The Wii's movements, how are they used?

[jakenoble]

Hi all.

I have not got my Wii yet, its in the mail at the moment.

I was wondering about how the motions senses are used in games and how they are interpreted to movements in the game.

I see it as happening in 1 or 2 ways.

1) You move the remote in a manner which is like swinging a tennis racket, the Wii sees this movement, recognizes it then makes your player do a forehand hit.

2) You move the remote in a manner which is like winging a tennis racket, the Wii sees this moment, and just maps this movement to the game, without trying to tell what it was.

The first one is easier to program and make work, but the 2nd one is much more realistic. I am would like it to be the second one.

Watching this video may shed some light on what I am talking about http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2991739314359132538

Its a video of LiveMove which I can only assume is software use by game developers make Wii games. This video suggests that the first case is true.

Whats the real case? One or Two? And if 1 is true then does anyone know any games that will use model like 2. Games that map your boxing punches exactly would be immense.

Cheers

Jake

 

[Skippy]

The short answer is both. It's up the developer to decide how they want to interpret the controller movement.

 

[Kryptenx]

1). I doubt any game will ever utilize idea 2. Maybe close, but it would take a lot more processing power and development time.

 

[jakenoble]

Glad to hear that Skippy.

Kryptenx, I see what you mean it would take a lot more power to do 2. But if they don't ever use anything similar to scenario 2 then there is a lot missing from the Wii.

Edit: actually come to think of it mapping the Wiimotes movements like to like on screen would not be power hungry at all. Programming it would be horrible compared to using something like LiveMove

 

[Kryptenx]

Glad to hear that Skippy.

Kryptenx, I see what you mean it would take a lot more power to do 2. But if they don't ever use anything similar to scenario 2 then there is a lot missing from the Wii.

Edit: actually come to think of it mapping the Wiimotes movements like to like on screen would not be power hungry at all. Programming it would be horrible compared to using something like LiveMove

Instead of just recognizing a small movement and then doing a set action on-screen, scenario 2 would involve mapping and tracking the position of the WiiMote throughout the entire motion, all while making nonstop calculations to determine the on-screen output. Not only that, but it would also require a lot more programming and resources to take care of all the collision management. Instead of having 1 set action, you now have to take into account millions of possibilities and make the game handle that. I just don't think we will see this with the Wii, it's not powerful enough. I do think we will get halfway close though. I expect for the next Zelda game to be moving in that direction, and there will be plenty of games that follow after that.

 

[Skippy]

While waiting for the pitch in Wii Sports Baseball, the onscreen bat matches the movements you make with the remote. However, the actual swing is triggered when you make a swing movement. And you can bunt by just holding the remote out like that and not swing and it still knows where the bat is and reacts appropriately.

It's certainly not impossible. I think as time goes by and developers learn the ins and outs of programming for the remote, we'll see a lot more creative uses of the remote, including full motion tracking.

 

[Kryptenx]

While waiting for the pitch in Wii Sports Baseball, the onscreen bat matches the movements you make with the remote. However, the actual swing is triggered when you make a swing movement. And you can bunt by just holding the remote out like that and not swing and it still knows where the bat is and reacts appropriately.

It's certainly not impossible. I think as time goes by and developers learn the ins and outs of programming for the remote, we'll see a lot more creative uses of the remote, including full motion tracking.

Actually, I've noticed that the baseball bat position depends entirely on the tilt of the Wii remote. You can hold it pointed toward anywhere with the top of the remote facing down, and your bat will be in the correct position. The same applies with bowling; it doesn't matter if you curve your throw at the end or hold the remote sideways the whole time, the spin relies in the way the remote is tilted at the end of the throw.

I'd imagine tricks similar to these are possible with other games, but I doubt to that extent. The baseball swing has limited motion. If it were more open ended as scenario 2 is, less of these tricks would be possible.

But yes, it's possible, I just don't think we will see it(fullscale) on the Wii. (Possibly next-gen?)

 

[Hotspur Warrior]

Doesn't Wii Boxing map your movements to the screen? For example, after you've won, the exact movements you make with your arms happen on screen too.

 

[Kryptenx]

Pretty much. There is a reason it doesn't during the game though, and that's because it requires a lot more resources and a lot more coding.

 

[psyichic]

The boxing does not map on a 1:1 basis. Actually it only determines the location of the gloves based on the tilt of the controllers. Try it some time. You can tilt the controllers slightly backwards in your hands and your character will lean backwards and block it's face. and if you quickly tilt the controllers forward you will punch. They seem to be 1:1 movements but they really only detect the tilt of the controllers they hardly even detect their movement.