A kung-fu computer game that requires players to perform real flying kicks and punches is being developed for gaming consoles. The game could turn joystick-twiddling couch potatoes into athletic martial arts enthusiasts, its developers hope.
Kick Ass Kung Fu lets players fight onscreen enemies using real kicks, punches, head-butts or by wielding any improvised weapon they choose. A video camera captures their movements from one side and superimposes a two-dimensional silhouette of them onto a computer screen. A computer then translates the silhouette's moves into real-time computerised kicks and punches, enabling a player to take on virtual opponents.
Simple augmented-reality games are already available for some games consoles. For example, the EyeToy camera system for Sony's PlayStation lets users play basic games using real body movements.
But Kick Ass Kung Fu takes this interactivity to another level, its designers claim. Players must rapidly perform athletic jumps and kicks to beat increasingly tricky opponents, as this video of players in action shows (Mpeg format).
Grab a chair
The current version of the game requires a large amount of space and a giant video screen. It was developed by researchers at Helsinki University of Technology in Finland. Now they have set up a company, called Animaatiokone Industries, to create a commercial version for arcades and camera-equipped games consoles.
"It's in the works, but is going to be somewhat different because most people don’t have too much space in their living room," says Ari Nyhanen, product manager for Animaatiokone Industries. Nyhanen adds that the game's image-recognition software is being refined so that it can recognise body movements in a more cluttered home environment.
But players should still be able to fight onscreen opponents in a fairly realistic way, says Perttu Hämäläinen, one of the games original developers who now leads research and development at the company. "It has been developed so that you can improvise," he told New Scientist. "People often grab a chair or something nearby to use as a weapon."
Combat errors
Hämäläinen has already used real martial arts experts to test the game. His PhD thesis was based on experiments with 46 experts from several different martial arts disciplines. Seeing themselves on screen helped some of the participants spot and correct errors in their combat moves, he says.
The next test for the game will come in October during the 2006 Karate World Championships in Finland. Entrants to the championship will also be given the opportunity to compete for the highest score in the video game.
The games industry is also expected to showcase other immersive forms of computer game at the 2006 E3 Expo, which is held in Los Angeles between from 10 to 12 May. For example, Nintendo will demonstrate its latest console, which features a controller that can sense its position in three dimensions, providing an opportunity for new kinds of interactivity.
http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/dn9092-kungfu-computer-game-delivers-real-kicks.html----------------------------------------------------
This might be pretty interesting, and If developed right, might be a usefull tool for all my Ukies around the world.
Stephen
Topic: Kick *&^ kungfu! (Read 1188 times)