Ever since Kinect was released I have been calling for Microsoft to allow Xbox Live Indie Games to support Kinect (beyond just using the mics which is currently allowed) and thought they were going to announce it everytime a major event such as E3, PAX, Gamescom or Tokyo Game Show came around. Well now it’s happening!… on Xbox One at least. Major Nelson has confirmed that not only will independent developers be able to self-publish on Xbox One (not just companies, anybody who is able to make a game, just like with the current Xbox Live Indie Games on Xbox 360) but that their games can use Kinect 2 along with other features 0f the console:
I had a great chat with Marc Whitten about self publishing and Xbox One. I’ve got him scheduled to come on the podcast next week update us on Xbox One, but in the meantime he wanted me to share some great news with you about the upcoming Xbox One Self Publishing program that we’ve been working on for some time.
Marc had this to say:
Our vision is that every person can be a creator. That every Xbox One can be used for development. That every game and experience can take advantage of all of the features of Xbox One and Xbox LIVE. This means self-publishing. This means Kinect, the cloud, achievements. This means great discoverability on Xbox LIVE. We’ll have more details on the program and the timeline at Gamescom in August.
So….now you know one of the reasons I am looking forward to GamesCom.
He also confirmed that “every Xbox One can be used for development.” meant that every Xbox One can be used as a devkit!!
This is great news and should keep the big developers on their toes when it comes to Kinect 2 games. Maybe Microsoft will also allow Xbox 360 XBLIG to use Kinect? Here are some examples of what could have been on the Xbox 360 already if the current XBLIG supported Kinect and what we would could see in the future (only potentially much better graphics and Kinect functionality) on Xbox One:
SkiRanger
DirActNI (not actually a game but could obviously be used for games)
Space Palette (Kinect virtual musical instrument with visualisations)
Fighting game prototype
Daedalus
Telekinect
Joust!
Stacking Game
Spookerz (game pitch)
Game Noir
To see more independent Kinect games just click on the thumbnails below to open the YouTube video in a new window:
Pretty Sketchy Bro
The Ghosthunter
(Kinect object-tracks the joypad to aim the ghost detector as well as tracking your body for body movements such as dodging! Why aren’t big developers doing stuff like this already??)
One Handed Kinect FPS
Hybrid controls game
Liminal Magibrawl
Scorcher
Interstate Outlaws
Zombie Holdout
Galaxy Guardians
Marcelo’s Adventures
PaperQuest
Don’t Open That Door
Snooker game
AvaGlide (currently available on XBLIG, but NOT with Kinect support)
Source: Major Nelson
