

- #LEAP MOTION GAMING HOW TO#
- #LEAP MOTION GAMING SOFTWARE#
- #LEAP MOTION GAMING PC#
- #LEAP MOTION GAMING WINDOWS 8#
- #LEAP MOTION GAMING DOWNLOAD#
#LEAP MOTION GAMING SOFTWARE#
That could be easily fixed in a software update, or with new apps, but right now it makes the Leap Motion feel more like a kaleidoscope of experimental apps using a single controller than a unified new control-your-PC technology. What if you need to send an e-mail or take a Skype call? There's no exit-the-matrix shorthand like the Kinect’s hold-your-hand-to-the-side way of stopping a game: you can’t cry “Uncle.”
#LEAP MOTION GAMING HOW TO#
I found myself deep in rhythm games or virtual fish tanks or full-scale finger painting and suddenly wondering how to exit, or save my work without ruining everything. That’s noble, but it means every app often has its own gestural vocabulary. The creators of the Leap Motion Controller say they didn’t want to hamper app development creativity. The Leap Motion doesn’t have a universal gestural language, like the MacBook trackpad’s swipe gestures, or the iPhone/iPad’s multifinger taps and pinch-to-zooms, or Windows 8’s off-edge swipes, or the Kinect’s wave-your-hand-to-activate and “Kinect, do this” voice recognition.
#LEAP MOTION GAMING WINDOWS 8#
Punching my finger into imaginary space doesn’t convert well on a 2D Windows 8 app or an OS X screen. Mouse movements get controlled by your finger in space, as if your hand was a magic wand it’s cute, but the real trouble comes when “clicking,” which you do by jabbing your finger forward into a click zone of sorts.
#LEAP MOTION GAMING PC#
This is the Leap Motion’s only “outside-the-app” tool, freeing you to attempt to work at your PC with your bare hands. You can convert the Leap Motion’s controls into a touch pad/mouse alternative on Windows and OS X via an app called Touchless, complete with multifinger gesture equivalents. With a painting, it could mean having to stop mid-brushstroke. That could mean, in a game, suddenly realizing you’re no longer controlling the paddle. When your hand goes off the Leap Motion’s virtual space, the signal drops off. But they happened: occasional skipping of the virtual cursor, gestures that didn’t always register, virtual finger-clicks I tried to pull off by pressing forward that didn’t open apps. I couldn’t tell whether the Leap Motion’s occasional interactivity hiccups were my fault, the software’s fault, or the hardware’s fault. Some apps, like Corel Paint, are designed for one-finger use only. But, while it tracks all 10 fingers at once, it’ll only do so if the app supports it. Unlike the Kinect, the Leap Motion senses subtle movements, and at a much more intimate distance and scale. Bright lights can sometimes throw off its sensors and cause things to get a little jumpy, much like I’ve experienced on the Kinect.

It can track your hands in any lighting or even in the dark. However, for all its claims of 1/100th of a millimeter accuracy, I found using it to be sometimes pretty frustrating. I really wanted plug in the Leap Motion Controller and never touch my touch pad again. How it feels as your only PC interface: Disorienting
#LEAP MOTION GAMING DOWNLOAD#
The Leap Motion is packed up in a white box with the elegance of a well-polished Apple product, with a simple set of instructions: plug it into your computer, and download installation software from a Web site listed on a little card. And if the right apps were made available for it, it could get interesting. It’s an experience more than an essential tool. No matter how cool it could be, or occasionally is, it won’t replace your touch pad, mouse, keyboard, and touch screen. But make no mistake: the Leap Motion Controller is a hobby accessory. I played with about a dozen or so apps, and tried navigating Windows 8 and OS X with it.įamiliar apps like Google Maps and games like Cut the Rope have been Leap-enabled, and there were a host of other games and exploratory educational apps in the Airspace Store that were fun to noodle around with - some even delivered a magic moment or two. I tried the Controller on a MacBook Air, on an HP Elitebook Revolve, and on a bigger-screen Dell XPS 18. The Controller is compatible with Windows PCs and Macs, but it mostly works with software from the Airspace Store, an app store that's specifically designed for the unit. For people wondering what you can "do" with the Leap Motion Controller, the answer so far is: a lot, but not much that's useful.
