Tsunoda downplays need for haptic feedback, calls rumble “rudimentary’

Haptics is a fancy word that refers to the sense of touch. Unlike traditional controller-based input technologies, Microsoft’s Kinect lacks any form of actual haptic feedback, but it’s not a problem according to Microsoft Game Studios GM Kudo Tsunoda. In fact, he thinks things like rumble technology isn’t necessary any longer.

Haptics is a fancy word that refers to the sense of touch. Unlike traditional controller-based input technologies, Microsoft’s Kinect lacks any form of actual haptic feedback, but it’s not a problem according to Microsoft Game Studios GM Kudo Tsunoda. In fact, he thinks things like rumble technology isn’t necessary any longer.

“The thing I was most worried about was the [lack] of haptic feedback, but it’s been really interesting how much you can do with visuals and audio,” he said in an interview with Edge. “In many of the games we have, people will crash a vehicle and they’ll go totally like this [mimes dodging out of the way]!

“And even people playing games with a controller, there’s always people doing this [mimes driving motion]. They want to be moving. There’s natural movements and reactions involved. I’ve never seen someone doing that from rumble. It’s the audiovisual stuff.”

As for rumble, Tsunoda thinks technology has moved on from such a “rudimentary” form of feedback. 

“The overwhelming thing we’ve discovered is that rumble is such a rudimentary form of haptic feedback. It’s not like a little rumble in your palm is your whole way of interacting with the world – it’s not like, oh, I stubbed my toe and I get a little rumble in my palm,” said Tsunoda.

“It’s almost laughable the way people hold on to rumble as the holy grail of haptic feedback. We’ve gone so far past anything that can be done with rumble, or that kind of restrictive thing you have to hold. It’s been creatively liberating to work on this stuff.”

Via [Edge]