As reported earlier, Peter Molyneux was showing off a newer version of Kinect title Milo and Kate earlier today at the TEDGlobal 2010 conference in Oxford, and Wired has more details to share.
First up, Molyneux revealed that Milo won't be running off a disc but off a cloud server that will allow him to improve over time and with the more people that interact with him. This could mean a Milo that constantly gets more intelligent and lifelike.
Plot details emerged also. Milo and family, along with his dog Kate, have just moved to New England from London, and setting into a new home, according to Wired. You play the part of a new friend he's me there, and the new demo let the player help Milo track down snails.
As with many of Molyneux's games, Milo and Kate will incorporate a moral-based decision-making system that will apparently allow the game to learn about the player and, in turn affect the type of person Milo turns out to be.
As exampled, Milo asks if he should squash a snail. The demonstrator at the presentation gave his consent and Milo stamped on one - an obvious personality-defining moment. "No people's Milo can be the same", said Molyneux. Not sure about that, but at least you'll be able to raise a Milo defined by your decisions.
Later in the demo, skimming stones with Milo was shown as one of many tasks that earn the player points. Wired says a small amount of lag was visible between the demonstrator's actions and the stone-throwing, but noted that it seemed "effective" regardless. Later, Milo eats as you clean his room, moving objects and dusting with hand motions.
Demoing more barely believable feats of voice recognition, Wired says Milo responded "realistically" in a conversation in which the player is told to say something to Milo to cheer him up after having been punished. The report says the demo again showed immaculate speech recognition, response and conversational ability - but again under the comfortable confines of a pre-planned demonstration, not with an actual gamer.
