E3 2011: 'Give Mass Effect 3 Kinect a chance' - BioWare

BioWare co-founder Dr. Ray Muzyka has urged fans to give the Kinect features in Mass Effect 3 a chance.

[DA_SHREDDER]

use a camera for things i can use a regular mic for? Um okay?

[kingdoms]

The 360 has a regular camera with a multi array microphone, 3D binacular night vision with advanced processors and software?

[Just_The_Truth]

dude calm down 3d and microphone placement doesn't matter because the games only supporting voice which you can use a regular mic for which is why he doesn't need kinect get it. You so busy trying to make him look dumb and you yourself now looks like an idiot.

[maddfoxx]

Yeah, because you need all of that stuff for voice recognition.

[JokesOnYou]

I have a simple solution for the kinect haters:
Pretend 360 version of ME3 doesnt have a voice recognition feature. Pretend that Bioware never stated that kinect allows easy implementation for voice recognition. Pretend they are just making up an excuses and it really is a easy/lowcost feature to implement, which is why of course sony has made it an option in every game since socom on ps2. Pretend micro/devs are delusional and kinect is simply a overpriced microphone. Pretend as you always do that you know better than the devs themselves. Pretend you have more talent, more experience, and are more creative than the guys who make these great games. Pretend youre not online reading this post waisting your great talent with a random gamer like me.

Now breathe a sigh of relief just relax and enjoy what will no doubt be one helluva game on your ps3.

[-Alpha]

Not saying the integration isn't worth a chance, but it adds very little and no one is going to buy a Kinect for something as insignificant as speaking out your lines when you can just press a button. Those that have it may try it out, but I doubt they will have the patience to act out lines.

Give us something more concrete to work with it and we will purchase the product to try out. That's how it works: give us something appealing and worth buying

When it comes to RPGs I'd rather the technology be used to do something like sell/purchase items at a shop. That'd be cool. Instead of scrolling through inventory and looking for what to buy you can just state what you want and how many. That's actually efficient. Don't know if ME3 does that, but speaking out lines isn't ideal

Or, even cooler, DON'T give us any lines and let us say whatever we want. That'd be impressive. But Kinect isn't even necessary for that

[Rainstorm81]

What makes it kinda dumb is the wayy Mass Effect is set up.....

Shepard will say his own lines anyway, so you speaking the line prior is just redundant, not to mention my choice via controller is much simpler and streamlined.

[patterson]

agreed

[perfectCarbonara]

Exactly, now I have to actually read the lines, where as in ME and ME2 I just quickly skimmed over them to get the gist of it, then select what I want to say based on that by hitting a simple button.

And the disconnect is even larger now because Shepard never exactly says what we say. In the past this wasn't really a problem because you never said shit out loud. It was all in your mind.

Now with Kinect, you say the sentence out loud and Shepard stubbornly says something different, just feels weird to me.

They should just let you say A, B, C, or D. Or better yet, they should forget about it all together.

[Ilikegames76]

The majority of the consumer who bought Kinect are casual gamers. Family who have children and grandparents. In my opinion, they're not going to flock to this game like hardcore gamers do to COD or Halo.

[Reibooi]

One of biggest complaints with it is the break in immersion. When you have to stop read the line you wanna say and then say it out loud and hear Shepard say it back it breaks the immersion instantly. On top of the fact that not all people play the same gender Shepard. I for example play the female Shepard and the disconnect would be massive if I as a male spoke to control my Female character. It makes no sense.

The battle stuff while slightly more interesting is much easier and more reliable with a controller(what if you say a command in the heat of battle that is vital and the game doesn't hear it? well you are screwed while the button press will always work)

[Bigpappy]

From what I understand, it has more functionality than reading line, like you guys are saying. You also get to command your crew in battle. This I know for sure will be great for people who already have Kinect. Would it make more people buy? I can not say at this point if that will be the case, because I have not used any of the feature yet. As I do already have Kinect, I will be trying all of this feature, in ME3 and Ghost, to see if they are worth my time.
What I would say now about the features, is that I think this is the right approach the developer should be taking with any new tech (Kinect, Move, 3D, ...). THey need to uses what they feel might add to their game but make the features optional when adding to existing games.
People who do not own or have no interest in Kinect should be indiffent to the features. This is exactly what many core gamers who bought Kinect were looking for when they decided to purchase the unit. They want developer to explore the possibilities and use what works to enhance or add to the gameplay experiences. If Bioware see this as something that works well in their game, I am happy to get the oppotunity to try it for myself.

[-Alpha]

I forgot about that, sorry.

But it's not something you can't do with a mic either

[Bigpappy]

@Alpha: It all sound like it can work with a mic, but that does not make it a useless feature. Kinect is not just a carera with a mic, it has speech reconition and filtering software, which can also convert that speech into readable text. I am not saying Bioware is relying on the Kinect software, I am just mentioning that as a possiblity. M$ uses that speech tech in Sync and Bing also.

[theIMP]

@ -Alpha
To be honest I really don't think these are features that are meant to "sell" Kinects. It's a nice little bonus for those of us who already own one. To me it's pretty much the same as having the option to use Move in a game. Do you need to by Move to play the game? No, but it's nice to have the option. All I've heard from the PS3 camp since this was announced,(not saying you are one of them, I think you are one of the most level headed people on this site) is you can use a mic, you can use a mic, you can use a mic, until I'm sick to death of it. Where are you same people in the KZ3 articles, and all the other games that you can use Move in? shouldn’t you be in those articles saying “but you can use a controller”? It's just an option, I swear I've heard all you same people talk about how great the options PS3 gives you are. Why are options all of a sudden bad when the 360 gives them to you? Pretty hypocritical if you ask me, and I've tried voice command games with a mic and I can tell you none of them worked as well as Kinects voice command feature does. It's worked flawlessly for me, but whatever I know as well as you do no matter what MS does you all will hate.

[Theyellowflash30]

Mass effect on the Wii U would be way better.

[Rainstorm81]

You can always dream

[Theyellowflash30]

Its likely to happen with EA announcing a partnership with Nintendo.

- People said Mass Effect 2 wasn't coming to the PS3 and it did. Mass Effect 3 at the launch of Wii U would sell very well.

[Rainstorm81]

im not sure how well it would sell as Mass Effect isnt really a game that caters to the Nintendo crowd.

What nintendo would need is a massive adopt rate by core gamers, seeing as thought "its a system for everyone" Im skeptical

Also how many people are going to give up thier 360 or PS3 and buy the Wii U just to play the same games that are available on 360 and PS3.

[VampiricDragon]

cant I use a headset for this?

[carlitoskaruuz]

Sorry Bioware, I'm gonna use the buttons on my controller.

[ClimateKaren]

Just take your check and be quiet.

[Blacktric]

I guess nearly %80 of the developers out there are getting checks from Microsoft. Witcher 2 coming to 360. CD Projeckt got their check. Bioware keeps demoing the 360 version of their games. They got their check too. And Bethesda also must've gotten their checks since they showed the Xbox 360 version of Skyrim at E3 where PS3 version is nowehere to be found. You just can't face the facts that Microsoft supports third party developers way more than Sony does and that's why developers do these kinds of things for Xbox 360 most of the time. You have your first party devs and you're happy. Then just shut up and try to be happy for other gamers for once instead of just bitching and moaning about it.

[ClimateKaren]

Who the hell said anything about this being a Sony vs MS thing, you nut? Are you that foaming-at-the-mouth for your console developer that my response brought on that torrent of rabid fanboy vitriol?

And what's to be happy for gamers about? The reason this article exists is that gamers are crapping all over the Kinect implementation in ME3 that does little-to-nothing to enhance the experience, and could've been done easily with a microphone. To be completely honest, if this wasn't included because of some kind of incentive or push for devs to incorporate Kinect into games, then someone at Bioware really doesn't have their finger on the pulse of their fanbase. They really thought this was a brilliant idea that couldn't have been executed years ago with a mic.

The fact that you can't see that is totally in keeping with the sentiment you expressed to me just now, which is to say that it certainly seems grounded in love for your console, not your logic.

[ForROME]

I think this will be more of a , if you have Kinect you will put it to you use or at least try it to see if it works fluid, but if you do not, this will not encourage you to run out and purchase one

[Catatafish]

nope this does not encourage me to buy a Kinect one bit.

it's still on the same level as all the release day pew pew BS which is on par with the eye toy.

I still see Kinect as a huge failure and every bit I have played has left me shaking my head wondering why.

I will be getting ME3 though.

[dkgshiz]

Seems like a useless waste of time. Just like the voice controls for that game End war.

[ClimateKaren]

I actually think voice commands are appropriate for an RTS, since they actually enhance the game experience. It's a much quicker way to execute multiple commands that would take a while to set up with a controller. Instead of scanning across large maps to locate and select units, then locating their destination/target, you can say something like "Unit a plus unit b attack Delta" and you're in motion.

This ME3 implementation is a novelty, but ultimately less efficient than using a controller. If I'm going to sacrifice efficiency for an alternate method, it has to be significantly more enjoyable. the consensus seems to be that most people feel it's a waste of time.

[Sinkway]

hmm use a mic attached to my ear or just say it to my kinect with just a controller in my hand? hmmmm

[B1663r]

RAGE! RAGE! RAGE!

Looks like it is completely optional, and will have no impact on the game, so why all the hate?

[Catatafish]

Haters always guna hate and Kinect is the equivalent of born again Christians when it comes to gaming and they\it are easy to hate on.

[kingdoms]

Clearly the people complaining are not 360 mass effect fans we have been playing ME spanning two games and kinect for mass effect and kinect use is desired. They probably did it because of the feedback. Kinect use for this game is one of the hottest topics according to E3 polling and the 360 is on top when it comes to the hottest topics overall at E3
G4 fan feedback polling. Watching E3 now

Kicking back drinking a beer talking to the characters 360 fans all wished we could the day kinect was announced will be very immerse to the point that the connection to the characters will be personal on levels not seen in most games.

I mean come on, a tactical game at times with a heavy story character driven gameplay where you can order with verbal commands and talk the the 360, computers and AI's and people are complaining saying they would rather push buttons LMAO

[Catatafish]

What poll? a poll of 360 uses at a 360 event SURPRISE there...

Real gamers don't care or want Kinect in their games messing things up. This is still optional. Wait untill the mess your favorite game with compulsory Kinect crap like you now have to speak the line or have to pew pew to make Shepard shoot.

I still remember the "concept" videos of Natal and Kinect is a failure on par with they eye toy and that's it.

maybe the next Xbox will have the power to make it great but for this gen it's a failure.

[theIMP]

Bullshit, stop acting like you speak for all gamers. I am a true gamer, as in I own all systems, I try new things, and I bet my gaming library is triple what you’re is. I want to try this out. Just because YOU think it's stupid doesn't mean everyone else does too. Stop acting like the world revolves around your opinion, because I’m sure I’m not the only one that wants to see how this works. BTW Kinects voice recognition system works better than any other I’ve ever seen on any device. It’s definitely better than the bullshit voice commands we’ve seen in games this gen so far.

[femshep]

well at least bioware and ubi are trying unlike every other company that is afraid to do something different.....just cause gamers today are idiots and hate everything given to them dosen't mean you shouldn't try

its better than anything call of duty can think of

[gravemaker]

i will use my pad and be cool

[CobraKai]

Even if I could just use a mic, I would much rather use the analog stick, and a button.

[BrutallyBlunt]

Who's bright idea was it to just repeat the lines that are there? Sure it's impressive that it recognizes what we're saying but it's a complete waste of time. Am I going to sit there and say all of this dialog for 20 plus hours?

How about just saying Shephard turn around or tell your party member to flank right? If Kinect can be used to keep the combat flowing and not have to go into a sub-menu that's fine. The system already has a microphone, you don't need Kinect to repeat what's being shown onscreen. Want to impress me, how about Kinect actually recognizing what i want to say and no dialog wheel.

[Number_3]

If I had Kinect I would try this feature out. It seems humorous to me.

[nCiTy]

Now if Bioware some how allowed you to interact with the Normandy like in Minority Report that would be a cool feature for Kinect.

[hazelamy]

it seems like a good feature, the squad commands anyway, the conversation bit just seems pointless and tacked on.
but why do you need kinect?
why doesn't it work with any mike?
like the one in the headset many xbox owners already own.

[PirateThom]

Something about "Kinect's hardware was doing all the hard work" according to Casey Hudson. While I hate to disagree with people who know more about their game than I do, I still question it since voice recognition would be a software issue. While I would never use it, I can only imagine it's "Kinect Only" to get some sort of feather in Kinect's cap but, really, there's no reason the 360 and it's mic or PS3/PC couldn't do the same thing.

[maddfoxx]

Everyone says that Kinect's software allows for voice recognition. If thats the case, I'm pretty sure Bioware could have gone to Sony and asked them for the code.

As for this not being on PC, I thought Windows operating systems included some form of speech recognition. . .