EIF09 Hands On: EyePet

The Edinburgh Coverage keeps on coming doesn’t it. Earlier this week, I teased that I had gone hands on with EyePet. For those who don’t know, EyePet is the latest, PlayStation Eye based, game from Sony’s Studio London. At first glance, the game seems to be “just another pet game” and, although it might look like Nintendogs and Petz, the technology behind this, super cute, family game is what makes it so interesting.

First of all, I better tell you about the “Magic Card”. This, besides the PS Eye camera, is your one and only peripheral. This card allows you to do a variety of different things with your pet and, basically, acts like a menu system.

Using the card, you can select a variety of different things to do with your pet. You can play games with him, have him draw and play with new toys, check how he’s doing, change his look. The ammount of things is pretty large, but those are just a few key things. Wilst the card does do a lot, it is not your controller. It’s you that’s the controller.

The technology that Studio London have developed allows you to interesct with your virtual pet with your hands. You can stroke him, tickle him and he’ll follow your hands. I have to say, I was pretty skeptical of the whole thing before I sat down and ‘played’ it. Having seen the game working, I knew the tech was cool. It was only when I sat down and spoke to, the game’s producer, Nicholas Douchet that I realised how good the tech was.

During the interview I was moving my hands and the on screen furball started to follow my movements. Even when I wasn’t playing the game, I was ‘playing’ with the pet. This is when I realised how good the technology behind this was and that, although it might not be for everyone, everyone will want to try it out.

I’ve been talking about the technology a lot, but it’s not just a technologic achievement. The game looks fantastic, it’s just bursting with colour. Even the menu screens are bright and the whole game is uplifting. It’s certainly going to attract the kids,  something which makes me think Sony should be offering this as a pack-in with the PS3 Slim (and, of course, the PS Eye camera). The pet is the star of the show and he too looks great. Having spoken to Mr. Doucet, I can confirm that the fur is dynamic, which is probably one of the reasons it looks so good.

Studio London know what they’re doing here. They’ve created something that will appeal to everyone. Not only does it have great tech behind it, it’s one of the nicest looking games i’ve seen this year.

The game launches on October 23rd and will be available for £40 with the PS Eye and £20 without. I urge everyone to at least check this out. Belive me, you’ll be impressed.

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