Featured

Brainwave Gaming - Lazy or Liberating?

By skenmy ⋅ March 21, 2008 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

A recent wave in the game development community has been that of Brainwave Gaming - the reading of neural activity to interact with a game. This is a very exciting development, and it is technology that can be applied to many walks of life, not necessarily just to gaming. We already use it in EEG (electroencephalogram) machines, which have medical applications in neuroscience and psychological testing. So could this technology be adapted successfully to gaming? Or is it going to cause a generation of people who don’t even move to play their video games?

The Nintendo Wii is quite possibly the best thing that has happened to video gaming in a LONG time. Whereas before the termn “gamer” was considered to be someone who sat there and twiddled a controller with their thumbs (and sometimes the fingers), and with the introduction of PS3’s SIXAXIS, turning the controller from side to side - the term now includes the people who get up and play a game of tennis via a video game, which leaves you exhausted afterwards. The Wii was not only revolutionary in it’s controller, but also in it’s gameplay style - finally the games console has become a family item, a party item. And the other consoles have taken heed of this - Rock Band being the number one example I can think of. For some reason, though, sitting there with a few friends having a “think-off” just seems a tad wierd. Where’s the actual competitiveness outside of the screen?

There is no doubt that this technology brings a massive opportunity to gaming, however. I am thinking first of all about those who are motor-impaired - especially in the hands. Finally there is a way for them to interact with a game - and actually stand a chance of success, rather than battle with a controller that is plain akward for them to use. But I think that the technology will stand the best chance of success if coupled with the existing controllers - because then it adds another level of interactivity to the game. Not only can you move your character, swing your weapon, jump, crouch, and crawl, but now, with the power of thinking alone, you can send your character into a “Rage” mode, or activate long-sight, or interact with other characters in the game world - freeing up buttons on the controller for more actions. Yes, things start getting complex here - but it needs refining, not dumping.

The flipside of the coin, however, is that we end up with a generation of layabouts - those who can game, interact, and possibly even chat without even lifting a finger. Is this a bad thing? Say, for instance, the technology was adapted to allow people to text message by brainwaves - would this be safe to use while driving? You are taking away thought from driving and putting it into texting - the same as if you physically had the phone and was texting. The danger of a crash increases. However - say it was adapted to help shoppers - by just thinking of the exact item they wanted, a small screen on their trolley would take them straight to it. Or, you could shop online with very little effort indeed. Think of each item in turn, think of your credit card number, your security code, and then just think about submitting it. Except it all happens. That sounds a bit creepy, though…

I don’t think I have a conclusion to make here. The technology is very exciting indeed, and it’s something I want to see emerge in the gaming world. But it has be done carefully - lest we all just end up sitting there like vegetables, just thinking about playing a game. Oh wait…

Tags: brainwaves