Ok, so typical 3d games allow for mouselook, and firing a weapon in a straight line. But what kind of interface would be appropriate for game that allows for more control of individual body parts, likes legs, arms, head, etc? The first kind of game that everyone seems to think of is a sex simulator. Attempting to control every joint would be a nightmare -- imagine having sex in real life, if you could only move one limb or joint at a time! The more obvious solution is a more goal based interface. This makes sense if you are using your hands. For example, grabbing a coke can could be as easy as clicking on the can. Then using IK, the program would figure out how to move the joints to grab the can. . . But, going back to the sex simulator, goal based movement becomes impractical again. Yes, you can grab another players arm with your hand, but what if you want play footsie with another player. Should the toes be goal based as well? Ideas? DmGoober

Sex Simulator? Why would you simulate when you could just... *ahem* oh never mind...

Consider Trespasser. Ridiculed as Arm Simulator 98. Near impossible to control.

You''ve got to consider the input device. Complex mechanical simulation isn''t viable until we get gloves or sleeves or suits for gaming. They''re an inevitability, but I think they''re a number of years away.

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Just waiting for the mothership...

Did anyone see that episode of Red Dwarf

That was some funny sh*t

ANDREW RUSSELL STUDIOS
Visit Tiberia: it''s bigger, it''s badder, it''s pouyer...

This is probably what you're looking for.

Edited by - morfe on February 21, 2001 1:35:23 AM

Yup, I can see it now... THREAD CLOSED

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Just waiting for the mothership...

how about something where you just sort of place your hand on the keyboard and message a lot of keys at once? Record which keys get pressed and at what time. You could use it to construct a height map and actually figure out what he is doing with his hands, if you are super amazing you could sort of rig it to inverse kinematics (or maybe the other kind of kinematics, forgot which) to see what he is doing even more so. Of course such a system would be extremely hard to construct.

Erm, well, after deleting a few of the more pointless messages, I''m still debating wether to close this thread.
The general gist of the discussion isn''t that bad, if you exclude the silliness about a sex simulator. However, I doubt the general maturity level here is high enough to actually look past that part.
I''ll give you guys the benefit of the doubt, and leave it open for a while.


People might not remember what you said, or what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel.
Mad Keith the V.

I only mentioned the sex simulator because it frames the question in an interesting way. A sex simulator forces the game designer to allow each joint to move. There are few overarching goals. Most other games/simulators could and should be abstracted somewhat as there are obvious goals that are a level of abstraction higher than individual joint movement.

For example, moving individual joints within the context of a first person shooter would be overkill. Who cares where your pinky is when you are firing an aug? The game designer can abstract series of joint movements into whole coordinated movements such as "duck."

If you're having problems with maturity and the "sex simulator" then imagine that i asked the question as a "modern dance simulator" where you want to portray the movement of body parts. (My guess is the majority of the population is more interested in sex than modern dance but I may be wrong.)

(For a serious discussion on sex in computer games, I refer you to:
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/designers_notebook/20001005/adams_01.htm
)

Reframe the question as this:

1) Would it be possible to create an interface, using mouse and keyboard, that allows the user to control each of the 20 main joints of a human avatar? (the number of joints jumps if you count the jaw, and each of the individual joints of the digits (thought the benefit of being able to bend your toe is minimal.)

2) How difficult would it be to create hardware that simply measures the degree of bend at each joint? What kind of software game would encourage hardware makers to create such devices?

Then add:
3) Why is explicit sex in a computer game so contraversial? Computer users have already created their own "sex simulators" in chat rooms across america. Non-interactive porn sites are hugely successful (the porn industry in america, thanks to the internet and VCR is worth $56 billion dollars, according to Forbes magazine. Why not capitalize on this and added a graphical interface and interactivity?

And the more general question, which is out of the scope of this thread is, "Why as a society are we so closed minded about sex? What are the benefits to silence about sex? What are the harms? Would AIDS and STDs and unplanned pregnancy be such an issue if we were more open about sex? Could comptuer games be used to teach safe sex?"

I leave you with a quote from a biologist, "We know more about the sexual habits of mice than we do about the sexual habits of humans." (Quoted from University of Chicago report "Sex in America.")

DmGoober


Edited by - DmGoober on February 21, 2001 10:02:35 AM

Edited by - DmGoober on February 21, 2001 10:09:38 AM

[Edited by MadKeithV, will you guys PLEASE REFRAIN FROM POSTING OFF-TOPIC ONELINERS!]


Edited by - MadKeithV on February 22, 2001 2:48:03 AM

Now to be serious:

Perhaps you could use something like the little "balls" they tag soccer players bodies with when they film them to map their movements into analyze their style or for in soccer games.

Instead, have a set of small transmitters at the major joints, and a single central receiver that sits on your desk and analyzes the variation in position for each transmitter.


"NPCs will be inherited from the basic Entity class. They will be fully independent, and carry out their own lives oblivious to the world around them ... that is, until you set them on fire ..." -- Merrick

"It is far easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it first passes through a blender" -- Damocles