The Wiimote As Yoda Intended - A Lightsaber

An anonymous reader writes "So what if the Wii can't handle the awesome 'next-generation' physics engine the other consoles will enjoy when Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is released? LucasArts announced today that Krome Studios is developing a version of the game for the Nintendo console, and players will finally get to use the Wiimote for its intended purpose — as a lightsaber. 'The sword-swinging action will be exclusive to the Wii version, and even then, it will only be available in an exclusive "duel mode." The description in the release says that this duel mode will be a multiplayer affair.'"

Finally

[loafing_oaf]

This is a great move, but it still treats the Wii as an afterthought, with a unique multiplayer module tacked on to the core game. I'll still be pining for a real lightsaber game.

How about 2 sabers?

[DoofusOfDeath]

Both the nunchucks and the normal Wii remote have a motion sensor.

Sure, using the nunchuck to use the Force is a cool idea, but being able to play as Darth Maul has its attraction as well.

Idea for the Wii controller

[Penguinisto]

...lightsabers aside, it gives me an idea:

How long before something similar could be put to use on a PC, for 3D/CG manipulation?

/P

Re:force feedback

[jollyreaper]

A Jedi can slice through a person with a light saber with no perceptible change to the momentum of the saber, so it seems likely that there is not a whole lot of tactile feedback in a "real" light saber either. I think the tactile feedback would probably be little more than it would be if one were slicing a hot knife through butter. So, fencing with a light saber in any context would not "live up to" the experience of real fencing because the weapons involved are too different.

There's also zero weight in the blade. If we did have such things as lightsabers, I think experienced fencers would have a lot of unlearning to do in order to get a feel for them. With no blade weight, a lightsaber would move faster than your fastest lightest swords, rapiers would be pokey in comparison. Additionally, the lightsaber is exceptional for stabbing and slashing whereas real life swords tend to have to pick one or the other as a compromise. The lack of a crossguard should also be a huge problem since I can't imagine there would be much friction with two blades sliding against each other, one would think that a downward strike could slide down a lightsaber right into the defender's hands.

I thought the "dropping the lightsaber through the floor" gag on Robot Chicken was hysterical because I had that same debate with other kids in elementary school.

But back to the topic at hand, I can't imagine trying to do lightsaber combat in a video game with anything other than a motion-sensitive controller like the Wii has. I've never encountered any sort of video game swordfighting system that properly simulated what it would be like to realistically cross swords. My only question is how they're going to simulate the footwork. You're not just standing in one spot beating at the other guy with a lightsaber, you would be moving around and trying not to get boxed in.

Oblig youtube

[BlueParrot]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NE5elL30w4 [youtube.com]

Re:Johnny Mnemonic

[meringuoid]

If you read the actual William Gibson short story, (and forget about the crappy movie) you'll know that it wasn't a "laser rope" it was a monomolecular filament, which makes a whole lot more sense than the movie rendition.

Larry Niven's protagonists sometimes make use of a similar weapon - a monofilament wire wrapped in a stasis field to hold it rigid. In other words, a lightsaber with marginally more plausible physics :-)