Sony Move.Me

In this essay I will be touching on the subject of PlayStation Move.Me, an application from Sony that allows players (in this case creators) to create interactive motion sensor games by utilizing the PlayStation Move Controllers. I will also discuss creations that can be made and some of the possible concepts that has already been done and that might be able to be conceived from this new technology provided. However to discuss further, we will look into the history of Sony, its products, key moments, competitions and inevitably, the controllers. 

History of Sony

My approach on finding out a company’s history is to look for information given by the company themselves and then cross-referencing them to outside sources. Some information I gathered from Sony’s website http://www.sony.co.uk/article/id/1060176719725 are as follows; The company is based in Japan and was originally called TTK (Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo) and later renamed Sony due to the name already being used by other company. From different sites such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony and documentary http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27J1E700qe8&feature=related, I learnt that Its earliest products dates back to 1950s and consisting of various electronic devices from radios, tape recorders, televisions and many of them were the first of its kind, for example; world’s 1^st Portable TV and CD Player just to name a few. Sony later on started branching out to the rest of the world, most notably in the United States and United Kingdom. The company also started to extend their products to cameras, phones, computers, videos, music and established a number of Sony groups to major industries such as Sony Pictures, Sony Music and of course Sony Computer Entertainment, inc.  

Sony Computer Entertainment

This is the part of the company that focuses on video game industry and it’s biggest markets includes; North America, Europe and Asia. One of the biggest key moment of this company was definitely when its very 1^st home console was produced; on 1994 (Japan) & 1995 (North America) Sony PlayStation/ PSX/ PSOne was launched, which was originally intended to be a CD-ROM drive add-on for Super Nintendo/ Super Famicom.  Following its success PS2/PSX2 (PlayStation 2) was released 5 years after that and became the first video game console that allows DVD playability and had sold up to 150 Million units world wide today. Not long after that, the PSP (PlayStation Portable) was released, followed by PSP GO, both of which are portable gaming consoles that uses UMD and Flash Memory for the latter product. Then along came the PS3 (PlayStation 3) which sums up all the technology gathered all those years and more, it provides online capabilities; which includes games, videos, music and of course the birth of PS Move (PlayStation Move). To explain what PS Move is, I have to backtrack again slightly to discuss more about controllers from older to current generation of gaming.

Controllers

http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/art-controller.htm This is a site that list the history of video game controllers. To sum up the evolution of controllers for home consoles; it is apparent that it started out mostly in forms of joysticks and then eventually morphed into D-pad controller that seems to be everywhere currently. As mentioned on the website, these “Joysticks allows 8 directional movements (up/down/left/right/angles) with a single action button. They were bulky with a heavy base, and a long protruding handle/ stick that could be gripped in a fist.” I believe this is really just the reality of bringing home a compressed portable arcade machine into our home at the time, hence the similar design. The transition began during the early 1980s when “a Japanese inventor, Gunpei Yokoi, would create a controller interface that would later become known as a D-Pad (Digital-Pad). This D-Pad used a ‘cross-shaped’ directional digital control interface that could be manipulated with the thumb” as stated on the site and popularized by Nintendo and would be better known as Joypads. Along the way, many additional features were added to the design such as turbo, slow motion, longer design or flexible, more buttons, etc. Some of the earlier games that utilize this Joypads are SEGA Genesis, SuperNES and later on the Sony PSX. Sony took the design into a new level by adding Dual Shock capability, which allows switch between analog and digital game play and also vibrations later during the PS2 era among many other additions. Not long after, the wireless controllers reigns internationally, however, as much as wireless capability appears to be a novelty, it had actually been around for much longer before. “Atari experimented with wireless technology in the early 1980s.” as quoted from the site. Using RF (Radio Frequency), same one used to open garage doors, walkie-talkies or radio, Atari created a wireless controller, but it was rather bulky, receiver had to be plugged in to AC wall outlet and they experience lag and obviously it will occasional interfere with other RF waves at the same area causing complaints on garage doors opening randomly. Many different companies tried approaching the concept in different ways but technologies at the time didn’t seem to be doing it any justice. Then came along the PS3 that introduces the SIXAXIS that features motion controls which opens up doors to wide range of new game plays. 

Competitions 

Not too far apart from PS3’s SIXAXIS technology, Nintendo released Wii, which uses the Wii-Mote that also features motion sensor, and more,  “Nintendo added a PixArt optical sensor at the tip, allowing it to determine the direction you are pointing at the controller.” Also its in a shape of a TV remote that was designed to be held by a single hand. Soon enough jumping to the band wagon of interactive era, Sony also came up with similar design; the PS Move controllers in 2010 and the PlayStation Eye that applies same concept of motion controls by having ‘orb’ on the tip of microphone-shaped controller that is then tracked by the PlayStation Eye for movements. Both the Wii-Mote and PS-Move controllers features a separate ‘Nunchuck’ controller that acts as a navigational function in the interaction. Soon after, Kinect was released for Xbox 360, which only uses a camera, but instead of having a controller, uses a “3D motion capture, facial recognition and advanced gesture recognition.” 

These 3 current ‘Advanced Motion Gaming Controllers’ might sound brilliant, and for the most part they are; gameplays that involves 1^st person cutting motion, sporty moves, gestures or even visual therapy sessions are all now ‘do-able’, however are they really advanced new game play experience? Or are they just advanced new technology used as gimmicks to lure casual users into buying them?

Reception and potentials

Out of the three consoles Nintendo Wii is the one that had been consistently leading in sales. With over 70 Million units sold worldwide to date, this automatically makes the Wii-mote the most well received motion controller. In terms of sales 360 and PS3 might be both inferior, however the reception and sales for the controllers on they’re own are not a bad one, the Move sold 8.8 million units since its release while the Xbox Kinect had 10 million units sold. So by numbers, they’re all doing pretty well, but obviously there’s a reason why the Kinect and Move controllers are inferior to Wii-mote. 

Firstly, during the lecture from Sumo Digital’s Art Director Sean Millard, he made it clear that investing on Move or Kinect is not worth it, simply because only less than 50% (maybe even lesser) of gamers that owns the consoles ALSO owns the controllers, therefore it means that he will be making a game that only appeals and ultimately profits from less than 50% of the industry, (which will never happen for the wii, but that’s besides the point); so at the end of the day, it’s a funny trend of gamers not getting the controllers due to the unexciting amount of games it posses and developers can’t invest on them because there is simply not enough audience to sell to. Secondly, in my opinion, the Wii outsold the 2 other consoles by a country mile because it made itself clear; to be mainstream, casual and most importantly, family oriented party game. The Wii can target everybody from different age groups and obviously Nintendo targeted parents as their main audience, to make them feel that they could be involved with their kids and families, be in touch with today’s technology with a valid reason. If you look at the console from a proper gamer perspective however, it is nothing more than a ‘fast-food’, 5 minutes games that can also be experienced by playing the Ipad/ Iphone, which also had a similar sales concept as the Wii (which I will get into more later), most of them are really fun engaging party games, yes, but real gamers and games are the ones that takes long hours to beat/play and takes long hours in each sittings as well, therefore motion controls will unlikely be the top ‘proper’ gaming controllers as gamers; by nature; are extremely lazy and that is the truth. Another crucial flaw for the motion sensor technology is that they require plenty of space, and not everyone’s living room or bedroom are that spacious, even lightings can affect outcomes, often times these  problems results in glitchy and unpredictable functions. Well, various technologies may come and go, but the controller that rest on gamer’s palms will never disappear, not in a long time at least.  Nothing is wrong with Wii’s situation, Nintendo did a brilliant job marketing it, its not a good or bad thing, but it is a shame, because real potentials hidden in the motion sensor controllers are buried and shoved down a place where nobody can see them. For example Echochrome 2, a game that utilizes the PS-Move like a flashlight and plays with the idea of shadows behind shapes to create pathways and solve unique puzzles. Here is an example below. 

This is I think one of the finest and creative usage of the motion controller, compared to the usually overused 1^st person shooter/ hack and slash/ rail adventure/ sports motion control games and again it is a shame because these are the kind of games that don’t profit very well to large mass of party game/ ‘fast-food’ audience. 

Move.Me

Similar to what I mentioned about Apple’s and Wii’s ‘fast-food’ games, seems like Sony finally did its ‘move’ too. To elaborate; Like I explained before, Wii consist of many casual and family friendly short hours games, while similarly Apple consist of many 5 minutes games that are truly revolutionary, many of them are downright simple, creative, extremely addictive and most of all; could be made by players themselves. Some of the examples includes; Temple Run, Shift, Cut The Rope, or even Infinity Blade just to name a few. 

These games are indie and creative enough for a ‘fast-food’ game but will never make any money on the console. However, if we look at Media Molecule’s LBP (Little Big Planet 1 & 2) or Xbox Indie Market place section, it would have made a perfect sense. LBP similarly to Apple, lets the users create their own games, the difference is that LBP is already a game itself, but the point is, it is alive, the same reason why there are DLCs (Downloadable contents) on the online stores, to make more money, yes, but more importantly to keep the content alive and running; the game and players themselves will be the game. So in relation to this, I think Move.Me is going in the same direction, slow start but I think it might be the break Sony needed for PS-Move to unlock its potential. 

Ideas for application

To come up with a new concept for Move.Me, I looked back on existing games and also demonstrations videos of Move.Me. There are already plenty of hack and slash and 1st person shooter games such as Red Steel and House of The Dead, Child of Eden and Killzone 3, party games such as Dance Central, Kinectimals, Mario Party 8, beat Sketchers, moving on to sports themed games such as Super Mario Sports, Sports Champion, Wii Sports and last but not least, the more narrative and concept orientated ones such as Heavy Rain and Echochrome 2. The following video shows the demonstration of the Move.Me possible capabilities.

Some of the possible new applications could utilize the idea from Echochrome 2 and create a game that for example a horror adventure that only uses torchlight/lantern/flashlight as a weapon, this could create the sense of helplessness that horror games are suppose to have, for example Amnesia. It can also be made to create a PS Home (Playstation Home) sort of game, but where you can meet other online players in first person instead and then interact with digital everyday objects like opening door knobs, playing instruments, holding a can of coke, a book, etc (and not necessarily use them as weapon) and even interact with only players themselves with the motion sensor; for example shaking hands, pat on the shoulder, punching, slapping, waving. It is of course much more complicated than it sounds, there are variables to consider such as how movements are executed, how to choose between open palm and fist, but I believe this could be done and will bring out some of the more innovative ways of using the controller. 

Conclusion

I believe that it will take sometime for users to digest this new direction Sony is taking, but just like LBP and Xbox Indie Market Place or even Apple Store,it will just keep flowing once the public started coming out with games and applications.

Bibliography

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXy2f3s9Y-s&feature=fvst

http://webassetsh.scea.com/pscomauth/groups/public/documents/webasset/moveme-userguide_0223.pdf

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

http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/art-controller.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27J1E700qe8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bTMUttcDhI&feature=related

http://www.sony.co.uk/article/id/1060176719725

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27J1E700qe8&feature=related

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Computer_Entertainment

http://www.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com/gb/?&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Sony%7CGB%7CB%7CBrand%7CBroad&utm_term=entertainment%20sony&utm_content=sX0XSOCZF&pcrid=14903973690

Interactive Narrative

The Project

The new task is to come up with an idea for an interactive narrative; be it flash comics, digital graphic novels, 3D 1^st person exploration, point and click, etc. One of the examples shown was a graphic novel done I think on iWeb, consisting of 5 options to choose from during the whole game-play with only 1 proper linear outcome; with more or less 15-20 pages in between them.

Research

On my research I started by looking at familiar works that I think is very influential to me and also in gear with this current project, some of them are as shown below.

INFAMOUS 1 & 2 opening cinematic

MGS Digital Graphic Novel

Then I went on to look at how different graphic novels/ comics/ manga utilize different drawing styles; line drawings, shades and also angles and panels. 

Various Marvel comics

The Walking Dead

Man With No Name

 Orange

By then I have a pretty clear idea that the atmosphere and style is going to be moody with touches of bright colors, very inkish, brushy, very grungy; and the execution will be; again more or less like how it is in MGS Graphic Novel and INFAMOUS. Basically lots of different layers of drawings simply transformed and aided with audio and SFX to give an illusion of it being animated. However, at the end of the day, since IT IS first and foremost have to be an interactive experience and having only about a few weeks to finish the project, its clear that making it graphic heavy, too many panels and too complicated will be downright suicidal.

Concept & Development

So I came up with a pretty simple concept of a duel that consist of choosing different options throughout the fight and ultimately leads to 2 different endings.

This will all be in a digital graphic novel style, so all drawings will be done in Photoshop and then transferred to after-effects for simple animations and then to iWeb to put it all together and have an interactive animation. After roughly working out the branches and path, I came up with this (this is the final branch image that I come up with after different sketches)

Branches

Storyboards

And of course some concept design

and lets not forget influences/ inspirations

 Afro Samurai

Man With No Name

Once Upon A Time In The West

The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Sukiyaki Western Django

Jagger is a character that I doodled on a piece of paper years ago, I really like him but didn’t know what to do with him till now. Jagger's name came from his 'jaggy' hair and the title 'Jaggy Sam' stands for Jaggy Samurai but also sounds like a name, its simple and I think its rather catchy, it came up the moment I finished drawing him and just stuck with it till now. The concept for Jagger is to have an overpowered character, he's seen it all, seasoned, he's a foreigner in a new place but he just wants to chill, have a drag, have a drink, paint nature and he is also a vegetarian. The antagonist in the duel is called Cal, named after Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry; Harry Calahan, because he IS after all modeled after Eastwood's character 'The Man With No Name'.

Now, at this point I don’t have much story to tell, but the interactivity is definitely there.

Got the green light from Nigel and peers seems to think it’s a solid concept so then I started working on the panels one by one.

1^st few panels into the project and already I am struggling to even get the first scene out, I noticed how I’m not used to drawing more than even 1 picture in a day and even when I did manage to get more than a few panels out, they will be in slightly different consistency and needs a lot of reworking to keep it more or less uniform. Then it dawned on me that I will never finish this project anytime soon, fortunately the university gave an extension.

I stumbled upon this artist on the net with her works on similar uni project, which I find rather simple, moving and inspiring.

Rumination by Yuumei (Interactive Narrative)

At some point I was heavily considering the idea of using Adobe Flash instead of iWeb; its definitely much more customizable and much more interactive if used properly, however after tweaking with it for 3 sleepless nights to no avail, I was defeated by action scripting, it is too much of a pain to learn and get used to at this point (even with a premade script template). After fruitless search in trying out different software for interactivity as well, I am back with iWeb. The problem with iWeb is that is not nearly as interactive as half of what I need it to do, so there’s a lot of compromise; page have to been changed and reload after every choices, there’s also no function that allows buttons to appear only at certain times. iWeb is bearable but definitely not really doing my work justice, however I came up with a lot of adjustments and tried it out (to get used to it) as I was working on them panels, each week I will also use the After-Effects on Media Lab (as mine wouldn’t run properly on my laptop) to get the animation done as I slowly, but surely geting the panels done on Photoshop.

Final week before hand in, all panels are drawn and animated, also came up with a short story to briefly introduce the audience to the world of Edowest, which is a mash up of old west and old east (Edo). Jagger the main character had been wrongly accused of murdering a group of people in a posse, the youngest surviving member had caught up with him and thirsty for revenge. I kept it brief because there really isn’t any point in exploring the story too much when all you see is a 5 minutes duel sequence between 2 characters. Also I put in loads of SFX and original music on the video which If I say so myself; made the animation much smoother and nicer to watch. Also, I start putting in dialogs although initially I was going with the dialogs I had on the storyboard, but decided that its too shallow and could've been otherwise used to bring out the story more. Lastly I came up with a logo before finally putting all the pieces together on iWeb.


Jaggy Sam Logo

Working on iWeb had not been an easy journey so far and at this stage; with its unpredictability involving videos and hyperlinks and layers that messes up on different browsers (Safari, Firefox, etc), it gets brutally frustrating to work with. It is definitely a good software for blogging with simple images, text and links, but it is just simply not made for making clips of video animation interactive. Fortunately with all that being said, I managed to pull it off; at the very least all the hyperlink and branches works, managed to put in my own music on it which wasn’t a smooth process either but eventually it worked. Disappointingly, there are still some glitches when opening it on Firefox, some of the buttons would be invisible but everything else works fine.

Conclusion

In conclusion, in this project I’ve learnt so much about working very quickly to get loads of work out in a really short amount of time and it definitely trained me; at the beginning I can barely finish more than 1 piece of drawing each day, whereas now I could tank at least 3-4 drawings each day. It was a difficult and tedious process but which I really enjoyed and really proud off. I will also be importing this work on to Flash as soon as I can work out the action scripting or get somebody to help out, because as I mentioned before putting it on a blog making software like iWeb is not doing my work justice at all and will only be a temporary solution.