GDC: Former Project Natal Producer Joins Softkinetic

3D gesture recognition software company Softkinetic announced that Mike Nichols, formerly executive producer on Microsoft's Project Natal, has joined its game development team at Softkinetic Studios. The company says that Nichols will lead its expansion of media and content development, and will oversee the design, development, and production of commercial gesture-based games for 3D gameras and imaging technology at its Softkinetic Studios subsidiary. His team at Softkinetic Studios includes technical director Cyrille Wagner, who has worked at companies like Atari and Playlogic as lead programmer and R&D engineer; and art director Michael Defroyennes, previously art director at 10tacle Studios. Nichols has more than 20 years of production, business, and leadership experience in the game industry. While at Microsoft Game Studios, he was responsible for developing and driving Project Natal's roadmap, evangelizing the Xbox 360 motion control system, and overseeing the management of Project Natal-based games at developers Rare and Lionhead Studios. "I am incredibly pleased to join the team at Softkinetic, and to develop games on the frontier of this new wave of interactivity,” declared Mike Nichols. "Our industry continues to evolve as opportunities for interactive entertainment expand beyond traditional consoles and PC experiences, and we have a huge opportunity to shape the future of this exciting technology and the quality of the entertainment experiences it can offer."