Idiots
What a load of old bollox. I'd like to use a real gun on those twats.
If you hold the view that violent videogames encourage real-life violence, then stop reading now. Because Register Hardware’s discovered news of some US gaming geeks playing Half-Life with real guns. Can't see the video? Download Flash Player from Adobe.com Waterloo Labs - a group of engineers and “other nerds” from Texas …
Bring it!
A freebie side effect - with a pistol, you even get real(istic) reloads where you could end up getting hit by a bad guy whilst you're physically reloading!
Cooolll.
Next step- a 360 degree panoramic game environment using multiple 'stitched' projectors and accelerometers - make u feel like you're totally in the game.
Can even throw in motion, you'd physically stay stood in the middle of the circle, then use the iPhone 3Gs digital compass readings (mounted on a hat) the system would know which way you're facing, you'd press a button to go forward/backward that direction.
And to go ridiculously further - in-game pickups can be simulated by having some machine drop real ammo clips at your feet from some kind of makeshift dispenser above the players head.
How kewl would that be!?
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More discussion over beer...
I understand your normal abhorrence of stereotypical American gun culture, and their high murder / suicide rates, but give me a break! That was the coolest science / engineering experiment I've seen in a long time! And it was conducted completely responsibly in a controlled environment!!!
what does it give you (apart from using a real gun) over, say, gun-mounted-laser and camera systems? Or Wiimote based systems? They're just as good (at least a decent set-up is, a wiimote-based one might be a little laggy), nowhere near as destructive and nowhere near as dangerous. Plus you can use them in the UK without gun licenses. Just a single Portal-style warning that you "do not look at the operational end of the device" and away you go.
Also, with a laser-based system the weapons can be light enough to allow you to carry multiple guns- so you're not using a pistol to control an RPG or a crowbar. How do you right-click with a pistol, anyway?
And it wasn't HL2 they were using, it was a flash file using pictures from HL2. There's a difference. If you don't believe me, I've got an unpainted beetle-engined Ferrari replica you can have for a cool £half-mil. Looks basically similar to the real thing, but they're not anything alike!
And before anyone tries to shout me down, yes- I have done better; laser shooting range was rigged up for a works party and I completed HL2 with wiimote, stereoscopic HMD and a Wii Balance Board. Both of which were pretty damn impressive if I do say so myself!
Why bother with the game just give me those yanks a gun and some ammo
and i'd have more fun than playing any video game.
They are just too enthusiastic for my liking. Those stupid games you used to get in seaside arcades where you get a little rifle and some video footage to shoot at has more going for it than this bunch of dimwits.
I read these comments and I have to ask: why is the mother country is so afraid of little guns? They're very safe, and very easy to use; it's a point and click interface... basically don't point at what you don't want destroyed and never click until you've read rule #1.
No wonder bunch uppity drunken colonists drove the tyrannical megalomaniacs off the island... It seems the red coats showed up with laser pointers and airsoft guns and were greeted with a hail of lead from Gordon Freeman.
I've tried systems like this before, usually done indoors with a CO2 pistol, and while most work reasonably well, they are not worth the time and effort yet when compared to an IDPA or similar live-fire course with popup targets. This sort of thing would be just as fun with an airsoft or laser tag gun, which really makes it just a graphical upgrade on Duck Hunt.
As a teenager myself and a few pals used to don parkas and goggles and use some derelict farm buildings as shooting range. Armed with .177 air pistols we would shoot each other. deathmatch, Team death match and a type of capture the flag games were played, we did this for a couple of summers before getting bored with it. No serious injuries, just lots of fun. No head shots though, we didn't think that was a good thing, it's surprising how sensible one can be even whilst being completely wreckless.
They're very safe, and very easy to use; it's a point and click interface... basically don't point at what you don't want destroyed and never click until you've read rule #1.
There seem to be a lot of Yanks who don't understand your two rules. Or worse, understand the rules, but don't care that they are taking a life. IMHO we are better off without them, but there will be those who disagree.
Re: Adnim
We used to do something similar, same sort of experiences as you, though we did have the Police arrive on a number of occassions. We also got hold of some 6mm Paintball pellets designed for use in BB guns. Now they made things fun, especially when there was such a mix of 'weaponry'.
We even went to the extent of making smoke grenades from Film Canisters, Potassium Magnate and Glucose.
Wish I could get away with doing it now to be honest!
I want this :)
As a recent Limey import into the US, I have to remind my fellow Americans that the Brits are so convinced that objects themselves have the capacity for evil that stab-proof knives (yeah, right) were invented there - and their crime-rate beats even that of South Africa, as recently published.
Poor brainless sheep - Orwell would be proud.
You are incorrect. Perhaps you missed the part where it ejected shell casings when fired, was referred to in the video as a "firearm," and decided to jump to ill-informed conclusions before even taking the time to look it up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruger_MK_III
I would guess that their reasoning for using the suppressed pistol was so that they could still talk with eachother and hear the game sound without having to bother with hearing protection.
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Washington DC has tough gun control laws and a high gun crime rate. Gun crime in this country actually went up after gun laws were tightened up by the NuLab junta.
Bad people who wanna do bad things with guns will really not be bothered whether the gun they have is illegal or not. Remember, 'guns don't kill people, rappers do.'. Also, the first thing a dictator does is ban private gun ownership and hunting. Ask Hitler and Tony Blair.
As for the game, very cool, though where do I lay my hands on a BFG?
Why ? errrr obviously they are Texans which may modify their out look a tad, because they can, and because it was clearly a laugh.....
You might get the impression that I don't agree with private ownership of firearms from previous posts. It's irresponsible gun owners I disagree with.....
Quote: "As a recent Limey import into the US, I have to remind my fellow Americans that the Brits are so convinced that objects themselves have the capacity for evil that stab-proof knives (yeah, right) were invented there - and their crime-rate beats even that of South Africa, as recently published."
I see. Perhaps sir would care to peruse this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_murder_rate
You plonker. :)
I know I should'nt, but I want one....
You could use it in a nursery and have kidds with foam hammers playing 'wack a mole'. or maybe somthing more educationial.
If fact if you put it horozontal, and projected one of them 'mind games' the sort where you need to put blocks in the right place or cogs in the right order to make a 'machine' work. You could do that I suppose, although I like the gun idea.
I can see many comercial applications for that board as I suspect its quite cheap to make.
I've been pondering how to get a computer to quickly & easily work out where an arrow lands on a target - can you imagine playing a version of Space Invaders, Duck Hunt or the like with bows and arrows?
It's illegal to hunt with a bow+arrow in the UK because it's effectively a silent weapon compared to guns, a system like this could bring some fun into the sport beyond traditional target shooting.
A similar system (but based on microphones, and not compatible with HL2) is available already via www.aircine.de - basically you shoot at a video with anything from an Airsoft gun to a heavy machinegun, and the microphones in the corners detect which point you've hit.
Requires the blackbox from Aircine, a laptop, a beamer, and a large framed screen.
Not sure of the advisabilty of using real firearms with live ammo but this is actually a rather good idea - why not use Airsoft guns instead? Much safer for multiplayer games and you'd be able to play using'weapons' that look like and feel like the real thing but with less risk.
Except here in the UK of course, where possessing an imitation weapon that fires little plastic balls at a rate (that's muzzle velocity, not rounds-per-minute) that might cause a bruise if it hits bare skin is considered to be worse than really shooting someone in a nightclub or run-down council estate...