Ok. So, it's no Microsoft Kinect, but this $1.99 iOS game is worth a look.
The folks over at Crimson Apps have created the world’s first iOS game played using your body’s own motion. It uses the front facing camera on the iPad 2 and doesn't require any added hardware.
Fuego's River Adventure is the story of Fuego, who crashes in the jungle while on vacation. He builds a raft and floats down the river, dodging obstacles and crocodiles, while grabbing gold and food to trade with the locals. In the game you control Fuego's avatar by placing your iPad 2 horizontally in a stand on a table and at the top of the screen there is a faint outline of your body. By standing about four feet back or so you then control Fuego's movements simply by moving to the left or right. The camera is really responsive and you focus quite quickly on picking up the objects in the river that help you score points.
The video above shows just how similar the engagement with the game looks to Kinect. Of course, it is more lo-fi, but the technology is clever. By using the front facing camera of the iPad 2, Crimson Apps has created software that runs the camera and captures the motion of the player while you play, turning it into movements on the game itself. And while it’s only for the iPad 2 currently, there is probably no reason this technology couldn’t be brought over to the iPhone 4 and 4S which also have the front facing camera.
The game is on sale right now for $1.99. This might not be a massive game changer for the iOS, but it certainly offers some new possibilities especially with mirroring on TV. Crimson Apps will be putting the technology out as an SDK in the very near future and we could see a new range of mobile games that require us to move our bodies a bit more.
