Project K's Inspiration

I thought it would be interesting for all of you to see a couple of the objects viewed as inspiration in dreaming up Project K. I wanted the feel and interaction of using Project K to exude simplicity and encourage a wide range of motion in the hand. The ski pole handle and exercise equipment pulse sensors below fit that description completely. 

What inspired me about these two objects is how I don't have to think to interact with them. They are truly second nature. Again, this is what I am striving for with Project K.

It was doubly important to support the 'You are the Controller' tagline Microsoft heralds. You know, because we are still the controller even when using a hardware based input device with Kinect. How ironic?

Virtua Tennis 4 Kinect Questions

Kudos to 2K Sports for including Kinect support in their upcoming Virtua Tennis 4. The trailer above is very engaging and informative...on its surface. But, let's look deeper core gamers.

When it comes to the Kinect functionality, many questions are left unanswered by the clip. Here is what I want to know about Kinect and Virtua Tennis 4:

- Will the movement/running/speed of your player be automated in Kinect mode?

- Will skill shots such as drop-shots, overhead kill shots, etc; be available to the user?

- Is the first-person view of your tennis racquet/opaque forearm used to control your type of swing?

- Is the speed of your swing tracked by Kinect and relayed as shot strength?

- (Follow up to the previous question:) Is there dialogue or interactive tutorial on being safe while playing the game?

I think this could be a great showpiece for sports titles on Kinect! Whether or not it compels me to buy the sensor is yet to be seen. Michael Jackson: The Experience is filling that spot at the moment, nicely! (Hoping I win a contest at my 9-5, instead of wasting(?) my personal money on Kinect.)