GDC 07: Vicious tries a new control scheme
by Andrew Yoon 
{ Mar 11th 2007 at 5:30PM }
The Vicious Engine was on display at GDC, and I'd have to say I came away unimpressed. The engine, which is scalable for PSP use, didn't seem to push any "next gen" or even "new gen" graphics. It's currently being used in the WIi/PSP title Alien Syndrome, which may be indicative of a somewhat distressing trend: are graphics on the Wii comparable to those on PSP? Will publishers look to make quick ports that look similarly on Sony's handheld and on Nintendo's latest console?
At least the Vicious Engine promises to offer Wii developers the ability to easily create motion controls. The software includes built-in controls that developers can easily access. One interesting control scheme allowed one to control the camera using the nunchuck: tilting the nunchuck would adjust the camera. Certainly, it's an interesting alternative to a dual analog setup, but the build that was playable didn't seem to feel 100% intuitive.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
boot @ Mar 11th 2007 5:44PM
This same blog was on Joystiq about two days ago. I think the controls could be very intuative considering the wii mote is free to do anything with. You could weild duals and shoot in multiple directions, or you could hold a sword in one hand while slicing ppl with your sword. I am looking very foward to this engine on some wii Fps. While on the subject of Fps at least one developer is making Fps for the wii which are highly anticipated.
Mr Khan @ Mar 11th 2007 6:17PM
The only reason developers will love porting from PSP to Wii and back again is because its easier to scale down Wii Graphics to fit on a PSP than it is to scale down to Wii from PS360
The two are more comparable in power (even though the Wii is stronger than PSP easily, considering the hierarchy of Wii>GC>PS2>PSP power wise) than the comparison of Wii to PS3
But i think the control scheme mentioned would suck, the nunchuck isn't responsive enough for good camera controls
Red Steel's aiming/camera controls worked just fine, they just needed to fix some of the other mapping
vidGuy @ Mar 11th 2007 6:27PM
"the nunchuck isn't responsive enough for good camera controls"
Not to negate your statement here, but have you tried SSX Blur? You control your snowboard with movements of the nunchuk, and it is VERY responsive and easy to use. I also have my doubts about the control setup, but the nunchuk CAN be used in this way without a problem.
boot @ Mar 11th 2007 6:32PM
Umm...last time I checked the wii-mote and nunchuck have the same motion detection.
-You guys aren't seeing the possibilities of weilding dual weopons and shooting in multiple directions at once!!! This is my dream of FPS this is why I bought a Wii.
theLoneYoshi @ Mar 11th 2007 10:18PM
"...last time I checked the wii-mote and nunchuck have the same motion detection."
Last time I checked, the Nunchuck cannot detect infrared like the Wiimote can, and therefore, the Nunchuck CANNOT be used as a pointing device, negating your idea of a dual wielding FPS game.
Which means that the camera in the Vicious Engine is entirely controlled by motion sensing. It might be less accurate than pointing, but it may just work. It may just take some getting used to. It doesn't sound too bad.
MysticX @ Mar 12th 2007 4:04AM
Common, bring on more games!
James @ Mar 12th 2007 10:34AM
You have to remember that when you use an accelerometer to control a camera, you're probably interested in *orientation*-sensing, not *motion*-sensing (e.g., if you hold the device still, you want to know which way it's facing). I forsee this being a problem -- you can tell the Nunchuck's pitch (up/down angle) by measuring which way gravity is pulling on the accelerometer, but that tells you nothing about its yaw (left/right angle). You can only calculate a *change* in yaw (e.g., *motion* to the left or right), but you have no baseline to start at, and since tracking errors are cumulative even if you calibrated it to start, it would drift out of whack quickly. That's why the Wiimote has an IR sensor -- to keep orientation (vice motion) tracking precise.
Of course, if you use roll (left/right tilt, like opening a doorknob) instead of yaw, you have your orientation tracking back, but obviously you can't map that directly to left-right look -- you'd break your arm trying to do a 180. You'd have to map absolute roll to the rate of turn left/right, where 0 roll (holding the nunchuck straight upright) is no turn, 10 degrees left turns you left slowly, etc. People have played with this using GlovePIE for PC (it's a fun toy that I highly reccomend), and I didn't feel like it was very natural -- somebody wrote a script that mapped pitch to the mouse Y axis, and used roll to move the mouse X axis as I described above, and it felt pretty awkward and unnatural, like using a joystick or something. The (IR-positioned) pointer control was much better.
I guess only time will tell if Vicious does it right...
vidGuy @ Mar 12th 2007 2:11PM
James, your analysis sounds very well thought out and is correct, but just to clarify things for some readers, I performed a quick test. I started up SSX Blur and put the nunchuk on its side before I went into the game. My snowboarder moves in the correct direction on his own as if I had set the center point of an analog stick incorrectly. There's no change in the nunchuk angle because it is laying flat, but it knows that it is laying (in this case) on its right side.
Blur uses the nunchuk in a way I've never seen before and I think it shows the true power in the little add-on.
In addition, the nunchuk DEFINITELY knows when it is face-up or on its side.
The way you describe it this is called a roll, so I see how you wouldn't be able to do a 180 (the nunchuk would have to be upside down). You are correct that the nunchuk can't tell its left/right angle (is it pointing at the left or right of the screen?! that's why the remote uses IR).