Interact with a virtual character, and have a genuine conversation with him, on the xBox 360 !

The device of the Natal Project uses 2 video recorders, one which tracks your body in space, and another which analyses your vocal and face emotions. Milo, a digital 8 year-old child, is then able to recognize if you feel sad, angry, tired  or happy, and he acts as a consequence. 
Moreover, he can call you by your name if he ever saw you, and he laughs if you tell him a joke. Pretty astounding. Of course, so far Milo cannot understand every sentence you say, but he can know you’re saying something amusing by the mere tone of your voice. 
At the moment Milo “only” knows from 500 to 1000 words, but his creator states some new information will be added every day (such as “who won American idol”, for instance).

Depending on what you say to him, and the way you act, he will memorize it and behavior differently. So your relationship with him will be made of your common past, as in a human-to-human interaction. And if you don’t feel like being friends with an 8-year-old boy, you can still have a relationship with "Millie",  a female equivalent !

But what is the point in all this ? Is it only progress for progress’ sake ? It is worth asking the question, indeed some people have reacted very sharply, asserting they don’t need a virtual friend since they have real ones.  In fact, as Peter Molyneux said, it goes beyond than this : it will be a game with a score and all the other features of a regular video game !

Milo is a child who loves hanging around by the river : he may throw a pair of googles at you and suggest that you wave the water troubled. And this is made possible thanks to the second camera which spots your movements ! Moreover if you walk up to him, the screen will scroll forward, and similarly if you raise your head, you will be able to see the trees ! 
Just you add a pair of 3 dimension glasses and you will feel completely immersed in this stunning world.

However, to be franck we need to be wary so as to Molyneux’s assertions : the guy gets indeed quickly carried away  and can show the most trite things in a dazzling way : remember about Fable which was to be “a revolution in playing, thanks to its non-linear scenario” and the so-called “intelligence” of Black and White’s creatures. The result is far from matching the paroles.
That’s why journalists love and loathe Peter Molyneux at the same time : they just adore when he promises, they hate when he takes it back.

So now, wait and see…

And tell us whether you think interacting with a fully digital person is creepy or exciting !

Videos below __________________________________________________________________________

1. Meet Milo
2. Project Natal Features 
3. Painting with the xBox 360