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You Are Player One User Interfaces in Interactive Entertainment

You Are Player One User Interfaces in Interactive Entertainment. Richard Marks Manager, Special Projects. An Interface Revolution is beginning. Graphics have improved dramatically Interface is limiting the interactivity Interface is limiting the fun. Describe the ultimate interface…. Fun

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You Are Player One User Interfaces in Interactive Entertainment

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  1. You Are Player One User Interfaces in Interactive Entertainment Richard Marks Manager, Special Projects

  2. An Interface Revolution is beginning • Graphics have improved dramatically • Interface is limiting the interactivity • Interface is limiting the fun

  3. Describe the ultimate interface… • Fun • Intuitive • Interactive • Flexible • Enabling • Fun! • PS9 commercial shows what people think is “futuristic” • Blurring of distinction between real and virtual • Sensory enhancement • Gaming anywhere and everywhere • Experiential • Describe the system by describing its interface

  4. Background: Games are big busine$$ • For the last 2 years, video game sales revenue has exceeded box-office receipts • FY 2004, Electronic Arts reports… • Revenue of $2.96 billion • Net income of $577 million • In less than 4 years worldwide…. • 70 million PlayStation2 hardware units • 572 million PlayStation2 software units • 1 in 4 American homes has PlayStation2

  5. Accelerating adoption rate Million units 10 PS2 9 8 7 32/64bit Game CD Player 6 5 PC 4 3 Walkman 2 1 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 years

  6. PlayStation R&D (SCE America) • Mission • Catalyze new ideas for interactive entertainment • Focus • 0 to 5 years • Groups • Advanced Graphics • Distributed Processing • Developer Tools (compilers, optimizers) • Special Projects • Animation and physical simulation • Man-machine interface

  7. R&D job description • Improve existing experience • Enable new experiences • “We don’t make games, we make them better” • Give game developers more tools to use for creation • Create software that game developers can use • Prototype tech demos to inspire game developers

  8. R&D cycle • Matched to PlayStation platform cycle (5-6 years) • 2-3 years research • Focused on about a 5 year look-ahead • Intended to raise the bar of computer entertainment • 2 years development • Hardware specification, proving workloads • Advanced libraries, technology demos, samples • 1 year production • Maintenance, support of our releases

  9. Research models • Push • Research group pushes technology out of lab and into product groups • Tough because product groups have schedules • Example: EyeToy • Pull • Tends to be evolutionary, not revolutionary • Less freedom, but certainty of usefulness • Example: PlayStation Voice Recognition • Stockpile • What do we do with this? Don’t know, save it for later. • Most common model for large research groups

  10. Future games…. Cameras Microphones Gamepad Inertial Etc. PS? Level of interaction • Games now…. “L1 o” PS2 “42”

  11. Interface Modalities • Inertial (accelerometers, rate gyros) • Touch (haptics, force-feedback) • Audio • Speech (speech recognition, speaker id) • Waveform (frequency, amplitude, rhythm) • Video • Familiar • Fast • Physical • Personal • Multipurpose

  12. Voice Input • Voice recognition • Command/control, user-independent, isolated word, text authored • Used in NFL GameDay, NCAA Gamebreaker, NBA Shootout • Online adaptation to user’s voice • Far-microphone voice input in noisy environments • Acoustic Echo Cancellation • Multi-microphone techniques • Speaker identification • Voice fonts

  13. Video interface categories • Video As Input (VAI) • joystick replacement • user does not see video • applicable to existing games • Enhanced Reality (or augmented reality) • live video mixed with computer graphics • movie-like special effects • new entertainment genre • Real-time Motion Capture • direct interaction • enables physical interaction

  14. Video As Input • User does not see the video • Video quality only important for processing • Only need to capture/process useful info • Frame rate and latency are critical • Immediate and obvious visual feedback is important

  15. Enhanced Reality • Augmented reality, but with an entertainment focus • Minimize encumbrance • Utilize common hardware • Simplify setup/calibration • Create an enjoyable user experience

  16. Video interface design goals • Accessible • Affordable • Easy-to-use • Unobtrusive • Targeted • Lens good for low light • Compression specific to PS2 hardware • Video size appropriate for PS2 processing power • Multi-purpose • Communication (e.g. EyeToy: Chat) • Snapshots

  17. EyeToy: research to product • 1999-2000 • initial research and prototyping • 2001 • join the London game team for 3 months • learn about their world • L transfer my technology, but more importantly, they absorb how I think, so they can extend the ideas • 2002 • experienced game team creates games, not technologist • 2003 • EyeToy launches globally • 2004 • 5 million EyeToys shipped to date

  18. EyeToy: Play • Easy to jump in and play • Not too serious • Very social • Amazing demographics • Young children, parents, girls, grandparents

  19. Mature video technology • Motion detection • Color segmentation • Simple-object pose recovery • Sphere, position only • Cylinder, position+orientation • Gesture recognition • Pattern matching • Basic video/graphics compositing

  20. Recent video technology • Freeform mouse-like input (e.g. Minority Report) • Retro-reflection • The “Clam” deformable input device • Face detection • Face tracking • Better color tracking • Demos (clam, view tracking)

  21. Just around the corner • PSP + camera • PSP is your window to an enhanced world • Mobile augmented reality • Mobile video communication • Face tracking for animation communication • Next generation console + camera • Much more CPU • Much higher input bandwidth • Camera should be higher res, faster, more sensitive • New interfaces an important design criterion

  22. Future video technology • Per-pixel distance measurement • RGBZ video • Allows true mix of graphics with video using Z buffer • Easy per-pixel background/foreground (user) segmentation • Video: Enhanced Reality special effects – play movie • Video: Real-time motion capture – play movie

  23. Concluding remarks • Interface a key element of design • Blend of technology and psychology • Impacted by real-world considerations • Entertainment is a great way to try new technology • Especially the game industry • A revolution is already underway • Now, my 4-year-old waves his hand in front of the TV, expecting it to turn on • Next year, he’ll be talking to it • Soon, all this will fit in his pocket • And he thinks nothing of it….

  24. Thank you! • Questions?

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