Exclusive: Rare’s Kinect Sports Community Day

With the launch of Kinect less than a month away, Rare held a community sports day on Saturday 16th in celebration of their Kinect game entitled ‘Kinect Sports’.  We were invited by someone from Rare that is said to be a frequent visitor of this website (hey Ben, thanks for visiting! ). As the event took place in the United Kingdom, we required the help of one of our contributors living in the UK: IckyGalaxy. Video and Pictures of the event are included!

Beware, he was a healthy skeptic before attaining the Kinect Sports event at Rare – exactly the type of gamer Rare wanted.

Rare HQ

So, on a chilly Saturday morning, several community members and I arrived at Rare headquarters. Upon arrival I stood in awe at the building as the complex mixture of glass, metal and brick gave Rare a character and quality to the games Rare develop and the people who work there. First impressions count and in this instance I was very impressed with the image Rare have made for themselves. The building also gave off a very relaxing atmosphere which is also very much appreciated as I was feeling a little apprehensive at the time. After registering at reception, we (the attendees) made our way through into a large meeting room that also happened to be the canteen where we were met be more Rare employees who proceeded to demo a few of the sports from their game. The main reason for this was to show everyone how exactly you (the gamer) play each sport.

Rare’s legacy

Upon entering the building, I was greeted with glass cabinets showcasing their previous work and a few of the Rare employees waiting to meet & greet all of the attendees. For those unfamiliar with Rare’s previous work, they are responsible for games such as GoldenEye 007, Perfect Dark, Banjo-Kazooie, Banjo-Tooie and Conkers Bad Fur Day. Some consider these games the best of the best! In recent years, Rare has developed Kameo: Elements Of Power, Viva Pinata and Banjo Nuts & Bolts all exclusively for the Xbox 360. That line-up alone should tell you the calibre of Rare as a game developer.

A healthy form of skepticism*

*does a healthy form even exist?

I did not know what to expect, I have always had doubts surrounding Kinect and its many launch titles. Perhaps the hype could prove to be just that, over hype. Let’s see what Kinect has in store for me!

My first Kinect experience

Following the initial introduction to Kinect Sports and the many sports events available, we entered another room filled with Kinect booths (8 or 9 to be exact) where we were set loose upon the sensors (literally). I had never played with Kinect before as this was my first ever experience playing a game without the use of a game controller. As I approached the sensor and stretched out my hand, Kinect instantly recognized me and I began to navigate my way through each of the sports and choosing events from the many menus. It was effortless. After choosing a preferred sport, I began to work my way through several of the events and then it hit me, I was experiencing a game without a controller and it felt good. Real-good! I was shocked by how accurate Kinect is and how quickly it is able to lock of to a player and begin tracking them. Simply extend your hand and it has you, instantly!

Could I pause this game, please?

I asked a Rare developer how exactly would one (gamer) go about pausing the game using Kinect whilst playing Kinect Sports? From this I discovered that at anytime during Kinect Sports you are able to pause the game and access the menu simply by extending your left arm downwards; Kinect then notices the ‘system gesture’ and starts the appropriate action. Whilst playing Kinect Sports I did noticed that it was very easy to jump-in and play. Many of the sports have helpful hints/tips/guides that show you what exactly that particular sport entails. If you are too close of too far away from the sensor, Kinect will indicate this on-screen. Also if you are not centred properly, Kinect will give instructions E.g. Move Left, Move Right. All are very simple and I found when running I often ventured a little too close to the sensor and received an instruction to move back. Helpful tips provide instant feedback thanks to depth recognition.

Lunch time – deliberation!

After my first Kinect Sports session, we departed for lunch and it gave me time to reflect on my past views of Kinect and how pleasantly surprised I was in this technology. During lunch I talked with quite a few of the community members who also felt the same as I did. I then realized that Kinect had come under scrutiny by so many uniformed gamers that if they had a chance to play Kinect, they would probably change their minds about the technology.

For IckyGalaxy’s Kinect Sports Experience, some pictures and the video read on to the next page!