Although some fanatics have been ready to kill off the air guitar in the wake of Guitar Hero games´ success, a Finnish game developer disagrees. Virtual Air Guitar Company has been developing a technology which translates the player´s movements into music with the help of a pair of motion sensing gloves and a camera to receive the movements.
And Finnish Industry Investment Ltd. agrees with them, along with a private investor, since the organizations have signed a deal which gives Virtual Air Guitar Company a funding of 130 000 EUR.
”With this investment, we aim to develop a prototype of the game, and through that a global distribution deal with an international publisher,” says Aki Kanerva, Managing Director of the Virtual Air Guitar Company.
Those whose ham-fisted clubbers cannot be harnessed to produce comprehendible music should not be worried. The developers promise that even with the most basic movements the produced music is somewhat bearable.
In the Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat, Kanerva says that viable platforms for the game are Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. If everything goes well, the game should be ready in 2008.
Will Virtual Air Guitar Company follow in the footsteps of other successful Finnish developers, such as Bugbear or Remedy, remains to be seen.
If interested, you can check out the company´s website and view early concept videos and images.