When Xbox Live first launched with voice chat technology, console gamers began connecting, insulting, and harassing each other like never before. The addition of a camera to the general Xbox Live culture is going to be an interesting phenomena, as it dramatically expands the possibilities of both friendly communication and general retardation. It'll be an exciting process to observe, and we hope Microsoft will be prepared for the new volume of user complaints they're sure to receive.
The biggest change that is immediately apparent when first inserting the Vision into a 360 is the fact that the wallpaper changes to a liquid like-surface that ripples according to movement the camera sees. Setup is more or less optional, and is as simple as entering the Vision's tab in the System blade and adjusting the entries for Room and Lighting. The camera does a fair job adjusting to lighting, provided there is some. Without the lights on in our demo room (because of our projector) the camera couldn't see anything.
The grey portion of the camera twists to adjust focus. The camera can be positioned within about 3-4 feet of the user without a problem, and a 2x zoom feature allows you to keep your face as the focal point when the camera is even further away. The base holds the camera on a firm swivel and is highly adjustable, but isn't heavy enough to support the camera if the USB cord is pulling it excessively.
Photo effects for the Personal Picture.
You can now use the Vision camera to snap a personal picture of yourself for your Gamer Tag. A zoom feature and a variety of photo effects can be applied to the picture, which is cool, but sadly, only people on your Friends list will be able to see it instead of your normal picture. You can, however take quick snapshots with the camera and attach them to any message you send on Xbox Live, which is cool if you want to gross out your friends with unsuspected shots of your ass.
The Vision is also seamlessly integrated into the 360's music visualizer. The camera will add a distorted vision of the most reflective objects it sees to the visualizer, and blend movements into cool looking streaks of light. It's somewhat amusing, and if you were really hankering for a rave you could put on some trance and dance around while becoming mesmerized by your own blurring reflection, sort of like a techno-Narcissus.
Bozon in visualizer land.
The Vision is now a part of Xbox Live chat features as Video Chat is an option available when communicating with people on your friends list. It's exceptionally easy to use, and only one person needs to have the Vision camera. A rather intriguing feature of video chat is the fact that pulling the shoulder buttons on one controller sends vibrations to your chat partner's controller via the rumble packs. Fans of the cyber sex have found their promised land, but the fact that cameras are now involved will probably lead to some nasty surprises.
Bozon is enjoying the good vibes sent by ToaD DuH.
Right now, the only Xbox Live Arcade game that supports the Vision is UNO. Those with Visions installed have their GamerTag picture replaced with the video feed in UNO lobbies and in play. Video quality is very fine with excellent frame rates and none of the artifacting and strange errors often seen in PC web-cam conversations. Even with 4 Vision users in a game the video feeds were smooth and steady. We asked other camera users to let us see our feed on their TV and noticed only minor lag. Considering that our vision of ourselves had to make a complete round trip, we feel as though the lag from user to user is quite minimal.
A variety of effects can be applied to the video chat feed.
More games will soon be available, including a World Series of Poker game, Rainbox Six Vegas, and gesture-based Totemball. Updates are planned for the Hardwood series of games and Bankshot Billiards. Texas Hold 'Em is supposed to support the Vision, but as yet does not.
The experience of playing with people that we could see was actually pretty fun. UNO isn't exactly a game of intense rivalries, and in cases when several people with cameras were playing together the environment quickly became really friendly, filled with absurd victory dances, face making, puppet shows, bong hits, and a surprising lack of bare asses and obscene gestures. That isn't to say we haven't been mooned yet (check out our first impressions of the Vision community here), but on the whole the camera actually seems to make people more spirited and UNO on Xbox Live a cool way to relax and meet other players.
UNO in action.
The Vision is available in two packages. The $39.99 Standard Kit will include the Vision Camera, a Headset, a one month trial of Xbox Live and two games: UNO and Totemball. The Gold Kit will include everything in the Standard Kit, as well as a third game, a one year subscription to Xbox Live and 200 Microsoft Points for $79.99. Both kits are reasonably good deals, especially the Gold Kit for people that don't already have year long subscriptions.
We got a kick out of finally being able to see our opponents, and think that the Vision will add some very interesting new dynamics to the Xbox Live community. Grab a Vision and embrace the insanity we say. Just try to keep your pants on, okay?