indiegames
January 10th, 2010, 20:40
A pair of attachments would turn two Wiimotes into a set of sticks, presumably for an air-drumming game, according to a patent filed recently by Namco Bandai (http://kotaku.com/tag/namcobandai/).
While the patent doesn't specifically reference the Wiimote, the drawings do look awful familiar, and so far it's the most notable example of a rectangular control with an accelerometer inside. A shock absorber inside the coverings helps protect the controllers while striking the attachment tips against a desk or a flat surface.
The sound made by the game depends on the angle at which the drumsticks strike the surface - tom, snare, cymbals and hi-hat are all referenced in the patent application.
While it doesn't look like a game changer for the rhythm genre, I do think incorporating an actual strike into the gameplay, as opposed to drumming against the air, is a good bet. But how much abuse these things can take is a good question. People playing the drums delicately don't have much fun. And then there's the whole finger-twirl thing. How are we gonna pull that off?
Namco Bandai Developing A New Kind Of Drumming Game (http://www.siliconera.com/2010/01/08/namco-bandai-developing-a-new-kind-of-drumming-game/) [Siliconera]
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While the patent doesn't specifically reference the Wiimote, the drawings do look awful familiar, and so far it's the most notable example of a rectangular control with an accelerometer inside. A shock absorber inside the coverings helps protect the controllers while striking the attachment tips against a desk or a flat surface.
The sound made by the game depends on the angle at which the drumsticks strike the surface - tom, snare, cymbals and hi-hat are all referenced in the patent application.
While it doesn't look like a game changer for the rhythm genre, I do think incorporating an actual strike into the gameplay, as opposed to drumming against the air, is a good bet. But how much abuse these things can take is a good question. People playing the drums delicately don't have much fun. And then there's the whole finger-twirl thing. How are we gonna pull that off?
Namco Bandai Developing A New Kind Of Drumming Game (http://www.siliconera.com/2010/01/08/namco-bandai-developing-a-new-kind-of-drumming-game/) [Siliconera]
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/9/2010/01/thumb160x_image64.jpg
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/9/2010/01/thumb160x_image65.jpg
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/9/2010/01/thumb160x_image68.jpg
http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/9/2010/01/thumb160x_image70.jpg
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