PS Move and Kinect: Time for RTS on HD consoles

I'll come out straight away and say I'm the biggest skeptic of the merits of motion control out there.

I bought a Wii well before I owned either a PS3 or 360, and, aside from the glory that was Super Mario Galaxy, I found it horrible. It was flooded with boring casual game after boring casual game, and the hardcore titles it did offer were just tiresome. Controlling games by pointing, shaking and flailing is novel, but that novelty wares off very quickly. So to eBay it went and I never looked back.

Then I heard of Kinect and Move. I didn't rejoice like many did, but spurned my beloved gaming machine makers for trying to get onto the motion control scene. By the very nature of motion controls, you simply can't deliver a comfortable core experience.

Controlling a car without a steering wheel? No thanks Kinect and Forza 4- there's something called feedback which is pretty important- not to mention holding your arms in front of you for a long race is downright tiring. Go Ahead, I challenge you to hold your arms out in front of you for 5 minutes without them getting tired.

Pointing and aiming with your controller? No thanks Killzone 3- it was bothersome and tiresome in Metroid Prime, and every other Wii shooter. I don't care how 1-1 it is, it's a chore. Try playing that for more than half an hour.

But I also got thinking. What developers seem to be attempting to do is create games we've traditionally played with controllers into motion control games, and then fill the rest in with waggle happy crap. What they need to do is make games that suit motion control. And what suits it better than... REAL TIME STRATEGY! T

Consoles have traditionally been an RTS graveyard, simply because doing RTS with a gamepad is nigh impossible. There's been attempts, but they've been very lame. But with Move or Kinect, RTS could really work. These control methods would work for RTS games simply because they can provide the point-click accuracy of a mous, vital to any RTS game.

Think of a Total War game on PS3 or Xbox. Or a Command and Conquer game that didn't suck? How about Starcraft? These sorts of games lend themselves perfectly to the accuracy of these new generation of motion controllers, and the consoles certainly have the guts to make them.

So who's with me? Who thinks MS and Sony should ditch making all these silly kids games and attempts at tacking motion controls to gamepad games, and reboot Age of Empires on the PS3 and Xbox, or give us Warcraft, or any other of the number of great RTS franchises available. Or perhaps even create their own, fully utilising the control method?!

[theonlylolking]

Real time Strategy games would be good for move and maybe kinect. Although for FPS they need to have no deadzone like with a gamepad and mouse for move.

[-Alpha]

I'm sorry but without a keyboard and mouse I honestly don't think it is possible to have an RTS game that is anywhere near the complicated accessibility and ease of use on PC. What motion controls like Move and Kinect do is make it look "cool" But when it comes to playing proper RTS games you need the hotkeys of a keyboard & the simple precision of a mouse.

Additionally motion controls have NEVER been needed. The PS3 and 360 support USB keyboards and I assume a mouse. That is the best way to go IMO.

[Letros]

what he said

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[Dramscus]

Sorry Alpha male, I have to disagree for the most part. Black and White 2 was one of my favorite real time strategies ever, it wasn't an over keyboard centric game using a minimal amount of buttons most of the time. Armies were kept in small companies, and to fairly minimal amount thanks to the Animals taking up the rest of the game play space. I think Black and White 2 would work very good on something like the move wand because of the amount of buttons it has. A game that works largely off gestures would be pretty good. Plus the use of wheels assigned to buttons is also alright with motions, and mouses in my opinion.

On the other side I think Black and White one would be best for something like kinect, it would be difficult to play a traditional rts with kinect since switching between groups of units is usually essential. I think it would be cumbersome to do so with kinect since you would only have so many gestures you could give people before the system got too complicated. I still consider BW1 rts though just in the loosest sense of the word.

[-Alpha]

I see what you are saying, Dramascus. While I'm not saying good RTS games are impossible I'm just saying that the KB&M are a superior means of control and that motion controls aren't necessary for them to exist on consoles. Though, something like the Move will make RTS on consoles seem interesting to the console audience who I think would otherwise not care particularly for RTS games

[sdtarm]

It exists, its called RUSE for Move and Kinect for logical dissavantages wont be able to do it at least as decent as move can do it...

not being fanboyish cuz ima PC gamer but kinect is really lame... at least on the 360

[blackburn5]

We already have two for the Move already. RUSE and Undersiege. Also I don't think that playing KZ3 while holding the Move is that bad. It doesn't look like it takes much effort to use. Maybe you should wait to see how well it works before you condemn it.@ Alpha-Male22 you too. Your assuming just like everyone else. How do you know the complexity of an RTS that can be made for the Move or Kinect?

[bunfighterii]

I'm just talking from experience of fps on the wii. It'll be the same control set up on PS3. It really is tiresome. I found myself wishing I had a control pad to use.

[-Alpha]

I didn't say it can't work well but I simply don't think it works better than a keyboard and mouse.

[R_aVe_N]

I can see some RTS games coming to both really I actually liked playing R.U.S.E. It is not needed but the option to play with motion controls is just a plus.

[Kharhaz]

"I challenge you to hold your arms out in front of you for 5 minutes without them getting tired."

Looks like someone needs to put down the controller and hit the gym.

[Odion]

Black and White 2 isn't an RTS game, its a god sim game with basic RTS elements, try playing Supreme Commander, SC2, WC3, any of the total wars, none of them would work with motion controls.

[jack_burt0n]

why would you hold a move controller out in front of you, why would you get tired playing an fps with move!? Have you played re5? or ruse?

move is a viable platform for RTS it might not satisfy the starcraft hardcore, but my passion is for CoH and Dawn of War and would love to play them comfortably on move.

Its not the mouse that is an issue for me playing rts in a living room environment because a wireless mouse works its needing a reduced KB for ease of use even if you are only using 5 or six buttons on it.

kinect is no way near accurate enough to do anything seriously.

[jneul]

Obviously this user heard not hard of ruse or undersige. Also Kinect pointer control is no good ad its too lagging because it tracks your hand and it is only 30 fps, which is why no Kinect ruse support
Move is true 1:1 3 d awesomeness control and I've had a Wii with Wii motion plus and it made me mad because it did not do true 1:1 like ninty said it would.

[SnakeMustDie]

Complex RTS games like Starcraft 2 won't work on consoles simply because it requires quick reflexes and hotkeys. HD Consoles have limited buttons so that group selectioon will be tedious and can ruin the fast-paced strategy of an RTS game like Starcraft. Even if there are motion controls, RTS games can be made although it won't be as complex as PC RTS.

[xXxSeTTriPxXx]

put the hotkeys on the hub, point and click one for the desired effect.scrolling individual units would work with move, 1:1 accuracy and all.so how can this not work (for the move at least)?..

[Pjuice]

pc has had motion tracking for the last decade if it was better for rts and fps don't you think they would have used it by now?

[xXxSeTTriPxXx]

no,because if it ain't broke why fix it.

[Pjuice]

your obviously not a pc gamer with a sentence like that because pc is all about trying different things why do you think you can scroll windows with a wii remote if you want cause people try tons of stuff on pc.

[xXxSeTTriPxXx]

what does adding new apps have to do with, completely changing the foundation of a genre and how it's played?...i said if it ain't broke way fix it, because pc controls for rts are pitch perfect theirs no need to change them.

you should comprehend b4 you post.

[Pjuice]

im saying thts not the way pc gamers think they try tons of different things even if it does work good the way its done now, just because they can do different things i used the wii remote to give you an idea of how pc users and gamers do things, do you think the wii remote browses windows better than a mouse and keyboard, no but its been done just to do it, and iam sure theres some youtube vids out there using motion tracking to play rts and other genre games out there i was just saying its not half as good as mouse and keyboard or allot of pc gamers would be using it. i think it would actually be like playing an rts with an air mouse and no keyboard i personally think it would be lame.

[feejo]

I am playing the move demo of RUSE I think it's good, it can do it. It could have done it with PS2-PS3 already cause it support mouse and a keyboard. I think they should bring some Warcraft III and such to PS3.
But what worry me it's that the console have no keyboard by default, and it's a must to have shortkey in a RTS. They could bundle a keyboard and a mouse with the game, why they don't do it is a mystery. They should cross platform also crossplatform online as well.