E3 2010: Hands-on (or hands-off?) with Game Party: In Motion using Kinect for Xbox 360

I put in a bit of time (over two days) with Warner Bros. Interactive’s Game Party: In Motion during E3 2010.

The title, which consists of 16 party style mini games, relies heavily on the Xbox 360′s Kinect full-body motion control system. I only played a few of the lot but that was plenty enough to get a feel for the title and Kinect.

The first day I played I consider a tutorial. The booth attendant was getting used to the crowds and noticing how passers-by interfere with the syncing and I was trying to get a hang of using my whole being to control, well, anything on screen.

I primarily played two games: Rootbeer Tapper (stress on root and bot beer, because this is a family game) and a football tossing game. Both can be played as a single player or two-player game.

First the Kinect needs to “scan” you and make certain it is reading you for the in-game controls. Your in-game avatar then reacts to your movements, moving side-to-side between bar tables as you wag or jump from side-to-side. When playing two-player, movements didn’t need to be as distinct as when playing in single-player mode. Against an opponent I was able to simply lean to one side and it would move my avatar. For single-player, however, I found myself jumping sideways but in very precise ways, quickly acting as if I was standing on an invisible floor matte.

The other main action in the game was cranking your arm, much like pulling a tap on a keg of rootbeer. This was the least precise part of the game. Im not certain how much the surrounding environment effected this but mugs of root beer were being flung when I didn’t even move my arm and mugs were not being flung when I did. The first day I played was especially bad but it seemed to be better calibrated and responsive the second day.,

The main issue was that people kept walking along the sides of the mini-booth, throwing off the Kinect’s calibration even when not visible on screen (at least as far as I could tell). My concern there is for anyone who owns a pet (which I am guessing is about 80% of gamers out there) or have a window to the outside world opposite the TV. Any distinct contrast or weird extra movement seems to throw off the tracking, even if for a moment, which can be crucial in a game.

This should give you an idea of the Kinect’s field of view and how shadows could be interpreted as other gamers. Note the shadows behind me (to your left).

When a much larger fellow decided to jump in and play against me (right after I thwomped the booth attendant), he thoroughly kicked my butt. It makes me wonder how much girth has to do with motion recognition.

As for the football minigame, I had far less luck or fun with that. As target fly down field, goofy avatars walk between the sidelines, periodically deciding to run at you and maybe even try to tackle you to prevent you from scoring points. I was instructed to move my arm as if I were throing a football, with speed and direction being “accurately reflected within the game.” Also, when oppents came running at me, I was supposed to clock them with a football to knock them down (and maybe score some extra points?).

The accuracy was embarrassingly poor, never going the direction I aimed tor tossing the ball at the moment I would have preferred from my arm’s overhand throwing movement. This was such a poor example of the Kinect’s promised abilities to use your body as a controller that I could not imagine anyone enjoying this game. It’s no wonder the attendant had people primarily playing the Tapper and a Whack-a-Mole style minigame.

Right now, based on my time with the game at E3 2010, I can only say that the game and Kinect show a lot of promise. It seems that the Kinect is currently very finicky so that flashing lights and passers-by can muck up the controls. When it worked it was great. Otherwise, it’s (currently) a tough recommendation.

As for the game, it is highly dependent on the accuracy of the Kinect. Likewise, Game Party: In Motion shows a lot of promise as s fun family or family-room game that will make you endlessly giggle as you watch your friends jump and wave their arms around to play a game.

Game Party: In Motion is being developed by FarSight Studios and is expected to be released for Xbox 360 (only). A specific date was not annoucned but it is expected to be a Kinect launch title. The developers also promise to allow online competition via Xbox Live (so you’ll be able to see your opponent -or at least their avatar – on screen) and Facebook integration for posting Achievements.

Photo Gallery [Game Party: In Motion Photos @ Gamertell] Site [Gamertell @ E3 2010]