Oh Kinect ... what exciting new virtual realities could you possibly bring to our lives next?
Because I'm having a hard time imagining anything more virtually exciting than the two latest Kinect hacks making the rounds — one that has turned a man into a superhero right in his very own living room, and one that lets players get jiggly like never before.
Let's start with the more wholesome of the two fantasies made reality. It seems a clever Kinect hacker tinkered with Microsoft's new motion control gaming device until it transformed him into Ultra Seven, a Japanese superhero from the 1960s. (Who's Ultra Seven, you ask? See this video for your answer.)
Note this hacker's impressive implementation of Ultra Seven's Emerium Beam and Eye Slugger powers.
Meanwhile, a Kinect hacker pondering fantasies of a very different sort has used the wholesome family gaming device to create something he calls "Extreme boobie jiggling." Using Ivy from the "Soulcalibur" games, this hack lets any man or woman — no matter the size of his or her real-world breasts — shake it like a size triple-D stripper doing a pole dance on the moon.
But as this hacker notes: "This is a physics simulation of 2 capsules on dual-axis hinges, with high bounce and barely-existent gravity factors. This is not intended to model the behavior of real boobies."
(By the way, this video — it is Not Safe For Work. But you probably already know that.)
Of course, the question remains: Will any of this eventually make its way into honest-to-goodness, official Xbox 360 games?
Certainly the answer must be yes. Superhero games abound and anything that lets us more fully realize our dream of being a (virtual) hero can't be far away. As for movable mammary glands ... well, legit game developers have long been fascinated with the size and physics of this particular portion of the female anatomy and, if I had to guess, I'd say that Kinect is sure to fuel that pursuit.
All in all, Kinect certainly seems to be on everyone's minds these days, with hacks like these only helping to fan the flames of interest in the new device.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced at the keynote presentation kicking off this week's Consumer Electronic's Show, that the company has sold 8 million Kinects worldwide in its first 60 days on the market. That's three million more than they originally predicted. And they will soon be using the device to create motion-controlled chat rooms via Avatar Kinect.
As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And the fact that various Kinect-like devices are being shown off at CES right now must be a sign that full-body Kinect-like motion controls are going to be a big part of our future, not only in gaming but well beyond.
But if all this talk of motion controls is starting to wear you out, be sure to check out Dorkly's list of "6 Kinect games I have the energy to play."
My personal favorites: "Rock Paper Scissors 11" and "Couch Nap: Ultimate Motionless Workout." Now that's the kind of Kinect gameplay I can't wait to try.
For more on this topic, check out:
Avatar Kinect will be a very fancy chat room
The naked truth: Junk and jubblies sell games
Kinect sex game is in the works (shudder)
Kinect hacker creates Air Guitar Hero
Winda Benedetti writes about games for msnbc.com. You can follow her tweets about games and other things right here on Twitter.
