Xbox One games focus on customization, connection, community

Developers tout new, better features of games

"Dead Rising 3"
"Dead Rising 3"

We’ve seen the graphics, we’ve seen the controllers, but how will the next generation of games change the way we experience the games we play?

Microsoft held a panel at Comic-Con on Saturday to try and answer some of those questions.

The developers on the panel used five different upcoming games to show off the many new features of the console. They emphasize the ways the new console will connect the gaming community, enable in-depth customization, and allow players to always be connected to their favorite games.

Dan Greenawalt, creative director on driving game “Forza Motorsport 5,” talked about the three “core tenets” of racing games: graphics, physics and opponents. The game will utilize a feature called smart match, which will match players with opponents who share similar interests. There’s also Driveatar, a learning-based AI that stores player data on the cloud and will create variables as it goes. In terms of graphics, “Forza” boasts a new model not possible on current generation hardware.

Josh Bridge, executive producer on zombie game “Dead Rising 3,” showed striking graphical comparisons between the “Dead Rising” 2 and 3. The number of zombies available on-screen at any time has increased dramatically, and the developers at Capcom have been able to create each zombie with individual unique features (including their innards), ensuring you’ll never slay the same zombie twice.

Microsoft is really pushing its new smart glass feature, which allows games to connect with handheld devices such as phones and tablets.

Justin Robey, a producer on “Ryse: Son of Rome,” showed off the feature, which, up to this point, has been a bit of a mystery to gamers in terms of how it would affect actual gameplay. In “Ryse,” players can open up a user interface on their phone that will allow them to customize their character or set up matches with other players while on the go. They can also access community boards and pull up the UI for one game while playing another on the console.

Ken Lobb, creator of “Kinect Sports Rivals,” emphasized customization. The Xbox One’s Kinect sensor will instantly recognize when a new player is holding the controller and will instantly adapt to their control configuration. The sensor’s camera’s fidelity is extremely accurate, creating full, lifelike avatars based on players’ skin color, hair color, height, body mass index and even surface details such as whether or not the player is wearing glasses.

The technology behind the new console is impressive, but some fans are still not sold.

“Make me buy an Xbox,” said one belligerent fan during the Q&A. “Sell me on it.”

If impressive panels like this don’t do the trick to win over fans, Microsoft may still have a bit of work to do.

For hands-on experience with the Xbox One, gamers can visit the show floor or Microsoft’s gaming lounge at the ballroom of the Hyatt hotel.