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Star Wars Prequels Media Movies Wii

The Wiimote As Yoda Intended - A Lightsaber 268

Posted by Zonk from the not-as-clumsy-or-random-as-a-blaster dept.
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.'"
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The Wiimote As Yoda Intended - A Lightsaber More

The Wiimote As Yoda Intended - A Lightsaber

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  • let me be the first (Score:5, Funny)

    by cyphercell ( 843398 ) on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @11:58AM (#20669457) Homepage Journal
    to welcome our wiimote toting sith overlords.

  • Avast! (Score:5, Funny)

    by ackthpt ( 218170 ) * on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @11:59AM (#20669471) Homepage Journal

    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.'"

    Arrr! I be thinking it be more fun to have an actual lightsabre, be it plastic I don't be carin', with the Wii controller attached some way, so ye be hackin' and slashin' (and no small bit o' swashbucklin'!) to the dulcet tones of sommon bellowin' 'Hey, you could poke an eye out with that thing!'

    We be needing cutlasses and some fing piratin' adventures, too. oX|P-)

    • force feedback (Score:5, Insightful)

      by redcaboodle ( 622288 ) on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @12:09PM (#20669625)
      How do you get force feedback on those things?
      You'll never know if you hit something. I'm a sword fencer (2 kg bastard sword) and the experience is much more tactile then visual. Even if you consider that light sabres are much lighter than a real sword and don't have bars to protect your hand I doubt if fencing with a light sabre wii control will live up tu the experience of real fencing - even if it's just for show.

      • Re:force feedback (Score:5, Insightful)

        by eln ( 21727 ) * on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @12:16PM (#20669767)
        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.

        Having said that, they could provide some sort of little vibration plus a sound coming from the Wiimote's speaker to simulate impact. Even in a simple game like Wii Sports, the baseball game provides some feedback (a noise coming from the Wiimote itself) to simulate when the bat makes contact with the ball, and that actually is enough to make it feel at least somewhat real if you're absorbed in the game. It really is amazing how much more "real" it feels when the sound from the strike is actually coming from the implement in your hand rather than from the speaker on your TV.

        I think they can make this work. The Wiimote has surprising heft for something of its size, and that plus the speaker and the vibrations make it feel far more realistic than you might expect by looking at it.

        • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

          by ackthpt ( 218170 ) *

          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.

          Arr! I be proposin' an ele

        • Re:force feedback (Score:5, Insightful)

          by Luyseyal ( 3154 ) <swaters AT luy DOT info> on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @12:22PM (#20669853) Homepage
          Of course, lightsabers stop when they contact each other...

          -l

        • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

          by rachit ( 163465 )

          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.

          The way you say this, it sounds like its from personal experience...

          Besides the GP poster was likely talking about feedback when your opponent parries with his lightsaber. Its unlikely that he was referring to the tactile feedback of when his sword slices through people. If he was, it wouldn't be wise to argue with him.

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by Eponymous Bastard ( 1143615 )

          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.

          But I don't think anyone is asking to feel cutting through somebody's neck. This isn't Postal 3 we're talking about.

          You want to feel when your sword hits the other, when your opponent pushes against you, when you have to block because you were blocked and can feel your opponent moving his sword to counter. With a wiimote the light saber will go through anyway and you have to just watch the screen to know. In any case getting a hit on the body will probably count as a point right away, instead of having to

          • Force feedback is not necessary if you simply reward the player for "following" the movements of the lightsaber and punishing them when they don't. (This includes coming to a stop when it hits something like another lightsaber.) The reward/punishment can take the form of greater responsiveness. For example, if the player doesn't stop their follow-through when they are blocked by another lightsaber, the game could have the avatar pause for a fraction of a second. (In some Star Wars content, Lightsabers a

        • Re:force feedback (Score:5, Interesting)

          by jollyreaper ( 513215 ) on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @01:26PM (#20670839)

          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.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by swv3752 ( 187722 )
            From the movies it would appear there is a lot of friction between two light sabers. Most technical "descriptions" say that the lightsaber is a magnetically controlled plasma flow. So it would make sense that they would stick when in contact.

            I think a gyro scope in the wii remote would be greatly beneficial to simulate many games.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by julesh ( 229690 )
            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.

            I'm not sure where this theory comes from, but swords I've handled seem like they would work fine for both, and it seems they were commonplace in history, e.g.:

            The German long sword typically measured from 48" to 52" in length. Although the grip was long enough to allow two-handed use, the German long sword was light enough to wield one-handed when fighting on

            • Re:force feedback (Score:4, Informative)

              by e4g4 ( 533831 ) on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @05:13PM (#20673691)
              In order for a stabbing motion to be truly effective in a combat situation, it has to be either very fast and unexpected, or easily redirected to slip by an opponents parry. The heavier the blade, the more difficult it is to change the direction of the point, and the easier it is to defend against a thrust. You can stab with almost any sword, but the heavier the sword is, the less useful the thrust becomes as a primary attack - with a rapier, the thrust can be very difficult to avoid (because in the process of the thrust, one can do devious feints and changes in direction), whereas with weapons with heavy, broad blades, slashing is far more effective as a means to put one's opponent in a position where they won't be able to avoid the slower, more direct thrust that the heavier blade makes.

              The problem is that you really can't strike a balance (even the sword you describe, and assuming we're talking about period materials) because any blade that can withstand repeated lateral blows will be too heavy to achieve the speed necessary for an effective thrusting attack.
          • In the movies theres a magical invisible cross guard. Vader and ObiWan make use of it quite a bit in anh.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by RyoShin ( 610051 )
          A Lightsaber game would be no fun if you didn't battle against others with Lightsabers, though. However, you are quite correct that slicing through enemies and thinner metal constructs is a trivial task for a lightsaber, so in that case we could have 1:1 motion.

          My thought is that it would be more of a command system than a control system. You swing your Wiimote, and the angle/strength is calculated and sent to the console. Your Jedi/Sith then swings in the calculated direction with calculated speed. If your

      • Re:force feedback (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Luyseyal ( 3154 ) <swaters AT luy DOT info> on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @12:18PM (#20669791) Homepage

        > How do you get force feedback on those things?

        Uhhhh by using the built-in functionality [wikipedia.org] of the Wiimote? That said, yes, it's just a vibration, but that vibration can tell you to stop wasting energy swinging through, etc.

        -l

      • Re:force feedback (Score:5, Funny)

        by CheeseTroll ( 696413 ) on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @12:56PM (#20670403)
        How do you get force feedback on those things?

        You feel the force through The Force, young padawan!

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by apt142 ( 574425 )
        Well, if you're going to compare it to real fencing...

        I've taken a couple of martial arts, and let me tell you, Street Fighter does not live up to it.

        All joking aside, the game might be cool. But, if I were looking for some real competitive light saber action, I'd probably just build a few boffers [thealmightyguru.com] and go at it with some friends.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by rlp ( 11898 )
        How do you get force feedback on those things?

        The Wiimote has IR sensors (for the "sensor bar"), multi-axis accelerometers, rumble, and a speaker. The rumble should be used to indicate you hit something (along with the speaker). The speaker can also be used to do the distinctive "light saber" sound.

        Oh yeah - "it prints money"

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by bkr1_2k ( 237627 )
        "the experience is much more tactile then visual"

        Isn't the idea to see it before it hits you? I would think it would really suck the other way around, especially with a broadsword.
  • It's not the size of your swartz but what you can do with it!

  • Waggle? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by nutznboltz2003 ( 832752 ) on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @12:00PM (#20669505) Homepage
    So will the rest of the game rely on poorly coded waggle controls to get by? I like the concept, but this has got to be hard to code, and if it is not handled correctly, we are only going to end up with another crappy Star Wars game. Instead of giving us Wii owners bad ports with waggle controls added, I think LucasArts has two options. 1) Make sure the controls work, and work well. 2) Stop the bad ports, and give us updated versions of classic LucasArts games, like Monkey Island, Maniac Mansion, and others.

  • Finally (Score:4, Interesting)

    by loafing_oaf ( 1054200 ) on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @12:02PM (#20669525)

    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? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by DoofusOfDeath ( 636671 ) on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @12:04PM (#20669549)
    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 (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Penguinisto ( 415985 ) on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @12:06PM (#20669595) Journal
    ...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

  • A killer ap? I think so.

  • But how do you handle it? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Rooked_One ( 591287 ) on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @12:09PM (#20669645) Journal
    Ok... ignore that... Seriously - how will it handle? Any Wii owner will tell you they were very disapointed with Red Steel, so is the light saber action only going to have 3 or so programmed swings or is it going to be 100% interactive?

    That is what will make this "cool".
    • or is it going to be 100% interactive?
      If, as I hope it to be, it is 100% interactive, will you be able to kill your own character by tilting the wiimote towards you?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by iabervon ( 1971 )
      I expect they'll make it 100% interactive in the duel mode. The fundamental issue is that players tend to rely on their characters to sword-fight competently, and wouldn't bother to learn to fence to play Red Steel. On the other hand, for a special light saber duel, it's reasonable for it to be up to the player to know how to fence.

      On the other hand, the Wii doesn't have a very good idea of exactly where you're pointing the wiimote when you're not pointing it at the screen, so it may have to assume that you

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by edwdig ( 47888 )
        Check out WarioWare on the Wii. One of the bosses is a sword fight. You're mainly parrying with an attack at the end, but it follows your motion really well.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Don853 ( 978535 )
        Along the lines of what the sibling post mentions, the bat in wii sports seems to mimic the direction you're holding the wiimote in pretty well, even when it's not pointed at the screen.

    • Re:But how do you handle it? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by UbuntuDupe ( 970646 ) * on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @12:42PM (#20670145) Journal
      First, a minor quibble: I wasn't disappointed with Red Steel. While it didn't do what I feel was promised, the swordfighting was overall pretty cool because of how you could block. It was almost instinctive, so it allowed for better reaction times.

      As for what the Wii's capable of: they really have a lot of room to innovate here that unfortunately hasn't been explored:

      -It could largely solve the 1-1 motion matching problem by having the Wii detect vertical tilt as it normally does (w/ accelerometer) and horizontal motion with the pointer. If your Wiimote loses sight of the sensor bar, it can just bring your saber back in at the next place it does detect it. There is quite a wide detection angle to begin with.

      -When sabers collide, make either the player push himself back (as represented by his onscreen view), or the opponent bounce backward, or some of both, so that your living-room Wiimote position, despite having "gone through" where the opponent's saber should be, is still consistent with what he sees on the screen.
      • Just reward the user with greater responsiveness if they don't follow-through when they are blocked. Cause the avatar to "pause" when the lightsaber is blocked, and make the pause more pronounced when the user really gets out of sync. Conversely, give them more responsiveness the more they "play nice" or follow what is happening on screen. You can also use this technique to enforce a "speed limit" on how fast the user can swing the Wiimote around, which makes playing safer, and might even improve gamepla

  • Lightsabre dueling (Score:5, Funny)

    by aapold ( 753705 ) on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @12:11PM (#20669687) Homepage Journal
    The logistics of lightsabers always intrigued me... some possibilities:

    - How fast can they turn off and back on? By timing it right you could bypass a parry but turning it off...

    - Lightsabre trap... to stop others from using it, make it look like the other end is the business end.

    - While most other forms seem silly (especially the two-ended staff), putting it on a long pole would be of definite advantage in some situations. But why stop there? Can you imagine a pair of light-sabre nunchuku? HOw about a garden rake with one stuck on the end? Or why not a boomerang with twin-sabre action that turns them on a few seconds after it leaves your hand, then back off when it returns... the possibilities are endless..

    • Re:Lightsabre dueling (Score:5, Funny)

      by MyLongNickName ( 822545 ) on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @12:15PM (#20669741) Journal
      You realize it was just a movie, right?
    • I just want to know why they were always broadsword-style. There must have been plenty of Jedis with a use for a light-stiletto, or even a penknife. Talk about not being random and clumsy.
    • There was something like this in that masterpiece film Johnny Mnemonic (whose brain could carry a whopping 80 gigs of data!). The bad guy had this device the size of a ring that sits on his finger, and when he pulls out one end, it creates this laser rope that will cut through anything.

      • 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. I'm pretty sure the movie had it the way it did because one of the properties of the filament is that its thinness makes it invisible, and that just doesn't work as well in a visual medium.

        • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

          by meringuoid ( 568297 )
          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 :-)

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by nuzak ( 959558 )
            Monofilament puts in an appearance in the Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series too. It's sort of a sci-fi staple. The concept is pretty much bunk unless the wire is some kind of Unobtanium, but you can let your imagination run with it toward more possible scenarios, like making it a sort of nano-machine, with microscopic blades being propelled along the edge of it at high speed. Sort of a monofilament chainsaw, if you will.

            I used to run cyberpunk RPGs. I told one character he dropped his monofi

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by tourvil ( 103765 )

        The bad guy had this device the size of a ring that sits on his finger, and when he pulls out one end, it creates this laser rope that will cut through anything.

        He had a schwartz? Did he get the up side or the down side?
    • "HOw about a garden rake with one stuck on the end?"

      Most people don't want to cauterize the weeds, they want to pull them out of the ground.

      Now a light saber hedge trimmer would save a lot of time and effort.

      • Now a light saber hedge trimmer would save a lot of time and effort.
        Especially if your task was to set your hedge on fire.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by nuzak ( 959558 )
        > Now a light saber hedge trimmer would save a lot of time and effort.

        Tim Burton and George Lucas present: Edward Lightsaberhands.
    • If you have the force, you don't need to attach them. In fact, it always struck me as silly that everyone has just one or two. If I was a Jedi, I'd have about two dozen, and they'd all surround me in some kind of deadly sphere of force-controlled prescient deflection dance. I'd look.. well pretty stupid, actually...

      • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

        by meringuoid ( 568297 )
        If I was a Jedi, I'd have about two dozen, and they'd all surround me in some kind of deadly sphere of force-controlled prescient deflection dance.

        Darth Traya, is that you?

    • >>>"- Lightsabre trap... to stop others from using it, make it look like the other end is the business end."

      Jedi Training Manual, Page 54, Para 12:
      1.322 When picking up an unfamiliar lightsaber for the first time, be aware that the lighty bit could come out either end.

      Don't you know anything???

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by jollyreaper ( 513215 )

      - While most other forms seem silly (especially the two-ended staff), putting it on a long pole would be of definite advantage in some situations. But why stop there? Can you imagine a pair of light-sabre nunchuku? HOw about a garden rake with one stuck on the end? Or why not a boomerang with twin-sabre action that turns them on a few seconds after it leaves your hand, then back off when it returns... the possibilities are endless..

      geek: Oh wait wait! How about this! You know how Shredder has those blades all over and they're like sharper than katanas? How about this: he's got lightsaber emitters instead! He fires them up and he's a walking wall of death!

      observer: You do realize that your uber-cool jedi ninja now looks like a walking Las Vegas neon sign?

      geek: No, but think of the possibilities!

      observer: Yeah. If he altered the color of the different blades he could pass for Rainbow Brite's dad.

      geek: *stiffles sob* You asshole...

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by rlp ( 11898 )
      The logistics of lightsabers always intrigued me... some possibilities:

      Or mounted under a small hp gas engine to mow the lawn.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by julesh ( 229690 )
      some possibilities:

      - How fast can they turn off and back on? By timing it right you could bypass a parry but turning it off...

      This technique has apparently appeared in one of the novels, although I forget which one. I seem to recall mention of a style of fighting with two lightsabers where one is used defensively, and the other is kept switched off until it is in position to deliver a fatal blow.
    • Since, in Lucas' fictional universe, the saber is a high energy power source that is controlled purely by the force, it seems to me it could be placed in sunglasses, a beanie or a belt buckle.

      For that matter, someone who is an advanced enough Jedi should be able to make it curve, not just shoot out in a straight line and stop at a specified distance.

      Having a pulse setting would also be interesting, for numerous applications.

      However, it doesn't appear George ever came up with any of this, so it doesn't exist

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by nuzak ( 959558 )
        > the saber is a high energy power source that is controlled purely by the force

        Han Solo didn't seem to have a problem using Luke's. And no, I don't buy the retconned fanfic crap that makes him into a Jedi.

        Lightsabers look cool. End of story. Explaining shit in the Lucasverse is what gave us midichlorians.

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by mcvos ( 645701 )

      Can you imagine a pair of light-sabre nunchuku?

      That's an excellent trap! Just persuade the other guy to use it, and he'll dismember himself without any further help from you.

  • Obligatory (Score:5, Funny)

    by hellfire ( 86129 ) <deviladv@gmTOKYOail.com minus city> on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @12:14PM (#20669727) Homepage
    "I have something here for you. Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough, but your uncle wouldn't allow it. He feared you might follow old Obi-Wan on some damn fool idealistic computer adventure like your father did. It's your father's WiiMote. This is the weapon of a Wii Knight. Not as clumsy or as random as a Joystick, but an elegant weapon for a more civilized age. For over a thousand generations, the Wii Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times, before the PS3."

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by jollyreaper ( 513215 )

      "I have something here for you. Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough, but your uncle wouldn't allow it. He feared you might follow old Obi-Wan on some damn fool idealistic computer adventure like your father did. It's your father's WiiMote. This is the weapon of a Wii Knight. Not as clumsy or as random as a Joystick, but an elegant weapon for a more civilized age. For over a thousand generations, the Wii Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times, before the PS3."

      Awesome. So now I get to be on of the Knights Who Play Wii. Bring me a shrubbery, bitch!

  • Tacked on (Score:4, Informative)

    by Telvin_3d ( 855514 ) on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @12:15PM (#20669749)
    So, what they are actually saying is that they are adding a tacked on, last minute, third party mode. Then they are going to point to it and say "see we gave everyone what they were yelling for" and when no one is happy with it LucasArts is going to be all smug and start talking about how it shows the Wii was not a viable platform to start with. It is no secret that LucasArts hasn't been a big fan of the Wii because of the less powerful graphics. This is more of a slap in the face than a real attempt to port it to the Wii.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by bigstrat2003 ( 1058574 )
      Have you ever, ever heard of "Take what you can get"? I don't give a damn if it is tacked on, this feature has the potential to be truly amazing. If you blast a cool feature into oblivion because it's "tacked-on", don't blame LucasArts for not putting the work into developing a more fleshed-out version, blame yourself for causing them to think there's no interest.
      • I think part of the reason I have such a negative take on this is that a feature like this have the potential to be truly defining. The first game to get it right (and you know one will eventually) is going to re-define the way many games are designed. However, this attempt is so obviously tacked on that I have very low hopes that it will be anything but disappointing. By attaching a shoddy attempt to such a high profile title, the negative reaction could very well discourage other developers from experi

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by brkello ( 642429 )
      How would you know that until you actually played it? Jeez...did someone get a cynical enima this morning or are you always this way?

  • As a Swordsman... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by SwordsmanLuke ( 1083699 ) on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @12:17PM (#20669771)
    I wonder how they've approached making this work. Physics of swordplay aside, sword fighting is not easy. (Hint, *real* swordfighting doesn't look like the movies, and you can't pick it up in a couple afternoons swinging sticks at your friends.) If their simulation of sword movements is true to how each player is swinging their Wiimote, I think people may get frustrated very quickly by the fact that they're going to suck. On the other hand, if the controls are simplified to allow a preset handful of attacks, I wonder how much depth they can provide to the game.
    • What you say is true, but you could also say the same thing about all the beat-um-up games (learning karate takes a long time and looks nothing like DOA), first person shooters (most FPS have people who run at 30 mph, can jump several feet in the air, and can turn on a dime all the while accurately shooting 100 lb weapons) and any other game type you can think of. The key is not to go for actual realism, just some psuedo realism that feels real enough while still being fun. Just like most games, it'll def
      • As a subscriber to ITG magazine, I have to say that real martial arts does look like DOA sometimes.
        The problem is that most citizens of the US think that Tae Kwan Do is a martial art, when actually its more of a conceptual dance thing mixed with boxing; in a real martial art, such as Shotokan, Aikido, or, I would imagine actual Kung Foo (not what passes for it in the majority of western dojos) you train to execute your movements to be as close to the ideal as possible; the more you have trained, the more yo

  • Uncomfortably Close (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Applekid ( 993327 ) on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @12:32PM (#20669975)
    Anyone else slightly disturbed how how closely the copy in TFS follows the write up at Kotaku [kotaku.com]?

    I mean, it links to Next-Gen which is fine, but if your summary lifts more than 50% of the phrases word-for-word, maybe you should be linking that, too.

  • I always thought a wiffle ball bat worked fine... (Score:3, Funny)

    by xxxJonBoyxxx ( 565205 ) on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @12:35PM (#20670023)
    I always thought a wiffle ball bat worked fine for a light saber. Then again, I was about 8 the last time Star Wars seemed interesting.
  • Fencing has a set of standard moves that could be modeled on the wiimote. These include the foil and epee forms that involve stabbing motions as well as the sabre form which involves cutting motions. The combination of these forms would provide a rich set of moves that would have some basis in real sword-fighting. On the downside, I have yet to figure out how to summon force lightning while fencing.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Pop69 ( 700500 )
      On the downside, I have yet to figure out how to summon force lightning while fencing.

      Use The Force bevoblake !
    • On the downside, I have yet to figure out how to summon force lightning while fencing.

      Perhaps it's time for a new generation ofthese [wikipedia.org]? Put motion sensors in each finger as well as the wrist and palm...
  • In soviet Mordor, Han used the wiimote first.

  • I would love to play this game [allgame.com] with the sword tracking the Wiimote...

  • A perfect advertisement for this is to show what you might look like while playing this game [youtube.com].
  • There was a time when Lucas made games of striking individuality and imagination. Maniac Mansion, Monkey Island, Grim Fandango. The spaghetti western shooter Outlaws. There is a generation of gamers coming of age - already of age - whose fantasies have been shaped by J.K. Rowling. The Phoenix Wand and the Deathstick.

  • Oblig youtube (Score:3, Interesting)

    by BlueParrot ( 965239 ) on Wednesday September 19, 2007 @02:22PM (#20671509)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NE5elL30w4 [youtube.com]

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