MMO players are always looking for games that provide deeper, more immersive experiences to draw us into the game world and keep us there. China, one of the world's largest MMORPG markets, is attempting to forge ahead with the next evolution of immersive gameplay by combining online games with motion-sensing controls.
Jin Gang Network is developing Land of Lords Online, an MMO that promises to allow players to explore the world and control their characters via a Kinect-like device. Without touching a physical controller or keyboard, a person can instruct his avatar to move, kill and cast spells in the game. Although details on the project are scant at this point, the company says that it will be releasing a video next month to show how the game's technology works.
Whether motion-sensing controls are the next true gaming interface or just an odd fad, China isn't the only place where a marriage between MMOs and such devices is being explored. Students from the University of Southern California hacked a Kinect to interface with World of Warcraft while South Korea's GamePrix is bringing the Kinect-compatible Divine Souls to Xbox.
Reader Comments (11)
Posted: Feb 22nd 2011 10:38AM Gloon said
At this point it's hard to see the value of such a feature, in terms of gameplay. I envision a bunch of people standing around in the middle of town, flailing about... flailing circles!
Posted: Feb 22nd 2011 10:43AM oohwakakaka said
lol she's waving her right hand but her character in the game is waving its left hand. i can only imagine players trying to stab enemies with their shields and trying to block arrows with their swords XD
Posted: Feb 22nd 2011 11:09AM Scarecrowe said
@Amaxe
I don't see the silhouette aspect here. The person is directly facing the camera. She is waving her right hand. Her left hand is either amputated or behind her back. And the avatar is about 3/4 facing the camera. They're definitely waving opposite hands... OR... the lag is so great that she waved the left, put it behind her back, waved her right, the avatar waved left and then the picture snapped.
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I don't see the silhouette aspect here. The person is directly facing the camera. She is waving her right hand. Her left hand is either amputated or behind her back. And the avatar is about 3/4 facing the camera. They're definitely waving opposite hands... OR... the lag is so great that she waved the left, put it behind her back, waved her right, the avatar waved left and then the picture snapped.
Posted: Feb 22nd 2011 10:54AM (Unverified) said
Maybe we should steal this and backwards engineer it like China does with everyone elses' tech.
Posted: Feb 22nd 2011 11:19AM Pingles said
Motion control is an interesting advance and I can see the value.
But just replacing our keyboards/controllers with semaphore seems ridiculous.
Fighting game where you are acting out the actual moves? Perfect!
MMO where left-arm-up means target-nearest-enemy? Silly.
But just replacing our keyboards/controllers with semaphore seems ridiculous.
Fighting game where you are acting out the actual moves? Perfect!
MMO where left-arm-up means target-nearest-enemy? Silly.
Posted: Feb 22nd 2011 12:39PM AT3374 said
Man if something like this was perfected , I would never go to work ;)
Posted: Feb 22nd 2011 3:39PM Scarecrowe said
I've just figured it out... the real person... is on the computer screen. That's just a robot chick on the left! So when the computer-person moves, the robot chick has to raise a hand. Got it.
Posted: Feb 22nd 2011 5:10PM Seldra said
Sounds awesome, I said once before in the past that if consoles are to be where MMOs are going to go they'll need easier controllers and motion sensing systems are what is needed. I hope they succeed, for the future of gaming.








