Project Milo

Last updated

Project Milo
Project Milo - User interaction demonstration.jpg
Demonstration of human interaction with Milo
Developer(s) Lionhead Studios
Publisher(s) Microsoft Studios
Producer(s)
  • Gary Carr
  • Geoff Smith
  • Jemma Harris
Designer(s) Peter Molyneux
Platform(s) Xbox 360

Project Milo (also referred to as Milo and Kate) was a project in development by Lionhead Studios for the Xbox 360 video game console. Formerly a secretive project under the early codename "Dimitri", [1] Project Milo was unveiled at the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in a demonstration for Kinect, as a "controller-free" entertainment initiative for the Xbox 360 based on depth-sensing and pattern recognition technologies. [2] The project was a tech demo to showcase the capabilities of Kinect and was not released, [3] despite conflicting reports that the project was an actual game.

Contents

Development

The project began as work on an "emotional AI (artificial intelligence)" after Lionhead had finished work on Black & White in 2001. [2] The project was code named Dimitri, after the godson of Lionhead creative director Peter Molyneux. [4] Details revealed about the project led some to speculate that "Dimitri" had become Fable II , [5] but a 2006 interview with Molyneux confirmed that the projects were separate. [4] For several years the development of Dimitri remained "experimental", [6] resulting in scarce news updates during this phase of development. In later interviews, Molyneux began to refer to the project as "Project X". [1]

During their press briefing at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in June 2009, Lionhead's parent company Microsoft unveiled Kinect, then known as Project Natal, during which it featured a presentation clip from Molyneux demonstrating a woman naturally interacting with a virtual character, referred to as "Milo." In an interview with Eurogamer after the press conference, Molyneux confirmed that the demonstration was of the previously-known "Dimitri," and would be a game developed around Kinect, titled Milo and Kate. In the game, players would interact with a 10-year-old child (Milo or Millie, selected at the start) and a dog named Kate, playing through a story. According to Molyneux, work on the Kinect-specific elements started in December 2008. [2] The game would also feature an in-game store, for purchasing items to enhance gameplay.

Milo had an AI structure that responded to human interactions, such as spoken word, gestures, or predefined actions in dynamic situations. The game relied on a procedural generation system which was constantly updating a built-in "dictionary" that was capable of matching key words in conversations with inherent voice-acting clips to simulate lifelike conversations. Molyneux claimed that the technology for the game was developed while working on Fable and Black & White. [7]

However, the game was not present at Microsoft's E3 press briefing the following year. Further confusion arose later in the month with a statement by Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg stating that the game was not a product they were planning to bring to market, but was more of an internal tech demo. [8] This was later refuted by Molyneux who stated that he would reveal a more advanced version of Milo during his TEDGlobal talk in Oxford in July 2010. Molyneux went on to hint at difficulties in getting Microsoft to see Milo as a full game. Molyneux said "The biggest challenge for us is convincing people (Microsoft) what we're doing is actually going to work, is going to reach a new audience, is going to be an idea that people love." [9] At the TED conference in Oxford in July 2010, more footage was shown. Players could make crucial decisions in Milo's life, or smaller ones such as squashing a snail or not. During the conference it was shown that Milo could be taught how to skip stones. The demonstration also indicated that users were only able to talk to Milo when a red microphone image appeared on the screen. [10]

In September 2010, Eurogamer ran a story, citing an unnamed source, stating that work on Milo had been halted, and that the Milo tech would be used in a "Fable themed Kinect game". [11] This story was seemingly backed up by Microsoft's Alex Kipman in a November 2010 interview with Gamesindustry.biz, declaring that Project Milo "was never a product" and "was never announced as a game". [12] However, an interview with the drama director of the game was released in March. It showed part of the creation process that he had to go through and some brief sections of gameplay. Completion of the project was also hinted in the interview. [13]

At the 2011 Game Developer's Conference, Lionhead lead programmer Ben Sugden showcased [14] a new graphics technology used in Project Milo for upcoming Xbox 360 titles. [3] At E3 2011, Fable: The Journey was announced, which includes elements from Milo, including voice and emotion recognition. In a May 2012 interview with Eurogamer, Lionhead creative director Gary Carr confirmed that a number of Kinect features from Project Milo had been implemented in Fable: The Journey . [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lionhead Studios</span> British video game developer, 1997–2016

Lionhead Studios Limited was a British video game developer founded in July 1997 by Peter Molyneux, Mark Webley, Tim Rance, and Steve Jackson. The company is best known for the Black & White and Fable series. Lionhead started as a breakaway from developer Bullfrog Productions, which was also founded by Molyneux. Lionhead's first game was Black & White, a god game with elements of artificial life and strategy games. Black & White was published by Electronic Arts in 2001. Lionhead Studios is named after Webley's hamster, which died not long after the naming of the studio, as a result of which the studio was very briefly renamed to Redeye Studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rare (company)</span> British video game developer

Rare Limited is a British video game developer and a studio of Xbox Game Studios based in Twycross, Leicestershire. Rare's games span the platform, first-person shooter, action-adventure, fighting, and racing genres. Its most popular games include the Battletoads, Donkey Kong, and Banjo-Kazooie series, as well as games like GoldenEye 007 (1997), Perfect Dark (2000), Conker's Bad Fur Day (2001), Viva Piñata (2006), and Sea of Thieves (2018).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Molyneux</span> English video game designer and game programmer

Peter Douglas Molyneux is an English video game designer and programmer. He created the god games Populous, Dungeon Keeper, and Black & White, as well as Theme Park, the Fable series, Curiosity: What's Inside the Cube?, and Godus. He currently works at 22cans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xbox Game Studios</span> American video game company

Xbox Game Studios is an American video game publisher and part of the Microsoft Gaming division based in Redmond, Washington. It was established in March 2000, spun out from an internal Games Group, for the development and publishing of video games for Microsoft Windows. It has since expanded to include games and other interactive entertainment for the namesake Xbox platforms, other desktop operating systems, Windows Mobile and other mobile platforms, and web-based portals.

<i>Fable</i> (2004 video game) 2004 video game

Fable is an action role-playing video game, the first in the Fable series. It was developed for the Xbox, Microsoft Windows, and Mac OS X platforms by Big Blue Box Studios, a satellite developer of Lionhead Studios, and was published by Microsoft Studios. The game shipped for the Xbox in September 2004. An extended version of the game, Fable: The Lost Chapters, was released for the Xbox and Windows in September 2005. A port of the game for Mac OS X, created by Robosoft Technologies and published by Feral Interactive, was released in March 2008 after a delay of more than two years due to licensing issues.

<i>Fable II</i> 2008 video game

Fable II is a 2008 action role-playing open world video game, developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox 360. The game is the second installment in the Fable game series, and the sequel to 2004's Fable. The story takes place within the fictional land of Albion, 500 years after the first game. Players assume the role of a young hero who is destined to stop a former ruler turned madman from destroying the world. The game features several prominent actors portraying major characters in the game, including Zoë Wanamaker, Ron Glass and Stephen Fry. The game's setting takes inspiration from the historical late colonial era, in terms of architecture, social quality and basic firearms such as flintlock pistols.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Mattrick</span> Canadian businessman

Donald Allan Mattrick is a Canadian businessman who previously served as the CEO of social gaming company Zynga and the president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. Before joining Microsoft in 2007, Mattrick worked at Electronic Arts for 15 years as the president of Worldwide Studios. In 1982, he founded Distinctive Software, which was later acquired by Electronic Arts in 1991 and renamed to EA Vancouver.

<i>Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts</i> 2008 video game

Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is a 2008 platform game developed by Rare and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360. Set eight years after Banjo-Tooie (2000), Nuts & Bolts follows the bear-and-bird duo Banjo and Kazooie as they compete with the witch Gruntilda for ownership of their home. Although Nuts & Bolts retains the structure of previous Banjo-Kazooie games—collecting jigsaw puzzle pieces to progress—it shifts the focus from exploration to vehicle construction. The player designs vehicles, including automobiles, boats, and aeroplanes, and uses them to complete challenges across various worlds. In multiplayer modes, players can compete or share their vehicles over Xbox Live.

The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information announced later that month at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kinect</span> Motion-sensing input device for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One

Kinect is a line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB cameras, and infrared projectors and detectors that map depth through either structured light or time of flight calculations, which can in turn be used to perform real-time gesture recognition and body skeletal detection, among other capabilities. They also contain microphones that can be used for speech recognition and voice control.

<i>Fable III</i> 2010 video game

Fable III is a 2010 action role-playing open world video game, developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The third game in the Fable series, the story focuses on the player character's struggle to overthrow the King of Albion, the player character's brother, by forming alliances and building support for a revolution. After a successful revolt, the player becomes the monarch and is tasked with attempting to defend Albion from a great evil. The game includes voice acting by Ben Kingsley (Sabine), Stephen Fry (Reaver), Simon Pegg, Naomie Harris (Page), Michael Fassbender (Logan), Zoë Wanamaker (Theresa), Bernard Hill, Nicholas Hoult (Elliot), John Cleese (Jasper), Jonathan Ross, Adjoa Andoh (Kalin), Kellie Bright, and Louis Tamone.

<i>Fable</i> (video game series) Video game series

Fable is a series of action role-playing video games for Xbox, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Xbox 360 and Xbox One platforms. The series was developed by Lionhead Studios until the studio was closed in 2016, and is published by Xbox Game Studios.

<i>Ryse: Son of Rome</i> 2013 video game

Ryse: Son of Rome is a 2013 action-adventure video game developed by Crytek and published by Microsoft Studios. Set in an alternate version of Ancient Rome, Ryse follows the life of the Roman centurion Marius Titus as he becomes one of the leaders in the Roman Legion. Gameplay revolves around Marius using his sword to strike enemies and shield to deflect attacks. Execution sequences are featured in the game, which are quick-time events that serve as an extension to combat. The game features a cooperative multiplayer mode, which tasks players to fight against waves of enemies in maps that are changing dynamically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Playground Games</span> British video game developer

Playground Games Limited is a British video game developer based in Leamington Spa, England. It is known for developing the Forza Horizon series, which is part of the larger Forza franchise. In 2018, Playground Games became part of Microsoft Studios. They are also developing the next game in the Fable series.

<i>Joy Ride Turbo</i> 2012 video game

Joy Ride Turbo is a kart racing game for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One .The player controls their avatar as they drive vehicles in a combat racing tournament. The game was developed by BigPark and published by Microsoft Studios. It is a sequel to Kinect Joy Ride. Originally outed via a rating on the Australian Classification Board on April 11, 2012, it was unveiled by Microsoft Studios on April 27, 2012. Unlike its predecessor, Joy Ride Turbo does not use Kinect. It was released on May 23, 2012, and later added as one of the first 100 titles on the Xbox One backwards compatibility list on November 9, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xbox</span> Microsofts video gaming brand

Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, online services such as the Xbox network and Xbox Game Pass, and the development arm Xbox Game Studios. The brand was first introduced in the United States in November 2001, with the launch of the original Xbox console. Xbox was formerly also, from 2012 to 2015, used as Microsoft's digital media entertainment brand replacing Zune.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xbox One</span> Video game console developed by Microsoft

The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Australia, and South America in November 2013 and in Japan, China, and other European countries in September 2014. It is the first Xbox game console to be released in China, specifically in the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone. Microsoft marketed the device as an "all-in-one entertainment system", hence the name "Xbox One". An eighth-generation console, it mainly competed against Sony's PlayStation 4 and Nintendo's Wii U and later the Switch.

Gary Carr is an English video game developer. His career began at Palace Software, where he worked on titles such as Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior and Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax. In 1989, he joined Bullfrog Productions and worked as lead artist on Powermonger and Populous II. He also worked on Theme Park, but, after a disagreement with Peter Molyneux, he left the company to work for The Bitmap Brothers, where he worked on The Chaos Engine 2. He returned to Bullfrog in 1995 hoping to work on Dungeon Keeper, but worked on Theme Hospital instead. He left Bullfrog again in 1998 to join Mucky Foot Productions.

References

  1. 1 2 "Video Games Daily | Peter Molyneux Interview Sept 2008 (Page 4)". Archive.videogamesdaily.com. Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 Ellie Gibson (2 June 2009). "E3: Molyneux and Milo Xbox 360 Interview – Page 1". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  3. 1 2 "Microsoft shows off future graphic tech for Xbox 360". gamersmint.com. Archived from the original on 24 March 2011. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
  4. 1 2 "Exclusive: Molyneux on Dimitri, Fable 2". Archive.videogamesdaily.com. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  5. "Exclusive: Molyneux on Dimitri, Fable 2". Computerandvideogames.com. 6 April 2005. Archived from the original on 15 May 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  6. "Peter Molyneux' Next Game based on Dimitri and a Discovery". GamersGlobal. 7 March 2008. Archived from the original on 2 December 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
  7. Baker, Chris (16 May 2008). "Peter Molyneux: My Next Game a 'Significant Scientific Achievement'". Wired. Wired Network. Archived from the original on 22 September 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  8. Wildgoose, David (29 June 2010). "Lionhead's "Project Milo" Probably Won't Be Released". Kotaku . Archived from the original on 3 July 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2011.
  9. Wesley Yin-Poole (30 June 2010). "Molyneux responds to Milo release fuss Xbox 360 News – Page 1". Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on 4 August 2010. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  10. "Peter Molyneux demos Milo, the virtual boy | Video on". Ted.com. Archived from the original on 19 September 2010. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  11. Wesley Yin-Poole (23 September 2010). "Rumour: Project Milo cancelled Xbox 360 News – Page 1". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  12. Yin, Wesley (4 November 2010). "Milo "was never a product" – Microsoft •". Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  13. "Milo and Kate behind the scenes: motion-capture | Lazygamer .:: Console and PC Gaming News ::. | General News". Lazygamer . March 2011. Archived from the original on 17 August 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  14. Sugden, Ben; Michal, Iwanicki. "Mega Meshes
    Modeling, rendering and lighting a world made of 100 billon polygons"
    (PDF). miciwan.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 April 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  15. Welsh, Oli (29 May 2012). "Lionhead's seated Kinect tech to be made available to all developers • News • Xbox 360 •". Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on 2 July 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2012.