The Chiz

Last week, the Montreal International Game Summit came and went in an incredible flurry of keynotes, roundtables, exhibitions, and (of course) bar nights in downtown Montreal. Being a game development student in a city only two hours away from Montreal, myself and a bunch of my classmates had the opportunity to check it out, and for many of us for the second or third time. Over the next couple of weeks I will be discussing the incredible keynotes and conferences, as well as posting some photos of the event. Right now though, I’d like to go over some of the more interesting booths in the exhibition hall.

Compared to bigger gatherings like the Penny Arcade Expo or GenCon, MIGS had a relatively small collection of “booths.” However, since this is an industry summit and not a convention, the booths had a lot more to offer by way of development and business opportunity. One of the booths that really caught my eye was set up by Mgestyk, a Kanata, Ontario based company that focuses on engineering hardware and software for their gesture-based “Mgestyk” digital input system.

Think of the Sony Playstation’s EyeToy. Anyone familiar with this piece of hardware knows how much fun optical input can be, but also knows about it’s relative lack of precision, especially in sub-prime lighting conditions. On the other hand, the Mgestyk system seemed pretty accurate in the variable lighting conditions of the MIGS exhibition hall (the lighting changed depending on what else was happening in the main hall.)

I got to try out the camera system at two seperate times, and with two seperate games. The first was a driving simulator, with the player perspective seated inside of the car. To operate the vehicle, I had to hold my hand out to the camera, gripping an invisible steering wheel. The software then recognized the specific configuration of my posture and hands, and took that as a signal to accelerate. As long as I held my hands in this position, I was able to steer the car by mimicking the hand movements that one would use on a steering wheel. To stop or reverse, I simply had to raise my thumbs while keeping my hands in the same location. The software noticed the difference, and the game reacted accordingly.

The other game was a light-saber battle with little ball and socket marionette characters on-screen. Taking the first-person perspective, I was able to duke it out Jedi-style with my friend, who was playing on the station next to me. The saber was represented by a WiiMote in my hand, but in concert with the Mgestyk setup I found that I had a far greater degree of control over my motions on all axis, including range, pitch, and yaw. It also ignored all other movement behind me, which is critical in a crowded exhibition hall.

Set to retail at about the price of a high-end webcam, the Mgestyk could be a neat addition to a hardcore gamer’s arsenal. Check out the following YouTube videos. When I spoke to the guys representing the company at MIGS, they were really enthusiastic about the popularity of the videos online, and given how much fun I had with their setup I can see why. Oh, apparently it will also work in total darkness (though one would hope you would at least be playing with your TV on.)

I also got to check out the booth that Microsoft had set up, with a pretty interesting gaming rig. Featuring the acclaimed Far Cry 2, the setup added a pretty impressive tactile feedback system using gear they already have on the market.

First of all, they used a neat triple monitor setup that gave the sudden advantage of peripheral vision. While very helpful in multiplayer, there were some drawbacks. I had a lot of initial trouble getting used to the huge amount of new visual real-estate, and the game itself seemed to have issues figuring out where to draw 2D HUD elements like player names and menu options.

The other elements added were a set of desk fans that (were supposed to) give the player the impression of wind while running or moving quickly, and ambient lights that reacted to on-screen events. My favourite, however, was the 3rdSpace Gaming Vest, an impact generating piece of apparel by TN Games.

Using “Pneumatic Impact Cells”, the vest reacts to in-game events such as bullet impact and explosions, though only within it’s fairly limited scope of supported software. Trying out the vest was interesting. The feeling of bullet impact on my chest made me a little more aware of the gaming environment, as well as a little less risky when assaulting enemy fortifications. I’m not sure if this piece of hardware is necessarily worth the price just yet, but the addition of a soft of primal fear instilled by physical stimuli is hard to get elsewhere within gaming, and at the very least worth a try.

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