Dr. Richard Marks Demonstrating Archery On The Playstation Motion Controller.

Richard Marks is a man in demand right now. The genius responsible for the Eye Toy camera showed off his (and his employer's) answer to motion control in early June at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Since then he's been fairly quiet, but in an interview with GameOn he gives his thought process for the Playstation Motion Controller and, of course, has a few words for Microsoft's Natal project.

When asked how he knew that the best approach to motion control should consist of two peripherals, Marks answered:
[quote]
"The first time I pressed a button and saw a virtual light sword extend up out of the controller, and watched it move just as it should when I swung it, I thought “this is it”. Then, when I saw the reaction of my kids when they tried the same, I knew we had it right."</blockquote>

Sony's Playstation Motion Controller consists of the combination of the Playstation Eye camera and two motion wands with a large ball-type light at the top. The technology works by tracking the ball and is able to replace the on-screen footage the camera is recording with polygonal objects; hence the light sword Marks talks about.

Marks also talks about his decision to reintroduce controllers into his motion control solution rather than continue with the Eye Toy's idea of controllerless gaming.
[quote]
"We didn’t feel a camera-only interface was the best solution for games. EyeToy was created to allow players to physically interact with games using their body. The unencumbered feeling of no wires and feeling free (instead of connected to your television) was very important, as was the simplicity of the controls. Everyone, even non-gamers, felt like they could just jump in and play, which was great.

We still believe that is the best interface for some experiences, but for other experiences, additional capabilities are important. We discovered during our research that some experiences demand precise control and a simple, fast, reliable way to trigger actions. We also found that some experiences just feel more natural when holding a tool, or a “prop”. Our new controller adds these new capabilities to those we already have from PlayStation Eye."</blockquote>

When asked about price and bundled software Marks just further clarified that the product will be available in Spring 2010. We do hope it actually does come with a game though. Recent signs have been worryingly hinting towards a finished peripheral with no real software to support it.