Presented by University of Salford
When we say that a game messes with your head, we normally do not mean it literally. But sometimes we do. Some games really are all about getting in there and seriously mangling your mind. Everyone knows that online casinos can tap into a different part of your psychology. Video games can also take you to a place that you just do not want to leave. But most of those games do not go out of their way to project your own mental state right into the heart of the game itself. However, that is exactly what NeverMind is all about. The key feature of Nevermind is the way it uses biofeedback to measure your reactions to the unfolding drama. However you react has a direct payback in the way the game then develops. The more stressed, uptight and agitated you become, the harder and the scarier the game gets. The cooler you can be, the better you will play. It is an undeniably great twist.
Biofeedback as never before
Anyone happy to stick with objectified gaming can download a variety of Net Ent casinos at netentertainmentcasinos.co or they can carry on with their consoles. But there is a real sense that NeverMind’s cyborg logic represents the future of gaming. How could you not want to play something that is the living expression of what you are feeling? No middle men. No second order tokens of how you feel about the way the game is going. It is just you and your own instinctive reactions. What is not to like?
How it works is that a biosensor (several are already compatible) measures your reactions as the game unfolds. Heart-rate, level of physical agitation and other factors are all calibrated to feed back into the game’s software. There are different options as to how you can achieve this. For example, it can be achieved through wrist, chest, earlobe monitors, or a camera-based device, which also opens up gesture control. It is possible to play the game with no sensors at all, although that really would be missing the point.
The dark side
As far as the game itself is concerned, players experience a dark ride through the subconscious and often surreal minds of trauma victims. So, do not expect anything other than a fairly scarifying series of ever more creepy scenes. There would not be much point in all the biofeedback if this was just about chilling out!
Producers Flying Mollusc have put a beta version through Steam Early Access at a UK price of £18.99. It is currently PC and Mac compatible, with Xbox One and Oculus Rift versions promised for late 2015. If they can get that Oculus Rift hook up to fire, we might just be about to enter a gaming Nirvana! 3D immersion and biofeedback all at the same time is just about as close as you could ever get to completely scrubbing out the boundary between real life and gaming. Do not say that would not mess with your head.
I remember hearing about this a long time ago. Then nothing. I am still waiting to see how feedback bit will actually be implemented.
Interesting.