If you’re up on technology-related news at all, you know that Microsoft recently released the Kinect add-on system for the XBox. Kinect is a camera + microphone peripheral that allows you to interact with the XBox and play games using only your gestures, body position, and voice. It’s entirely appropriate to call it a competitor to and the evolution of Nintendo’s Wii. From what I’ve seen and the reviews I’ve read, it’s pretty dang cool.
However, something really stood out to me when I began catching advertisements for the Kinect. Click away and watch this Kinect ad [video]. It’s okay. I’ll wait right here until you get back.
Back? Oh. You ended up going to the bathroom too? That’s fine. No problem. You washed up I hope. I don’t want your nasty bathroom hands scrolling this page or clicking any links. That’s gross.
Did you notice anything striking about the commercial? I did. With few exceptions, every person’s gaze was locked onto the game display. Didn’t catch that? Go on. Watch it again. Once you see it you can’t not see it. Whether it was spectators in the background or even two players side-by-side, everyone’s eyes were directed straight ahead.
Ever try to have a conversation with someone in the passenger seat while you’re driving? And it feels a bit odd because your attention is torn between keeping your eyes on the road and making eye contact with your passenger? We desire direct attention when we, well, connect.
I’m all about play as a means to connection. Play is a fun and intimate thing. This Kinect commercial demonstrates one of the central challenges to creating the sorts of playful technologies I’m after. How do we create play technology that directs the attention of players to one another and not to itself?
Don’t get me wrong. I love shared experiences — movies at the theater, amusement park rides, multi-player games. Microsoft has succeeded in adding a new, fun, immersive element to the shared experience of its video game system. It’s likely going to be a big hit. But the Kinect is so named probably to communicate the idea of an enhanced connection to the game experience, not necessarily because it’s directly connecting us to one another when we play.
UPDATE (November 18, 2010): A different perspective on the potential disconnect of the Kinect: Motion Control in Gaming: Rationalizing a New Dissonance.