Skyrim mod makes it possible to play with Kinect

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim shipped for Xbox 360 without support for Kinect for Xbox 360, but thanks to the modding scene it’s now possible to go looking for a dragon using your voice and body as the controller – so long as you’re playing on a PC that is.

A video on YouTube shows off how the game can be played using a combination of gestures and voice commands. Some of the motion controls, such as the bow, need a bit of work, but are nonetheless impressive given they were created by a modder.

The following details are taken from the YouTube video embedded below.

The gestures are simple and intuitive, yet allow for gameplay depth never before seen with the Kinect. Simply swing your right arm forward, up, left, or right, and your character will hack with his sword. Or, if you have a spell in your right arm, simply raise your hand or push it forward to cast. Use your left arm to control your character’s view; if you have something equipped like a spell or shield, you left arm will control that as well.

Movement is also easy. Put your right foot just inches forward to run, and even further forward to sprint. Your left foot forward switches to a slow walk, while leaning left, right, or back moves your character in that direction.

Reach down with your left arm to draw or sheath your weapon, reach down with your right arm to activate objects. Crouch to sneak, and raise your right foot to jump.

This established gesture-based control scheme has worked well in my previous videos, but what is new in Skyrim Kinect is the use of voice controls:

Yes, this means Dragon Shouts!

Voice control also allows for much easier access to the menus and the 8 hotkeys. Each hotkey item has its own word or phrase, and the word ‘double’ before most hotkeys will equip it to both hands. Voice controls really do help create a seamless Kinect experience that would otherwise be burdened by accessing menu’s using gestures.

Some features that are implemented, but not used in this video include:

• saying “Left hand” or “Right hand” to equip an item to a particular hand when in menu
• saying “Hello” to activate a conversation with a store owner or NPC
• saying “Journal” to access the journal
• saying “Skills” to access the skill trees
• saying “Switch View” to change between 1st and 3rd person perspectives.

This is pretty impressive stuff and certainly shows the benefits voice control can have – similar to the way Kinect was used to improve menu navigation in Forza 4.