December 20th 2012 11:07 am PT

Dead Space 3: Co-op, Kinect Integration and more

I had a chance to speak with Steve Papoutsis, the Executive Producer for the Dead Space Franchise about Dead Space 3 coming in February.

Kinect, Xbox 360 By Larry Hryb, Xbox LIVE's Major Nelson

permalink: http://majornelson.com/2012/12/20/dead-space-3-co-op-kinect-integration-and-more/

  • Lee Rayson

    Never been a fan on Dead Space but it looks good and co op may persuade me to get it

    • Adam

      Well, I don’t know if you ever tried DS and DS2, but they were both fantastic games!

      • The Dukenator

        Yep. I have played both, just don’t own DS2 atm.

  • gamereviewgod

    So why is the Kinect feature special? Why can’t you do the same thing with a headset like in other games?

    • Russell Gorall

      Apparently you have to throw more money at stuff like this to work, so you need Kinect.

    • Corellianrogue

      Kinect has voice recogniton built-in. If they wanted to support other microphones
      in Dead Space 3 they would have to program voice recognition into the
      game from the start and that’s obviously not that easy to do since so
      few videogames in history have voice recognition despite it being around
      for quite a long time. (Seaman had great voice recognition on the
      Dreamcast back in 2000 that wasn’t too far off what was shown of Milo
      & Kate, in fact I think Sega should make a Kinect sequel/remake as
      it would be perfect for not only Kinect’s voice recognition but also
      motion-controls.)

      • Russell Gorall

        Wait, it is built into the actual Kinect? It isn’t part of the program installed onto your HDD?

        I smell bullcrap.

        • Corellianrogue

          Wait, Kinect’s software isn’t part of Kinect? Moron. Besides, Kinect’s multiple directional microphones help filter out background noise and also Kinect actually uses it’s tracking abilities to focus the mics so that they actually concentrate on the player’s position in the room. (Yeah, I know a headset or handheld mic would also focus on you as they would be so close to you but I was just pointing out what Kinect does.)

          Like I said before, if you think Kinect doing voice recognition is trivial then explain why there are not only so few games prior to Kinect (and games now not using Kinect) that have voice recognition but also (as far as I know) there aren’t any games that have had voice recognition added as an update after release for anything other than Kinect? (As a Kinect example Skyrim had Kinect voice recognition added in a DLC update after release.) I’m not satisfied with all these companies just adding voice recognition as a Kinect feature, I want lots of full-on Kinect motion controls, but it’s a FACT that they can’t just do the same for all mics so easily.

          • gamereviewgod

            “explain why there are not only so few games prior to Kinect”

            Because it’s a useless feature no one uses? Madden did it with a headset and dropped it the following year. Binary Domain used it. Some PS2 games used it. This is not some hugely special thing. Kinect isn’t doing anything special with voice.

            “there aren’t any games that have had voice recognition added as an update after release for anything other than Kinect?”

            See above. Microsoft goes to Studio A, and says, “Hey, we really need some Kinect features to advertise.” Studio A realizes motion controls would bork their game, so they come up with, “Voice controls!”

            The NES had voice control via Konami’s headset. No one uses it because it never works well, and it’s easier to map those functions to the d-pad, not because of any technical hurdle.

  • Russell Gorall

    Sad what has happened to this IP.

    • http://twitter.com/Maphisto86 Maphisto86

      I can understand many people’s reservations about this new installment and the current nature of the franchise. Yet I honestly do not think the IP has compromised it’s horror aspect by allowing the protagonist or now co-op. It was never a horror genre like say Amnesia: The Dark Descent, but a action & horror IP like the first Resident Evil games. I think people are worried because this no longer takes place in the dark, claustrophobic confines of a spaceship only but now an actual world.

      • Russell Gorall

        No, I am worried because they are using crappy Kinect integration and the hands-on feedback about the coop so far is it does not work.

        Best survival horror game this generation… Dark Souls.

        • Corellianrogue

          You’ve just proved you’re just a pathetic Kinect-hating troll as adding an OPTIONAL feature (that probably took very little work at all, I refer you again to Skyrim) has absolutely no negative effect on a game at all. Did Skyrim become a worse game after they added OPTIONAL Kinect support?

          • http://www.facebook.com/people/Curtis-Isabell/1036013363 Curtis Isabell

            yes because the cases now have purple bars on it obviously.

  • http://twitter.com/siddemouse Siddy

    So.. I have to pretty much yell in my friends ear to make the Kinect do what i want?

  • vivalajam26

    “One of the reasons we added co-op to Dead Space 3, is that we really wanted more people to buy the game so they could play with their buddies, who also bought the game”

  • RampageDeluxe

    I’m really looking forward to this. One of my good friends finally bought an Xbox and we have similar schedules. Games like this become even better with a good friend.

  • gamereviewgod

    “Also how can it be determined if it’s a useless feature that nobody uses
    if hardly any games were previously made with voice recognition anyway?”

    And you can turn that around and say no games have been made because no one wants them in the first place. The market decides. The industry tends to recognize and dismiss gimmicks rapidly.

    “And voice recognition is clearly becoming popular as evidenced by not
    only Kinect’s voice recognition but also now Siri and even more recently
    Google Now.”

    Totally different situations. One is meant for a hands free driving environment, the other is relaxing in the living room.

    “because the NES is the cutting edge of technology and the bar to judge all current technological progress isn’t it?”

    That wasn’t my point. My point was the technology has been around forever, and still no one jumped at the chance use it.

    “please explain how Seaman’s voice recognition functions could be mapped to a d-pad?”

    Dead Space 3, not Seaman. Seaman, like many DC games, took a risk. Notice how many other games used voice commands on that hardware (one: Alien Front)? For Dead Space 3, they’re speaking of commands for weapon selection or ammo trading, which like Mass Effect, are ancillary actions.

    “t amazes me how there can be so many luddites playing videogames. Talk about oxyMORONS!”

    I LOVE having people over during UFC fights on Live and having a conversation begin about “Xbox” only to send the hardware into a tizzy because Kinect thinks it is being activated. I love when a subtle hand movement suddenly registers the unit into action. I love when it’s late at night and others are asleep but I need to yell at the TV to make it recognize basic functions in a game. This isn’t an advance, it’s marketing.

    And besides, you have yet to explain the basis of this debate: What is Kinect doing different than headset voice recognition before? It’s merely a dev choosing one over the other because MS wants Kinect material to differentiate their third-party games.

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