The final tech demo was a fairly simple table tennis sim. Here you can't strike the ball off the table or add any sophisticated spin, but it was while playing this demo that the Wii penny dropped with us. We finally got to grips with the remote and learnt what types of movement got the best on-screen responses.
The graphics are simple enough - with the bats hovering in mid air above each end of the table - and these move in relation to the movements of the remote. So to retrieve a ball that is hit to the right you reach right and make a swatting motion with the remote. At first it was difficult to hit the ball, but this was primarily because we were treating the remote as a controller that would activate scripted responses. It was only when we thought of the remote as the on-screen bat that we started to have some success in returning the ball.
Above: It may look simple but this is where we learned how to use the Wii-mote effectively
Instead of making dramatic movements, it is all about making controlled motions, concentrating on the on-screen action and letting your reactions just flow. Once we grasped that every subtle movement would be replicated on-screen, we forgot about holding the Wii controller - as soon as we got into a rhythm and flow, we were unbeatable!
It goes to show that Nintendo may be wrong in thinking that Wii can just be picked up and played easily, as there's a definite learning curve involved in interacting with games in this way. The good news, however, is that once you get your head round what Wii wants you to do, it really is a remarkable and unique gaming experience.
Above: It may look simple but this is where we learned how to use the Wii-mote effectively
Instead of making dramatic movements, it is all about making controlled motions, concentrating on the on-screen action and letting your reactions just flow. Once we grasped that every subtle movement would be replicated on-screen, we forgot about holding the Wii controller - as soon as we got into a rhythm and flow, we were unbeatable!
It goes to show that Nintendo may be wrong in thinking that Wii can just be picked up and played easily, as there's a definite learning curve involved in interacting with games in this way. The good news, however, is that once you get your head round what Wii wants you to do, it really is a remarkable and unique gaming experience.
