At last month’s App Developers Conference (ADC), Funktronic Labs founder Eddie Lee discussed a variety of best practices for 3D input and hand motion controllers like the Leap Motion Controller. Lee is the creator of Lotus and Kyoto – free experimental Airspace games that feature stunning visuals and fluid interaction design.

During the talk, he breaks down the preconceptions that people carry from movies like Minority Report, and shows how motion controls represent a new interaction paradigm that we’re still exploring. In many ways, he says, approaching a new interface is like navigating a foreign country – so that apps should be designed with this uncertainty in mind.

After discussing how to build intuitive games with natural, flowing interactions, he outlines the menu system that he built for Lotus – using finger count to select one of four modes. He also challenges the 1:1 interaction mapping that is found in many games, calling on developers to find a balance between constantly requiring large, swooping motions versus over-amplified actions.

(This video was originally posted on GDC Vault, a growing archive of design, technical, and inspirational talks from Game Developers Conference and ADC events.)

Update: an earlier version of this article misattributed Seasons to Eddie Lee. Seasons was created by Flow Studios.

Twitch TV

More recently, Eddie joined us on our Twitch channel to talk about his game design philosophy and latest projects:

For cutting-edge projects and demos, tune in every Tuesday at 5pm PT to twitch.tv/leapmotiondeveloper. To make sure you never miss an episode, enter your email address to subscribe to up-to-the-minute Twitch updates: