OnLive
I used to play PC games but soon got tired of the yearly upgrade game and having to drop £300 on a new graphics card for the latest release. Which is why I’m primarily a console gamer, its quick easy and far more comfortable. My friend still plays PC games and is about to drop another £700 on a new system to play COD: Black Ops, now I am tempted by it (the graphics look insane) but I’ve got a Mac so its pretty much a non starter.
But there’s a solution to my problems, OnLive.
On what?
OnLive is online digital games distribution service.
But it’s impossible to simply dismiss it as just another games distribution service because OnLive is a pretty insane idea, that harks back to the halcyon days of mainframe and VDU’s. That’s because you don’t download the games and play them locally on your computer, what you actually do is control a video stream.
Eh?
The OnLive client connects to a huge datafarm that contains ultra high spec machines that actually play the game, all that is sent to you is a video stream. But its not a video, as you have just as much control over the game as if you were playing it at home. It’s utterly mental, but its the future of gaming, no longer are we tied to the hardware specification of our local machine.
It’s cloud computing for the entertainment sector and I love it.
Granted it’s not perfect as there is some degree of lag and video artifacts but its a first step its very very convincing.
So what next?
You may, or may not have noticed the release of Microsofts Kinect last week but if you did miss it, I think you should take a look at these videos:
Granted its early days but if this is what can happen from a week of hacking, just imagine what could be possible later on down the line.
Someone should hire this guy asap.
So what does this have to do with e-learning? Everything.
By removing the controller we can engage a whole scope of learners, be young or old and I think it has significance to those learners with a learning or physical disability. You don’t need to be dexterous or capable of pressing small buttons, Kinect makes you the controller.
This is the first console based augmented reality device that actually has a chance of succeeding, granted the initial launch line up isn’t chock full of AAA games but, Dance Central, Kinect Sports & Kinectimals do a pretty decent job.
I hope that an E-Learning games company does launch software on Kinect, I think it has far more potential for learning that the already impressive Wii.
If not now, then when? 