Talkin' EyeToy: Play 2 Producer Tomas Gillo eyeballed
Tuesday 9-Nov-2004 5:02 PM We take a look inside Eyetoy: Play 2 with the game's Senior Producer at Sony's London Studio A bit like alcohol, EyeToy continues to be extremely successful despite consistently making people look like absolute tits. A few weeks back we had the super duper Sega Superstars, and last Friday Sony London - the guys who basically invented the perky peripheral and developed Play and Groove - launched EyeToy: Play 2.
This isn't just another collection of half-arsed minigames. There's real innovation here, like the ability to create a 3D model of your own beautiful head and game mechanics that push the tech of the EyeToy further than ever before.
But is Play 2 the apple of our eye or just more flash in the pan peripheral bait? We tracked down Tomas Gillo, the game's executive producer, and got the lowdown.
For many gamers the EyeToy has faded slightly and been relegated to something of a gimmick. How do you think EyeToy: Play 2 will address this problem?
Tomas Gillo: We believe that we've pushed the boundaries of how a player can interact with an EyeToy Camera. In refining the various ways in which we can detect a player's motion we've been able to add previously unseen depth to the games. These technological advances combined with lots of user testing and research means we have a game that we believe will answer the above criticism.
We spent time considering the user feedback and applied it to our subsequent game designs: the game rounds or levels are shorter so that people don't have to wait their turn for too long; the games are less abstract and are based more on real-world activities that people can easily understand; all the games have a learning curve so that players don't feel they've hit the ceiling too quickly; the games have multiple levels so there is longevity to the product - something that was certainly absent from the first EyeToy: Play. The above list is by no means exhaustive but gives you some sense of how we attempted to ensure that EyeToy: Play 2 wasn't considered a gimmick.
What do you see as the essential features of a successful EyeToy game?
Tomas Gillo: Ultimately the essential feature of any game, not just an EyeToy game, is that it is engaging and fun to play. EyeToy: Play 2 is no different. However, what is different is our audience. EyeToy: Play was enjoyed by a very broad audience that included many people who hadn't previously played videogames. It was essential that we listened to their comments and tried to improve the experience for them and did not create features that would alienate them. So, for us, success will be measured by how well we've managed to be cater to our broader and traditionally non-gaming audience.
How are you innovating the EyeToy technology with Play 2 and in what new ways are you using the camera?
Tomas Gillo: Following on from your first question above, we have a far greater understanding of how we can use motion detection to enable a greater level of player interaction.
Taking Table Tennis as an example: we detect the average position of the moving pixels and use it to update a weighted average of the centre point taken over a number of frames - this in combination with how fast and when you play your shot will affect the trajectory, speed and direction of your return. The player's motion is no longer an on/off operation - there is subtlety that can be learned to become a more effective player.
Another innovative step was reducing the size of the live feed which enabled us to conceive of games such as MonkeyBars, HomeRun and GoalAttack where the player is more immersed within the game environment. Additionally we have used the in-built microphone of the EyeToy USB Camera as another input device, this in combination with motion detection provided yet another level of interactivity.
The above are just a couple of examples - all the games on EyeToy: Play 2 have benefited from these kind of technical and design innovations.
What are your favourite new games or gameplay additions in Play 2?
Tomas Gillo: My three favourite games are AirGuitar, HomeRun and TableTennis. In fact, defeinitely AirGuitar - but there isn't any game in the selection that I don't enjoy. No, really! I'm not just saying that!
How far-reaching do you think the mechanics of an EyeToy game can go?
Tomas Gillo: There is still a huge amount to explore. Technologies like background subtraction, gesture tracking and recognition, image recognition and further refinement to motion detection will all open new avenues that game designers can utilise. Great game design isn't necessarily achieved through technical complexity - there're more than enough mechanics for us to play with to create compelling content before we've exhausted the potential of EyeToy.
Play 2 lets you create a 3D model of your own face and use it in games. Do you see this as an important feature in future PS2 games?
Tomas Gillo: Yes, I think that a lot of players will enjoy customising their avatars to make the experience a more personal one. EyeToy has proved that people enjoy seeing themselves in the game and so it is logical to assume that they'll enjoy seeing themselves in other games also.
It seems that a number of third-party EyeToy collections have been rather unimaginative and poorly designed. Do you see this as a problem for the system?
Tomas Gillo: No, not really. Impersonators always follow successful innovators. It's the same in any entertainment form, it happens in music and film all the time. It could be argued that poor product will reinforce the perception that EyeToy is a gimmick - but EyeToy: Play 2 and Sega Superstars will go a long way to counter that perception.
Sega Superstars has recently shown that clever design and the presence of well-known franchises can really enhance the EyeToy experience. How do you view Superstars?
Tomas Gillo: A cynical view would be that Sega had relied on the significant weight of their IP to sell Superstars, but this isn't the case - there are a number of games on Sega Superstars that show real innovation with the EyeToy platform. Of course we're delighted that there are developers who're taking EyeToy development as seriously as us.
A lot has been made of EyeToy's ability to expand gaming to a wider audience. What do you see as the next step in this process?
Tomas Gillo: It is clear that we've gained trust with an entirely new and traditionally non-gaming audience. We must continue to innovate without alienating this audience and that means listening to their feedback - hearing what they like and don't like and building on the foundations that we have created so far. I think a lot of people have wanted to play video games in the past but haven't found anything that motivated them to learn the manual dexterity that is often required. EyeToy gives us a fabulous creative opportunity to cater to them in new and innovative ways. I'm afraid I can't go into specific detail about future product plans - but watch this space...
When we spoke to the gentlemen working on EyeToy Chat they mentioned using the EyeToy to display your picture on screen when you're playing games like TIF 2005. Is this something you're planning on for the future?
Tomas Gillo: I can't really comment directly on our future development plans but it would make sense - I mean, there is nothing like seeing the pain on your opponents face when you score a winning goal, is there?!
Will the arrival of PSP offer any opportunities to link up with EyeToy?
Tomas Gillo: Again, I can't be too specific but we're very excited by the development opportunities that PSP will present us.
Will PS3 offer technology similar to the EyeToy out of the box? Do you see this kind of technology as a viable and inherent part of future consoles?
Tomas Gillo: I'm afraid I can't make any comment about that.
Finally, can you pin down the enjoyment of playing a good EyeToy game?
Tomas Gillo: There is a certain magic that happens when you first play an EyeToy game that I can only describe as a feeling of total emancipation - "am I really playing this without any controller? - COOOOL!!". Equally cool is the fact that you're the star of the game and that when you play the game socially everyone gets to laugh at their friends' antics.
My opinion is that it is those two factors that have made EyeToy such an enormous success and opened up a previously alienated audience to the enjoyment of videogames - anybody can play and everyone will enjoy watching...
You can find a selection of EyeToy: Play 2 screens here and we'll be back with the essential review soon.
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