AMA Studios

AMA Studios was a French games development studio focused primarily on titles utilising motion controls and the new capabilities of games consoles. It is most closely associated with the Xbox 360 era and the advent of the Kinect motion sensor.

One of the studio’s best-known projects is Fighters Uncaged, a fighting game released for the Xbox 360, which was created specifically for Kinect. Instead of a traditional controller, it utilises the player’s own movements.

In Fighters Uncaged, the player performs punches, kicks, dodges and other combat moves, which Kinect records and translates into the on-screen character’s actions. The game thus sought to offer a more physically active alternative to traditional fighting titles controlled by a gamepad.

The player takes on the role of a young fighter, Simon, who gradually faces various opponents in illegal street fights. Each opponent uses a different fighting style, and by defeating them, the player progresses to more challenging bouts.

Fighters Uncaged was one of the games that, during Kinect’s early years, sought to demonstrate the possibilities of whole-body control without the need to hold a traditional controller.

AMA Studios also worked on the title My Self Defence Coach, which likewise focused on the use of motion controls. The game combines elements of exercise with self-defence techniques and was designed so that the player actually performs the individual movements in front of the screen.

My Self Defence Coach features various training activities focused on movement, fitness, coordination and basic self-defence techniques. Kinect enables the player’s movements to be tracked and integrated directly into the individual exercises.

The studio was thus among the developers who experimented with combining video games and physical movement during the Xbox 360 generation. Its projects utilised Kinect not merely as an accessory, but as the primary method of control.

Thanks to titles such as Fighters Uncaged and My Self Defence Coach, AMA Studios is primarily associated with the early days of motion-based gaming on the Xbox 360 and the period when developers were striving to utilise the new capabilities of the Kinect sensor for fighting, sports and fitness games.