The next generation of video games will include signing in, navigating and connecting with your friends without using a controller, said Microsoft Entertainment & Devices Division president and UNC alum Robert Bach.
He spoke about his vision for the future of technology and entertainment in the opening keynote speech for the Collaborations: Humanities, Arts & Technology festival on Tuesday afternoon.
Bach discussed Project Natal, an Xbox add-on device where a 3-D camera enables recognition of your movement, face and speech. This new program, scheduled to release this fall, will allow the player to act as the controller. Project Natal will be compatible with all Xbox 360 consoles.
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Along with this example of Microsoft’s innovations, Bach highlighted the importance of converging technological breakthroughs and digital art.
“Guitar Hero,” for example, blends music and television while allowing the consumer to actively participate, he said.
He emphasized change and how it creates opportunities for consumers, creative people, business people and others.
“You’re going to have a whole school of artists who think of themselves as artists who use technology to create their vision. This is a fundamental change within our community,” Bach said.
Bach advised current digital art and humanities students to take math and science seriously because they will play a big part in creating the future’s entertainment world. He highlighted the way entertainment is becoming more interactive every day.
Chancellor Holden Thorp, who introduced Bach, said he agreed with Bach’s vision of the future of entertainment.
“I think it’s going to be a lot more about what you can imagine and not what you can do because you can do almost anything,” he said.
Thorp reminisced on his college days when he worked in information technology. He said that society has come a long way from that time and he thinks college students now should think about how much things are going to change.
“To think about being 20 now and being 45, which I don’t think is very old, how much change and time that will be ahead is a huge expanse,” Thorp said.
Admission for CHAT is $15 for students, $25 for faculty and staff, and $35 for people unaffiliated with UNC. Students who volunteer at the CHAT festival for four hours can gain free admission to all events.
Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.
