers have showed so far, with the exception of those dancing games....or should i say? mimic a "dance" games?? but at the end you said that this is awesome, of course it is....and once again it had to be done not by the developers....but by a small community, that´s my point, this guys are showing stuff that the big companies didn´t, but i guess now i know why... guys like you who accept another "dancing" game are what are stopping the real development. Why to waste time doing something new when you can give them dancing game number 1,243???? yeah, so go ahead...and dance.....
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 11:37AM TWISTeD398 said
@(Unverified)
The connect offers a different spin on dancing games that many people hold dear to their hearts.
Your logic would show that just because there are already lots of first person shooters (way more than dancing games) that Black Ops was the worst idea in the world and someone should lock the devs away in Guantanamo? No, a good game is a good game.
When new games come out featuring an old genre, they try to bring something new to the table. Kinect lets dancing games feel more interactive, more real. It works the same way with exercise and kids games.
As developers have more time to learn this BRAND NEW tech, we will see some amazing games. In the mean time, we'll have to deal with these first party toys. In time these PC hacks will only be seen by the people who look for them since most Kinect users (families who thought it would be fun to play games together) don't really care. The core gamer group will eventually be catered to probably sometime next year.
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The connect offers a different spin on dancing games that many people hold dear to their hearts.
Your logic would show that just because there are already lots of first person shooters (way more than dancing games) that Black Ops was the worst idea in the world and someone should lock the devs away in Guantanamo? No, a good game is a good game.
When new games come out featuring an old genre, they try to bring something new to the table. Kinect lets dancing games feel more interactive, more real. It works the same way with exercise and kids games.
As developers have more time to learn this BRAND NEW tech, we will see some amazing games. In the mean time, we'll have to deal with these first party toys. In time these PC hacks will only be seen by the people who look for them since most Kinect users (families who thought it would be fun to play games together) don't really care. The core gamer group will eventually be catered to probably sometime next year.
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 1:26PM Hunter141072 said
First of all i never said that kinect was a bad idea, so your whole Black ops comment doesn´t have anything to do here because i never said that.
second, more interactive? a different spin? ok, guess raising your hands instead of pressing the left arrow is a brand new spin.....
And sorry to inform you dude, but this BRAND NEW TECH has been available t the companies for more than a year, yeah, those games are not created in two days even though they look like that, party games are the main point of kinect, i can asure you we are not going to see anything big or amazing for kinect because that´s not the idea, the idea is to give you something to distract your little kid, and make him/her jump like a grasshopper in front of the TV while you take a beer,that´s the market that´s the point. But as i SAID the mod community is showing that it is possible to create something new and original with kinect, but that´s something that companies are not good at, creating a new product. The proof is all those FPS that you mentioned, yep is safer to make the same game again and again just as you said, and that´s the bet they are going to make with kinect, party games even though we could see something better.
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 3:14PM Im No Hero said
@(Unverified)
The video of this "new and original" hack looks kinda like a dancing game to me.
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The video of this "new and original" hack looks kinda like a dancing game to me.
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 4:16PM Hunter141072 said
@Im No Hero
then you didn´t see anything as this is a piano not a dancing game, if you can play piano with your feets then this one is for you......and the guys are paying the piano not just following a "simon says" game......
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then you didn´t see anything as this is a piano not a dancing game, if you can play piano with your feets then this one is for you......and the guys are paying the piano not just following a "simon says" game......
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 12:44AM u83rmensch said
mad props for BIG reference
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 12:44AM Kibayasu said
Once again showing that the coolest uses for Kinect probably won't be the games.
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 1:03AM ybfelix said
@Kibayasu this can be integrated as a minigame or an aspect in a full game, but as of now any of "pure software" hacks we already see cannot stand on its own as a full price game. You often see someone play a game and find one of its trick or gameplay very "neat!" for a moment, but that alone can't carry an entire game.
Or are we talking about Apple style KinectStore, with many dirt cheap apps that you play twice or for a week, then forget model? That's quite neat actually, though I think MS is too rigid to allow this idea..
Reply
Or are we talking about Apple style KinectStore, with many dirt cheap apps that you play twice or for a week, then forget model? That's quite neat actually, though I think MS is too rigid to allow this idea..
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 12:48AM eNriqeu said
engadget, is that you?
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 12:52AM ybfelix said
One thing is that when something as just a "hack" is nice but somewhat glitchy, we won't complain too much; yet if it come out as a commercial app, if it doesn't work all the time, in all distances and space, lighting etc, you'd hear "Kinect is broken" from many people even those who said they wanted it as it is.
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 1:08AM ybfelix said
@Faenix yep, that's my idea too. I'm just saying that for those "why can't game devs came up with something this awesome". When you make something more than a tech demo and ask for money, people's demand for perfection would jump to a much higher level. Say, Fight Uncaged, if it was just a hack with skeleton graphics, I think most commentors would find it super awesome and lament why no commerical game did that, and overlook its myriad of issues
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Posted: Dec 14th 2010 1:14AM ybfelix said
@Faenix yep, that's my idea too. I'm just saying that for those "why can't game devs came up with something this awesome". When you make something more than a tech demo and ask for money, people's demand for perfection would jump to a much higher level.
Say, Fighter Uncaged, if it was just a hack with skeleton graphics, no doubt most commentors would find it super awesome and lament why no commerical game did that, and overlook its myriad of issues. But right now we mock Ubi's game. So idea and execution is both important, I think we should give devs more time to combine both and make an enjoyable and creative game for kinect
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Say, Fighter Uncaged, if it was just a hack with skeleton graphics, no doubt most commentors would find it super awesome and lament why no commerical game did that, and overlook its myriad of issues. But right now we mock Ubi's game. So idea and execution is both important, I think we should give devs more time to combine both and make an enjoyable and creative game for kinect
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 7:33AM ToTheMoon said
@ybfelix
>>I think we should give devs more time to combine both and make an
>>enjoyable and creative game for kinect
You hit the nail on the head, Kinect has possibilities but I believe Microsoft jumped the gun on releasing it - I know they had to bring something out to compete with Nintendo and Sony but it really does look like the best use is coming from the PC community. I think Kinect is going to do wonders for people people on the PC who have accessibility problems but as a gaming platform, needs for time in the oven.
As a gaming device, I have yet to see anything truly fun aside from Dance Central - doesn't mean it won't sell well at all (marketing took care of that), it just means that there won't be anything really good for a long time. What's on the horizon for Kinect? Are there any games that look like they might fall in the "oooo, I have to get this now" category?
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>>I think we should give devs more time to combine both and make an
>>enjoyable and creative game for kinect
You hit the nail on the head, Kinect has possibilities but I believe Microsoft jumped the gun on releasing it - I know they had to bring something out to compete with Nintendo and Sony but it really does look like the best use is coming from the PC community. I think Kinect is going to do wonders for people people on the PC who have accessibility problems but as a gaming platform, needs for time in the oven.
As a gaming device, I have yet to see anything truly fun aside from Dance Central - doesn't mean it won't sell well at all (marketing took care of that), it just means that there won't be anything really good for a long time. What's on the horizon for Kinect? Are there any games that look like they might fall in the "oooo, I have to get this now" category?
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 11:08AM Hunter141072 said
@ToTheMoon
exactly my point man, people only think on dancing....or as i said "copy the dance" games, but there isn´t a single "killer ap" for kinect, and even though this are nothing but small demos i have seen more quality in this than in any of the games that big companies have produced. So what was the selling point of kinect?? according to them a interactivity that so far doesn´t exist but in one place, the modding community...
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exactly my point man, people only think on dancing....or as i said "copy the dance" games, but there isn´t a single "killer ap" for kinect, and even though this are nothing but small demos i have seen more quality in this than in any of the games that big companies have produced. So what was the selling point of kinect?? according to them a interactivity that so far doesn´t exist but in one place, the modding community...
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 12:59AM Prboi said
So many activities!
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 1:10AM chuckharms said
They moved their coffee table.
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 1:21AM Spunky Monkey 190906 said
I think microsoft should give up on the games fo Kinect and instead set up an app store for people who want to do things like this :D
I can imagine how many downloads simple fun cheap games like this would get as opposed to the likes of Sonic Riders -_-
I can imagine how many downloads simple fun cheap games like this would get as opposed to the likes of Sonic Riders -_-
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 8:30AM Jack Kevorkian said
@Spunky Monkey 190906 Better yet open the code to indie games and let people put this out there alongside regular releases and see which one fares better. Everyone wins.
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Posted: Dec 14th 2010 11:49AM Spunky Monkey 190906 said
@ Jack: Yeah, thats pretty much what I was saying
@ Robborboy: I was thinking something a little bigger than XNA. I want indies to get bigger, same way app store has games from everyone and anyone, 360 should have that on Live for Kinect, though the best ones get rated up and comments / feedback is open so people don't waste time with the rubbish.
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@ Robborboy: I was thinking something a little bigger than XNA. I want indies to get bigger, same way app store has games from everyone and anyone, 360 should have that on Live for Kinect, though the best ones get rated up and comments / feedback is open so people don't waste time with the rubbish.
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 1:41PM Ordeith said
@Spunky Monkey 190906
"I was thinking something a little bigger than XNA. I want indies to get bigger, same way app store has games from everyone and anyone, 360 should have that on Live for Kinect, though the best ones get rated up and comments / feedback is open so people don't waste time with the rubbish. "
You say you want something different than XNA, then go on to describe the XBLIG channel that uses XNA.
What you want is pretty much exactly what XNA through the XBLIG channel IS.
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"I was thinking something a little bigger than XNA. I want indies to get bigger, same way app store has games from everyone and anyone, 360 should have that on Live for Kinect, though the best ones get rated up and comments / feedback is open so people don't waste time with the rubbish. "
You say you want something different than XNA, then go on to describe the XBLIG channel that uses XNA.
What you want is pretty much exactly what XNA through the XBLIG channel IS.
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 1:30AM Anticrawl said
This is nerdtastic
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 2:05AM TheKulness said
Them jumping around like that made if look as if they were playing DDR. Hmm...
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 2:32AM Premature ejaculation man said
YOU ARE THE KEYBOARD
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 4:30AM Stevetrop Man of Mystery said
Oh kinect what wondrous hacks will you show this week.
*Begins to day dream*
*Begins to day dream*
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 4:49AM pika2000 said
Finally, DDR without the pesky pads. Konami, pay attention.
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 5:24AM mrmobius said
Now, where is head-tracking kid to use the Kinect to make a 3D interface using the movement of your head?
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:31AM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said
@mrmobius
Pretty sure Johhny Lee works for Microsoft now. Seriously.
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Pretty sure Johhny Lee works for Microsoft now. Seriously.
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 6:33AM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said
Posted: Dec 14th 2010 8:32AM Jack Kevorkian said
@Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell I wonder if he was on the kinect development team for anything.
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Posted: Dec 14th 2010 7:32AM Spookimitsu said
all these Kinect hacks...
Is it wrong if I am determined not to be impressed until Kinect teaches me karate?
Is it wrong if I am determined not to be impressed until Kinect teaches me karate?
