So wait, is there going to be specific mode where you place a Move controller next to your head? Or is it just a tech demo of what could have been?
http://vimeo.com/41350330
http://vimeo.com/41350330
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New Datura trailer - coming to PSN 8th of May (US) 9th of May (EU)
- Thread starter Carl
- Start date
Have I missed something, this looks mighty interesting, but what else have they announced lately?
This looks pretty amazing.
With two Moves and one of those $800 HD headsets, you can play Datura in "virtual reality mode" with 1:1 head tracking courtesy of the Move.
"Understandably, it's not practical, and it's really nothing more than a tease if you look at it that way. Why get users disappointed that they cannot play it. She even took it away, packed it up in a box, and walked away with it. It was myself and one other journalist who got to see it, albeit for only a brief moment.
And for a brief moment, I did. And there was no disappointment in the game, the situtation, etc. The only disappointment I feel is that I am unable to experience a game as deeply on a regular basis. When the time comes, my friends, gaming will never be the same."
With two Moves and one of those $800 HD headsets, you can play Datura in "virtual reality mode" with 1:1 head tracking courtesy of the Move.
"Understandably, it's not practical, and it's really nothing more than a tease if you look at it that way. Why get users disappointed that they cannot play it. She even took it away, packed it up in a box, and walked away with it. It was myself and one other journalist who got to see it, albeit for only a brief moment.
And for a brief moment, I did. And there was no disappointment in the game, the situtation, etc. The only disappointment I feel is that I am unable to experience a game as deeply on a regular basis. When the time comes, my friends, gaming will never be the same."
Vinterbird
Member
Review code came today. Under embargo till the 7th of May, but I'll do some general thoughts over the weekend when I get a chance to try it out.
Nice one, Vinterbird. Looking forward to it.
PLEASE GOD PATCH PLEASE GOD..THIS IS WHY I BUY ALL THESE EXPENSIVE GADGETS! I have all that stuff. please do it for us crazy gamers.
edit- I never thought about the idea of how you could use a second Move controller as head tracking device. Only problem is the wire from the HMZ that's plugged into the box unit.
Vinterbird
Member
So let's talk about the game a bit, I'm under embargo until tomorrow for a full review'ish text, but some impressions never hurt anyone:
- Uses only a Move controller, a Nav is not needed
- DualShock 3 is a viable way of playing the game, but it moves a bit weirdly using a dualstick setup
- It has a bit of calibration issues here and there, which took me out of the moment here and there
- The game has a really otherworldly feel to it
- Visuals are not as impressive as I expected, framerate is all over the place at some times
- It does what Flower also excelled at, telling a story without using words or forcing it onto you
Still not done with the game, but a co-worker who finished it yesterday could not stop praising it and calling it beyond amazing and real game-art.
- Uses only a Move controller, a Nav is not needed
- DualShock 3 is a viable way of playing the game, but it moves a bit weirdly using a dualstick setup
- It has a bit of calibration issues here and there, which took me out of the moment here and there
- The game has a really otherworldly feel to it
- Visuals are not as impressive as I expected, framerate is all over the place at some times
- It does what Flower also excelled at, telling a story without using words or forcing it onto you
Still not done with the game, but a co-worker who finished it yesterday could not stop praising it and calling it beyond amazing and real game-art.
Do you know how far from launch it is? Didn't see it from a skim of the thread. And did you co-worker not mention frame-rate issues or any other negatives?? Look forward to reading the review if you post a link link here.
EDIT: Duh, ignore the launch date thing.
Vinterbird
Member
Do you know how far from launch it is? Didn't see it from a skim of the thread. And did you co-worker not mention frame-rate issues or any other negatives?? Look forward to reading the review if you post a link link here.
EDIT: Duh, ignore the launch date thing.
I haven't discussed the game in large detail with him yet, he just texted me during play with "this is amazing, this game is insane, it's fucking crazy", and he talked about having some calibration issues as well.
But we haven't compared notes yet, as I don't want to get spoiled on anything by accident yet.
Ahh ok. Do post a link - look forward to reading your review but I'm intrigued having paid no attention to date.
There goes Sony, shamelessly copying the competition again.
I'm excited to (literally) dust off my Move to play this. My only concern is that it's less of a game than the trailer suggests. This studio's history is in the demoscene: semi-interactive procedurally generated animations. Their last 'product' Linger In Shadows was an attempt to bring that legacy to consoles, and it was a little underwhelming in my opinion.
I'm excited to (literally) dust off my Move to play this. My only concern is that it's less of a game than the trailer suggests. This studio's history is in the demoscene: semi-interactive procedurally generated animations. Their last 'product' Linger In Shadows was an attempt to bring that legacy to consoles, and it was a little underwhelming in my opinion.
Vinterbird
Member
I think that comparing it to Flower is pretty fair. It's a fair mix of art non-game experience oriented combined with exploring and what probably can be called mini-games (but it's a really harsh generalization of what it is, but it's the most appropiate way of talking about the game within the established vocabulary of game mechanics)
If it's as much of a "game" as Flower, I'm all for it. When Nintendo first demonstrated the Wii my head jumped to Datura's kind of gameplay interaction, and it never materialized. I hope this Datura is a success because this is the only kind of motion control worth exploring in my opinion. Kinda like if Heavy Rain had been designed completely around 1:1 interaction.
Thanks for the impressions Vinter! Sounds good, can't wait to play it.
So, when is the review embargo up? Not seen any reviews yet.
EDIT: Oh, maybe if i had looked... TheSixthAxis has theirs up:
http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2012/05/07/datura-review-ps3psn/
So, when is the review embargo up? Not seen any reviews yet.
EDIT: Oh, maybe if i had looked... TheSixthAxis has theirs up:
http://www.thesixthaxis.com/2012/05/07/datura-review-ps3psn/
edit - bit busy, ill back off for now, hope someone makes it
Vinterbird
Member
So let's throw in some impressions (I've not done written reviews in a very long time, and english is not my native language, so sorry for it being crude and simple):
I think Datura is a interesting product. I really wouldn't call it a game, and as said it''s closer to Flower then anything else in my opinion.
If you do want to talk gameplay, you can be extremely rudementary and boil it down to:
There's a hub world, in this you find hotspots which activate a tiny Move oriented mini-game / gameplay gimmick, these then have implicit or explicit choices attached to them. Type of choice is afterward reflected on your map as either black or white dot.
It sounds simplistic as hell, and to be fair, it kinda is. But you come into Datura for the gameplay or the likes, I would say you're coming at it from the wrong direction. The game is solely focused on giving the player a experience, and when you breach the inital barrier of having a controller in your hand, it soon becomes a extension of yourself into the game world.
By the end of it all, I started to move both my hands because I was so immersed in the entire experience, and almost crawling out of the chair towards the TV to touch certain objects in the game. It does something to you in regards to immersion that I've not experienced since Wii Sports, and thats the biggest praise I could ever give a game.
Story is heavy on interpretation and the player putting stuff together, there's no dialogue to the player, at least not of any meaningful value but it still conveys a plot, and it's enjoyable for what it is.
But really. It's all about the mood, the world and becoming apart of it, having your hand become thsi bridge between the physical world of your livingroom and the digital space of Datura.
It's cool, it's great but don't go in expecting a "game" in the typical sense.
Other stuff of note:
- If you're left-handed, the game will recognize that and mirror the entire world (hurray!)
- Framerate is up and down in the first section of the game
- I don't know if this is due to my PS Eye being funny, but at one point the game lost traction of me, because the camera decided to zoom in on me
- Movement takes a while getting used too, and it never really became second nature, but it's serviceable
I think Datura is a interesting product. I really wouldn't call it a game, and as said it''s closer to Flower then anything else in my opinion.
If you do want to talk gameplay, you can be extremely rudementary and boil it down to:
There's a hub world, in this you find hotspots which activate a tiny Move oriented mini-game / gameplay gimmick, these then have implicit or explicit choices attached to them. Type of choice is afterward reflected on your map as either black or white dot.
It sounds simplistic as hell, and to be fair, it kinda is. But you come into Datura for the gameplay or the likes, I would say you're coming at it from the wrong direction. The game is solely focused on giving the player a experience, and when you breach the inital barrier of having a controller in your hand, it soon becomes a extension of yourself into the game world.
By the end of it all, I started to move both my hands because I was so immersed in the entire experience, and almost crawling out of the chair towards the TV to touch certain objects in the game. It does something to you in regards to immersion that I've not experienced since Wii Sports, and thats the biggest praise I could ever give a game.
Story is heavy on interpretation and the player putting stuff together, there's no dialogue to the player, at least not of any meaningful value but it still conveys a plot, and it's enjoyable for what it is.
But really. It's all about the mood, the world and becoming apart of it, having your hand become thsi bridge between the physical world of your livingroom and the digital space of Datura.
It's cool, it's great but don't go in expecting a "game" in the typical sense.
Other stuff of note:
- If you're left-handed, the game will recognize that and mirror the entire world (hurray!)
- Framerate is up and down in the first section of the game
- I don't know if this is due to my PS Eye being funny, but at one point the game lost traction of me, because the camera decided to zoom in on me
- Movement takes a while getting used too, and it never really became second nature, but it's serviceable
Lord Error
Insane For Sony
I've heard the game is 60FPS with some drops, but the base framerate is 60. This was really surprising to me given how dense everything looks.
From my playtest at GDC Move is the only way to go. I expect your experience will be compromised playing with a DS3.
Neuromancer
Member
Some pretty rough review scores (60 average right now)
http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/datura/critic-reviews
http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/datura/critic-reviews
maquiladora
Member
dat 4/10 edge...
Starhawk is getting good reviews, what are you talking about?
Patapwn
Member
Well, he did specify great reviews.
I think I'll pass on this exclusive one two punch Sony threw at us. Didn't dig starhawks and the reviews for datura = wait for price drop
What the fuck is this shit?
NO CODE NO BUY.
By the way guys, this experimental "2nd Move for camera" feature will be included in the final release of Datura but won't be visible. There won't be a specific option for that. You'll need to perform a secret little trick to activate it. I'll tell you how in my upcoming video analysis
NO CODE NO BUY.
I wasn't really sure where to post to talk about this game. I just finished a first playthrough, and it was kind of insane. It took me awhile to get used to the controls (at times it felt finicky, others it felt great) and I enjoyed it. I'm still trying to make sense of it all- there is a narrative, but the lack of a cohesive sequencing leads it up to much interpretation.
I think exploring the Forest as a hub world felt beautiful- like I was playing something like Myst. Holding the Move button to walk does feel a little strange at first (I had the Nav controller out because I thought it utilized both) but pressing the T-button to run was neat. There definitely seems to be a lot of depth awareness involved concerning your hand motions- sometimes I felt like I had exactly the right gesture, but my on-screen hand needed to be closer. Turning may be off putting to most; it is a bit cumbersome to wait for the field of view to rotate with the X button but I didn't mind it. There was a little bit of a framerate dip between gates, but nothing terrible.
What I like most about it is you never seem to be doing the same thing twice regarding your exploration. It's creepy, and definitely slightly depressing, but I felt captivated by a lot of it. Maybe it is because I haven't used the Move enough, but it had some interesting gameplay ideas regarding hand motions. It certainly was something different, and I was pretty patient in trying to understand how to play it. But I think I liked it!
Edit: It was definitely strange, and you must be willing to put up with some strange control issues. It is something I'll remember entirely.
I think exploring the Forest as a hub world felt beautiful- like I was playing something like Myst. Holding the Move button to walk does feel a little strange at first (I had the Nav controller out because I thought it utilized both) but pressing the T-button to run was neat. There definitely seems to be a lot of depth awareness involved concerning your hand motions- sometimes I felt like I had exactly the right gesture, but my on-screen hand needed to be closer. Turning may be off putting to most; it is a bit cumbersome to wait for the field of view to rotate with the X button but I didn't mind it. There was a little bit of a framerate dip between gates, but nothing terrible.
What I like most about it is you never seem to be doing the same thing twice regarding your exploration. It's creepy, and definitely slightly depressing, but I felt captivated by a lot of it. Maybe it is because I haven't used the Move enough, but it had some interesting gameplay ideas regarding hand motions. It certainly was something different, and I was pretty patient in trying to understand how to play it. But I think I liked it!
Edit: It was definitely strange, and you must be willing to put up with some strange control issues. It is something I'll remember entirely.
Yeah, it's actually 60 fps most of the time I've found. It runs into drops (not severe) but generally seems to hold 60 fps (at least within the first 10 minutes that I briefly played).
Looks absolutely beautiful too. Love the forest section.
Vinterbird
Member
If you start to fiddle too much with the physics the framerate will crumble. Especially if you fuck with the water physics.
Acquiescence
Member
I read one review that stated the game controls better with a Dualshock rather than the Move. I'll soon find out; it's just finished downloading!
It's a bit sluggish, but the game's pace is slow enough where that's hardly ever an issue.
I will say that there is one part that does make me regret not having a Move, but I won't say anything else on that subject.
Melchiah
Member
I hope you're right. I certainly won't buy Move just because of 6,36€ game.
Damn, the download speed is slow as hell. Nothing new there, but still annoying when you really want to start playing something you've bought.
Lord Error
Insane For Sony
There's a scene early in the game that lets you put hand under the water (it looks more like gel though) that's pretty cool and I didn't notice framerate diving there. Smoother particle hydrodynamic effect, with not that many particles, but still very cool looking as you can interact with it with the hand.
lol, no. He (or that review if it's for real) is definitely not right. You can't even control the hand at any time unless you play with Move.
Acquiescence
Member
This game controls like shit, but so far I find it worth playing just for the WTF factor involved. Falling down the well was... interesting.