In an interesting twist on the concept of tactile gaming, TN Games has come out with a “Physical 3D” vest; the 3RD Space FPS Gaming Vest. The idea is that you’d feel events in the game, rather than relying solely on your eyes and ears.
The vest uses 8 air-powered “active zones” to generate impact force when it’s fed data from your game. “Sense the direction and force of bullet fire, crushing explosions, and fear-inducing finger taps, perfectly synced with the on-screen action,” the product page claims.
I could see this having a big effect on the gaming experience. FPS and similar games, anyway; your milage may vary if you load up Farmville. The thought of loading up Left 4 Dead 2 or Modern Warfare with one of these is pretty exciting; combine it with good surround and a large display or three, and your enemies will tremble before your sensory might on the battlefield!
TN Games claims the vest will support “all the hottest PC game titles” and that driver support for new FPS titles is added frequently.
(via Red Ferret)
Ok I’m seriously geeking out over this, Modern Warfare here I come, but, it would be even more compelling if we can find a way to get technologies like Kinect to work with first person shooters. I’m just not quite seeing how that happens at this point given all of the walking, running (and ducking) that goes on. Either way, it’s fun to see things like this evolving. Gaming continues to be at the forefront of pushing tech.
I agree Scott, I’m geeking out over this one too.
Tell me about it! And then go check this out: http://www.sixense.com/ – A rather Wii remote-like experience for the PC. They had a demo at CES this year, there’s video footage out there on the Interwebs. Valve is very interested in this technology, and had a demo of Left 4 Dead 2 working with it. Looked pretty fantastic.
It still doesn’t address the mobility issue, but … well, small steps. So to speak.
Can’t wait to try this out. Looks so fun.