Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Popular Science explains the making of Project Natal]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/13/popular-science-explains-the-making-of-project-natal/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/13/popular-science-explains-the-making-of-project-natal/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/13/popular-science-explains-the-making-of-project-natal/#commentsFiled under: ,

Vaunted science magazine Popular Science got to check out Project Natal at CES, and has posted its own take on the project over on its site. While most of the coverage we've seen of Microsoft's motion controller has been from the gaming press, Pop Sci comes at it from a software engineering perspective. Essentially, Microsoft is trying to build a sophisticated AI that can look at video of what you're doing in front of a camera, and translate that to information the game can use.

To accomplish that, the coders behind Natal took lots and lots of reference pictures and videos, and they're still "teaching" the software what it looks like when you try to hit a soccer ball or wave at Milo. It's fascinating stuff -- thirty "guesses" per second at your body's location and movement based on what the computer "knows" about what bodies look like and how they move, and lots of calculations based on that data. Hopefully by the time it's supposed to release later this year, Natal will have figured out what it looks like when we melee with a battle rifle.

[Thanks, Wonderflex!]

JoystiqPopular Science explains the making of Project Natal originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>battle-riflecalculationscameraengineeringhaloMicrosoftmilomovementspopular-scienceproject-natalsoftwareXboxXbox-360Wed, 13 Jan 2010 00:01:00 EST<![CDATA[Currently unused component found in Wiimote]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/01/currently-unused-component-found-in-wiimote/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/01/currently-unused-component-found-in-wiimote/http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/01/currently-unused-component-found-in-wiimote/#commentsFiled under:

OMG SECRET CHIPZBefore you go running off to troll post on various message boards, we'd like to give you some specifics. A recent CNN technology feature details some of the various chips and components found within the forty-dollar Wiimote. Among the Bluetooth converters and accelerometers is a component listed as an "audio translator," which "converts analog data such as human speech into a digital data stream. This feature is unused now but will probably be employed in future games." The approximate cost is listed at $2.00.

So, what's the deal? First, there is no actual microphone (a device capable of converting vibrational energy into electrical signals) found within the Wiimote. Though basic electrical engineering principals allow a standard speaker to act in such a fashion, the signal quality and frequency response would be unacceptably low. This chip actually requires an expansion device for it to be used at all. So why add it? It's only two dollars, but this rather unnecessary addition has cost the company several dozen million dollars. We can only assume that Nintendo or significant third parties are planning a title utilizing an expansion microphone, which will be presumably cheap enough to bundle with a title and incur no markup in price.

God knows the masses need a mainstream karaoke game (we know about Karaoke Revolution for the PS2, but it never really took off), and the Wii is just the system to do it. Like a Virginnnnn ... hey!

JoystiqCurrently unused component found in Wiimote originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 01 Jun 2007 09:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>AudioChipElectricalEngineeringExpansionKaraokeMicrophonePortSecretTechTranslatorWiimoteFri, 01 Jun 2007 09:50:00 EST<![CDATA[Advice for wannabe game developers]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/19/advice-for-wannabe-game-developers/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/19/advice-for-wannabe-game-developers/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/05/19/advice-for-wannabe-game-developers/#commentsFiled under: ,

The days of the bedroom coder are mostly behind us, though casual games and mini-games still provide the opportunity for a single coder to make it big -- not to mention one-man projects like Rag Doll Kung Fu which don't quite fit into the above categories.

If you're interested in running your own game development project, Download Squad has some business advice for you. Covering engines, team-building, documentation, project management, testing, marketing and the all-important "making money", this article is a useful starting point and gives a good idea of what's actually involved in a small-scale game development project. Of course, you'll want to do further research before embarking on such a project yourself.

JoystiqAdvice for wannabe game developers originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 19 May 2006 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>advicedevelopmentdocumentationdownload squadDownloadSquadengineeringenginesgame devgame developmentgame engineeringGameDevGameDevelopmentGameEngineeringhowtomaking moneyMakingMoneymoneyprofitproject managementProjectManagementprojectsteam buildingTeamBuildingwinFri, 19 May 2006 09:59:00 EST<![CDATA[Engineering the DS Lite: 2 Nintendo hardware vets speak]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/05/engineering-the-ds-lite-2-nintendo-hardware-vets-speak/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/05/engineering-the-ds-lite-2-nintendo-hardware-vets-speak/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/04/05/engineering-the-ds-lite-2-nintendo-hardware-vets-speak/#commentsFiled under: , ,

White DS Lite open and closed side-by-sideEver wonder what decisions go into a hardware redesign? Thanks to the latest edition of Nintendo's Japanese online mag, we finally get a portable peek into the DS Lite.

Two Nintendo engineers who worked on the cuter DS sibling reveal how they pulled off the svelte new look while maintaining things like usability, battery life, and cost.

Who knew that the new stylus was made "longer and wider to accommodate older users" (the Brain Age demographic who'd taken such a shine to the now shinier little system)? Durable, reliable hardware: it's what Nintendo does best. Let's hope they continue that trend with the Lite, as well as whatever other slicker iterations of the handheld that we're tempted to purchase -- or repurchase -- in the future.

[Thanks, Princess Zelda; also via DS Fanboy]

See also:

JoystiqEngineering the DS Lite: 2 Nintendo hardware vets speak originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 05 Apr 2006 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>battery lifeBatteryLifeBrain AgeBrainAgecostdecisiondecisionsdemographicDSDS LiteDS siblingDsLiteDsSiblingdurableengineerengineeringengineershardwareiterationiterationsJapaneseNintendoolder usersOlderUsersonline magonline magazineOnlineMagOnlineMagazinepurchaseredesignreliablerepurchaseshineshiniershinyslickslickerstylussvelteusabilityvetvetsWed, 05 Apr 2006 12:57:00 EST