Unveiled at E3 2011 and now available as a free download for all Xbox Live subscribers, Kinect Fun Labs is a collection of applications that work with Kinect for Xbox 360.  They're not games, mind you, but it offers a way to create a custom avatar or silly bobblehead that looks like you, or the ability to animate objects, such as your favorite stuffed animal, and slap on googly eyes, too.  Once you download the 700+ megabyte download, you can place your "hand" over the Gadget (application) you want to try out. Initially, there are four to choose from in Kinect Fun Labs -- two for body scanning and two for object scanning -- but more will be available in July.  Specifically, here's what you get in the initial digital download:  -- Kinect Me lets you create an avatar that looks like you. It'll tell you to move closer to the camera so it can scan your face and body. You'll follow the instructions, so that the red dotted lines turn into green ones when you're positioned correctly. You'll also need to remove any hat you're wearing. You'll be asked a couple of questions, such as if you want glasses or a ponytail, then after the drum roll, it shows your custom-made avatar.  Mine didn't look very much like me, actually, but it got the gray hoodie and blue jeans perfectly; my kids had more luck with their avatar faces. Once you're done, you can pose for a photo shoot or create an animated flip book.  -- As you'd expect from the name, Bobble Head also uses face- and body-scanning technology to create a bobblehead you can place on your virtual dashboard and smack around with your hand to see it bobble back and forth. You can have friends or family members lined up to smack around, too. Similar to Kinect Me, you can post your creations through KinectShare.com to various social-networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.  -- With Build A Buddy, you can hold up objects to Kinect -- such as a cushion, plush toy or action figure -- and once you scan the front and back, you'll see it magically appear onscreen. Then you can interact with it, add your voice and record silly videos, if you like. The objects can't be too wide, however, so you might need to alter its orientation when being scanned (I held up a fish toy but had to hold it vertically instead of horizontally). The scanning worked great, though.  -- Kinect Googly Eyes is similar to Build A Buddy but places silly googly eyes on the object you hold up -- so don't use an object that has big eyes already (like my orange and white fish). Once the virtual object is scanned -- and try to keep your hands out of the picture, if you can -- you can animate the object in real-time by jumping up, crouching down or outstretching your arms. You can change the eyes, create a recorded puppet show and share your creation.  -- Coming next month, Kinect Sparkler lets you first create an object for the background -- such as a still of you in your room -- then use your fingertip to paint around objects with a sparkler. It worked great in the E3 demo, as you can lean forward and back to draw in a 3D around objects (such as yourself). The effect is quite cool, and you can lean left or right to rotate the view somewhat  Also coming next month is Avatar Kinect, which will allow you to hang out with up to seven friends in various virtual environments -- including a talk show set or tailgate party.  Both the July downloads for Kinect Fun Labs require an Xbox Live Gold Membership, but the four Gadgets available now are free for any Xbox Live subscriber.
'Kinect Fun Labs': Clever and free -- but limiting - Game Hunters: In search of video games and interactive awesomeness - USATODAY.com - Game Hunters: In search of video games and interactive awesomeness