Biofeedback Game Soothes Minds

Thanks to GameSpot for their story trailing the November release of the biofeedback based PC/Mac game, Wild Divine. This previously Slashdot-covered, very unconventional title uses a "biofeedback component [to] measure a player's galvanic skin response (GSR) and heart rate variability", and in a quoted gameplay example, "...a player who's required to lower a floating feather won't be able to do it until moving into a somewhat meditative state." Unfortunately, the newly announced "introductory price of $129.95", including biofeedback hardware, may cause a little muscle tension, but the official site has new info on hands-on demo locations.

biofeed back hardware?

[fireduck]

i can remember way back in the day when i had my atari 800. some computer mag had a program that supposedly monitored your biorythms. so, being the industrious 5th grader i was, i typed the thing in and then went about constructing the necessary hardware. As I recall, the instructions had me disassembling one of the paddle controllers, banana clipping wires somewhere inside the paddle and then clipping the other end to aluminum foil wrapped around my finger.

unfortunately it never quite worked right. on the other hand, it was definitely a lot cheaper than $129...

Re:biofeed back hardware?

[baywulf]

There were actually some consumer devices made by Atari that you could buy back then. I think they called it Atari Lab or something. They have a couple of devices. One was a biofeedback device and another was a thermometer.

Re:!care

[gl4ss]

troll or not i underline it too.

i mean, with lines like "The game is cast in a way that it looks and feels like magic, but it's all working within the psyche." and "With various mind and body exercises, the player navigates--during a healing journey--into a lush, pleasurable fantasy world filled with challenges, adventures, and other experiences to reduce stress, center the mind, and calm the body, cultivating an enhanced sense of self and soul-awareness.", now, soul awareness and other stuff is usually the kind of crap that hare krishnas & etc use when they're trying to sell.. krhm.. 'donate' you a book(against your donation to them) about some mind excersises and crap.

gameplay wise there's not much there. if i want a soothing experience i take a book and read it... not force myself to slow pulse to watch some pre-rendered shit game(by the showoff video it looks like it's a cdi game!).

"transforming experiences" my ass, it looks very much like a beefed up relaxation audio tape.

Re:!care

[Lord_Dweomer]

Imagine though if you would a game where your mood and thoughts CAN control the game. For instance, in order to cast certain spells you have to be in X mood. Or to do special move Y you need to be feeling Z amount of rage.

Personally, if they took the newage crap out of this, it could make for a bitchin Samurai game, similar to Kengo: Master of Bushido for the PS2. You have to do training exercises, such as crouch under a waterfall, or go through a bamboo forest cutting down all the trees, or putting out

Re:!care

[acxr is wasted]

Hehe, I remember Tiger Direct selling some "biofeedback" device to play games. The silly little thing slipped over your finger, and somehow this allowed you to control some skier going down a hill. Mumbo-jumbo, I say.

How to cheat, let me count the ways.

[sjoplin]

1. Here kitty, kitty, kitty.
2. Attach sensor to uninterested younger sister.
3. EXERCISE MORE, thus strengthening your heart/lungs and lowering your pulse/blood pressure. If you are this into gaming, you need to anyway.

Of course, that would take all the fun out of it. Then again, cheating would be fun in itself.

actually it wasn't biorhythms

[fireduck]

it was a lie detector [atarimagazines.com], although I seem to remember this coming out much earlier than 1986...

Oh jeez

[ArmenTanzarian]

I'm all for new age stuff and I'm a big fan of meditation, but I think this says it all right here:
Enjoy a preview of The Journey to Wild Divine, a mythical and magical adventure amidst towering palaces, sacred temples, flowing landscapes and sumptuous gardens

People who use the word sumptuous need to a football to the groin.

Feeling Good

[slevin]

I find this thing to be fascinating. I've spent some time doing biofeedback and had a really positive experience with it. There was a lot to do with on screen videos and sounds. Unfortunately, I had to pay a professional $120 an hour for the priveledge. If people could pay that once and get the positive experiences of easy to do, self instructing mindfulness meditation the world might be a little bit a better place.

Scientific research has done much to demonstrate the effectiveness of this sort of activity