Mount & Blade – Kinect (FAAST) Head Tracking (GlovePIE) Voice Control (VAC)

This is probably the most ambitious attempt I’ve made so far. Mount & Blade is a game that could work fantastically with motion control – if only it had been designed that way! By a slow process of trial and error I’m now approaching a working concept – even if head tracking is being done by a hat my mum gave me for Christmas. Once head tracking via either the RGB or IR camera becomes possible we should be able to chuck away the silly hat and look a lot less daft playing this fantastic game. I’ve tried multiple webcam based head tracking solutions but they are generally to inaccurate and get thrown off by other fleshy movements such as hands waving around. Shadows also seem to confuse them and make them inappropriate for this implementation. If you’ve not come across Mount & Blade before, it was originally an indie game with a heavy community focus. It was later picked up by a publisher and converted into a mainstream retail product. You’ll notice that the graphics aren’t that impressive – a result of its long development cycle and small team. The main thing that makes Mount & Blade work is it’s combat system. I hope you’ll agree that slowly and surely the Kinect interpretation is getting there. Movement is currently carried out by a 3d chuck – as I struggle to find a way of moving about 3d space in functioning manner. I may later create a switch to allow the left hand to control the horse (like reins) at a later date if it fits and doesn’t require an immersion breaking …
Video Rating: 4 / 5