Comments on: Virtual Sensation and the Wii

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 18:32:24 +0000

very good review.

By: cybereality

cybereality — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 22:44:12 +0000

Interesting article. You touch on a lot of good points. On thing that needs correction is the tennis section. I too assumed that the hit direction was calculated, but its not. The direction on the ball is entirely controlled by the timing (which is rather lame if you ask me). It does register which way you swing (and makes a difference if the collision is detected) but has not effect on the balls trajectory.

I would also say that the WiiBoxing is the most immersive of the bunch, even if the control isnt spot on 100% of the time. The main factor being that moving your body side to side (or ducking) has an immediate effect to the on-screen avatar. Baseball does this to a lesser extent, none of the other games show your movements in real time.

By: yaustar

yaustar — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 15:49:55 +0000

“I’m still trying to figure out how to trigger the power serve consistently”
Hit the ball when it reaches the apex (highest point).

Also I find that the direction of ball depends on the timing of the swing rather where the Wii-mote ends up pointing.

Swing early on the forehand, it will go further to left, swing late and it will go right.

By: Nils

Nils — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 22:14:12 +0000

I like this perspective on mechanic design. I’ve read a lot of articles on why the Wiimote does/doesn’t work but no one puts it into tangible terms (opting for more generic “It just doesn’t feel right” explanations). Appreciate the hard work!

By: Terry

Terry — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 19:16:13 +0000

Thank you for this! I’ve been looking for exactly this sort of a review from a game/control mechanic perspective, as exploring these possibilities is exactly what I want to get a Wii for. And I’m definitely looking forward to your thoughts on the other games.