Much of E3’s focus was on the bigger titles but there was plenty that was a little more offbeat
WITH ABOUT 200 companies showing their wares to thousands of industry representatives, dedicated games fans and fellow exhibitors at the show, some firms are resorting to more unusual tactics to get games fans to their stands at E3 – and keep them there.
The most common is the standard “booth babe”, costumed girls designed to attract attention. They’re everywhere; in fact, you’re barely through the door before encountering the first of them.
Free promotional items – from the more mundane T-shirts to attention-grabbing red wigs and cardboard box "heads" advertising Minecraft– are also generating a bit of a buzz around the exhibition halls.
Nintendo ensured its 3DS console was visible by offering players the chance to collect Mii versions of its executives through StreetPass. The social technology allows players wirelessly to exchange information on Mii characters through the 3DS, simply by passing each other.
Others companies go for more unusual tactics. This year, MMO game World of Tanksbrought real tanks to the entrances of the centre, ensuring that they grabbed attendees' attention as they walked through the door.
AR.Drone Parrot had its own beach party in downtown LA, inviting people to try out its remote-controlled helicopter.
The company is adding Android, Bada and Symbian support to its products, so you’ll be able to pilot the helicopter from a wider range of handsets.
While much of the focus is on the bigger titles and announcements, there is plenty to see that is a little more offbeat. IndieCade, an international independent games festival that will be held later this year is now in its fifth year.
It offered a look at some of the games it has seen over the years.
Deep Seais the creation of US- based sound designer Robin Arnott. The game is unusual in that it forces players to rely only on sound to identify their enemies.
Using a mask that plunges them into total darkness, players have to identify where their targets are located by listening for the rumbles of monsters, then use the joystick to aim and shoot where they think the danger is located.
The game uses feedback on the player’s natural breathing and creates a “deeply immersive experience”.
Arnott says that some people have found it so overwhelming, they can faint while in the mask.
Another focus at IndieCade's stand was the Kiss Controller. The game, demonstrated on video at the stand, brought a new dimension to motion-sensitive gaming.
A world away from Kinect, Move or the Wii’s version of such technology, the controller uses a tiny magnet, affixed to the tip of on person’s tongue, and a customised headset that acts as a sensor receiver on the second subject that will pick up the motion associated with two people kissing and translate that into movement on screen.
Developed by digital media artist Hye Yeon Nam at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the game was original a sound-based application designed for a friend.
However, it was later transformed to control a bowling ball, giving players high scores and feedback on their performance, to provide an incentive to keep playing.
While it is unlikely that the games will make it to your console in the next couple of years, the projects do provide interesting feedback to the creators.
