Hackers Allow iPad and iPhone to Control Dodgeball Game

This past week, Microsoft showed a Windows Phone 7 real-time integration with Xbox. The demo was designed to show that Microsoft could integrate their Windows Phone 7 to the Kinect and turn it into a game controller.

But, if you leave it up to the hackers, they will always take it to the next level. And, that’s what they did with two very successful mobile devices, the iPhone and the iPad.

The creative folks at SuperTouch took Microsoft’s concept to the next level and have demonstrated a Kinect hack that integrates the iPhone and the iPad with the Kinect. The great thing about this demonstration is that it shows a multi-dimensional experience where a group of people are playing a game using the Kinect and two iOS devices at the same time.

This Kinect hack was developed to demonstrate how a group of people could play a basic game of Dodgeball. As you can see on the video, one person is playing on the Kinect trying to catch balls while avoiding being hit. The other players are also playing the same game on their iPhone and iPad, and their goal is to shoot balls at the Kinect player.




The folks at SuperTouch released the following description as part of their YouTube video:

“The cube is what controls which demo is currently on screen. It uses and accelerometer to detect what side is up. Each side of the cube is labeled with a different Kinect demo. There is also an Xbee and an Arduino wirelessly sending serial to the host computer. Processing takes the serial and converts it to OSC (Open Sound Control) for Unity3d to work with.

The iPhone / iPad app is TouchOSC. A custom iPhone/iPad app could easily be ported from the existing Unity3d app. A modded version of OSCeleton is being used to send the Kinect joint data via OSC to Unity3D.”

Of course, the graphics on the iOS devices demonstration are not as pretty as the graphics shown on the Kinect, but this shows that cross-platform multiplayer gaming is a possibility in the future. The big challenge will be to get all companies to learn how to play nicely, so that they can offer a seamless integration across platforms. Easier said than done.

Overall, a very interesting concept and idea. One that makes gamers very excited. Do you think Microsoft’s Windows Mobile Phone 7 will have enough traction to make this a reality ?