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What about this game?. It's an oldie, though slightly newer than Myst. The website is totally cheesy now, but the company used to be more bio-feedback hardware + game based, and less "feel goody". I think they even released some tools (OSS perhaps? was windows only if I remember) that would read and graph the input from their hardware. I joined the forums (which appear to be down now) and advocated for a hardware-only sale so others could write software for it -- they agreed on the forums, but never delivered. Anyway, supposedly people liked the music.

What about this game?. It's an oldie, though slightly newer than Myst. The website is totally cheesy now, but the company used to be more bio-feedback hardware + game based, and less "feel goody". I think they even released some tools (OSS perhaps? was windows only if I remember) that would read and graph the input from their hardware. I joined the forums (which appear to be down now) and advocated for a hardware-only sale so others could write software for it -- they agreed on the forums, but never delivered. Anyway, supposedly people liked the music.

Journey to the Wild Divine (http://www.wilddivine.com/products/breathing-techniques-bundle-pack/) is a game that has been out for quite a while that uses bio feedback to control aspects of the game. Perhaps more accurately, it uses a galvanic skin sensor to provide additional input to the game. "Mind gaming" is probably another in the long tradition of inappropriately hyped terms that will disappoint people who expect magic and bore people who have an understanding and appreciation of the real and useful application of not magic technology.

I'm not associated in any way with the company. I got interested in mechanisms of highlighting bio-feedback in the context of education and childhood development. The interesting part of all of this for me is the potential shift away from "control" as a top down or external process where we use medicine or mechanisms to modify or control mind functions. To me it seems like an interesting development to be able to combine new bio feedback technology with existing bio feedback technology that is thousands of years old and has a proven effectiveness.

http://www.wilddivine.com/products/WildDivineBundl ePack/

There is actually a suite of games, FEATURING DEEPAK CHOPRA!!

From that article:

"Using the muscles in ones head, a person was to control the paddle at the bottom of the screen. Needless to say, people began to suffer from headaches as soon as the pace of the game started to quicken."

That's quite a bit different than this product. Something a bit closer (and cooler) are the Wild Divine games.

There is a Windows/OS X Game already out there that uses Biofeedback to control the action. It's called The Journey to Wild Divine http://www.wilddivine.com/ and comes with a USB "device" that clips on to three fingers and measures heart rate variability and skin conductance.

From the Game's Website:
The Journey to Wild Divine's innovative biofeedback hardware platform measures skin conductance level (SCL) and heart rate variability through the three, gently attached finger sensors. The measurements are registered through the "Light Stone" and fed back to you through biofeedback activities on the screen.

Mentors within The Journey help you learn to control your body's reactions. By increasing, decreasing or synchronizing body rhythms, through various levels of breathing, relaxation, and meditation techniques you'll quickly learn to master the activites and begin using these techniques everyday in throughout your life.

From an Amazon Review:
This is on the face of it an adventure game. A Myst style wander around solving puzzles and looking for objects way to relax. The twist of it is that it uses biofeedback to control what is happening. You use a standard point and click to travel from place to place. Once there the puzzles are operated by using the biofeedback to raise or lower your "energy" level. I don't know if they are using temperature, pulse rate, or galvanic response but it works surprisingly well. It is really cool to see kites or balloons, or balls, or whatever floating up or down and being able to control them just by thinking. The hard part I found was that just as I would almost get relaxed enough to reach my goal, I'd think "Yeah!, I did it!' and my energy level would crash so I'd have to start over. The puzzle where you are stacking rocks was the most interesting for me because you had to raise and lower your energy to set the rock down in just the right place.

Check out Wild Divine for an example of what you can do with a game that uses biofeedback. It's like $150 and comes with a biofeedback device that plugs into a USB port.

The concept of the game is to have you use meditative techniques to manipulate things in the game. So you have to make a baloon rise, or something like that to progress in the game. It's an interesting concept but the game itself gets repetitive pretty fast since the tasks you perform are all pretty similar. The artwork is different for different things, but the overall interaction doesn't change a whole lot.

The Journey To Wild Divine

And, quite frankly, I wanted to beat the shit out of the monitor after playing it for a few minutes.

Could either you or your followup friend "op12" explain what you mean by slush brown or slush anything?

Possible differences in my assumptions you are making about people's (or at least my standard config). I read slashdot for information. Being a visually oriented person, I find extraneous graphics and colors, while pleasant, often interfere with with the specific task of getting the actual information I want as quickly as I want. So I normally run in low-graphics mode and have my standard browswer return a browser ID of of some version of "lynx" (for the _rare site that recognizes text mode browswers).

Pictures on websites are only of occasional benefit because they are shot for monitors that seem to average ~19" and 1024x768 in the mainstream, which calcs out to 67 DPI, which falls below the lowest standard res for Windows settings. If they have a 17" monitor, 17" monitor, they are at least up to a low-res windows setting of 75 DPI, but unless you are someone who has a job in the computer industry or a computer enthusiast (like maybe an average slashdot reader), Dell tells me that their largest monitor sales are in the 1024x768 size. Even games have preferred that size as frame rates in the past have traditionally been lower at higher resolutions though that is slowing changing as graphics cpu's get faster -- yet still, no matter how fast the graphics get on a 1600x1200 or 1920x1200 monitor running at 24-32 bit color, it always seems that such games will run faster, and have smoother graphics running in a 1024x768 mode. I almost never see modern games runnning at 640x480 res, and 8-bit color went out in the early 90's I think. However, some less advanced modern games that focus on story lines or other tech [BIOTECH] (www.wilddivine.com) rather than action and frame rate still default to 800x600 color in 16-bit (maybe 24-32) bit color. But the end result is that web designers still design for the middle of the curve 70-75 DPI user.

Only a few years ago, on a 133DPI Dell laptop, I switched between using X' scaleable DPI settings (but a few programs used or expected fixed- sized fonts), to Windows, where I tried to use exact DPI settings (Custom), and the "standardized "Large" size (125 DPI setting), but Windows programmers were just plain dumb from the start, with 99% sizing widgets pictures and text based on pixel sizes, not querying the output device and sizing widgets, text and pictures appropriately. On Dell's newer 1920x1200 laptops, they averaged about 144 DPI. That's almost twice the clueless (or lazy) designer expected, 65-72 DPI. Thumbnails become "pinky nails", 10pt text becomes 5pt text, pictures are reduced to 50% normal size with details being visible with a magnifying glass, or being jaggedly blown-up with zoom features. Microsoft enhanced the "ease of abuse" of end users by conveniently ignoring pitiful user reqeusts to the IE browser to increase/decrease text size on many (most or all) CSS control web-sites.

While I still use IE for some purposes -- simply because it is faster to start, uses considerably less memory, and scrolls in real-time and scrolls smoothly, (vs. fire fox, which "stores" up scroll requests, and even with "smooth scrolling", scrolls so jerkily that that it is impossible to read scrolling text; and then due to stored scroll keys, goes past the point you wanted to scroll to due it's fundamental
inability to use platform native scrolling capabilities). However, I use FireFox when I want a page to display Properly and not have text plotting all over itself (or being cut off) in unreadable ways.

Only website I return the browser name of Internet Explorer, is on Microsoft Sites, as various parts of their site (as of last check) still produce corrupt HTML if the Browser-user-agent string contains "Opera", that corrupts corrupt output on IE displays. It should be illegal to actively generate corrupt/buggy output designed to cause harm to a user's computer display based on

I spent a few minutes Googling, and here are some links showing the kinds of things I am thinking about:

• Wild Divine (which has been reviewed on Slashdot)
• Mindgames (From the website: Our focus on demonstration is designed to challenge organisations to not only think of how they might use our ideas in their products but also to imagine how their products can reach out and change the lives of everyone in a positive way. We believe that technology should be designed to facilitate us building a more constructive humanity.) They seem like a cool group, and like they're doing some really neat research. I'm not saying they are bad, I'm just saying that these things could easily be combined with new age philosophy.
• Tranquility This is pretty close to the game that I was thinking of, but I'm not sure if it's it. Similar note to the above item.

Please note that I'm not saying that "meditation is bad" or things like that -- I'm definately not saying that. Relaxation is a very good thing, however I've just seen a lot of this stuff combined with pantheistic theology as a way to "transcend to higher consciousness". I'm just calling it as I see it, and I'm just saying that there are video games with a lot of new-age theology underneath them out there.

Oh yeah, almost forgot about Rag Doll Kung Fu. *VERY* cool looking game, definately "religious", definately *not* "Christian". :) Not all games need to be Christian -- the grandparent was asking for non-Christian religious games, and I'm pointing him in that direction.

I wrote about it recently on my site at http://www.health-hack.com/archives/2005/01/28/10/ 47/wild-divine/ (don't feel compelled to go there)

But the actual website for the game is at http://www.wilddivine.com/

It was covered here on /. once, also.

I don't know if this would work, but you may want to look at http://wilddivine.com/. It works on Bio feedback (no joystick), maybe they can help you out.

Theoretically, such as Wild Divine. Learning self knowledge and control could be an enormous benefit.

The URL you're looking for is http://www.wilddivine.com/

Good game, been out for quite a while. Works well.

I just got the Journey to Wild Divine game yesterday. It is a bit expensive at ~$160 though it includes a biofeedback device, Mac and PC versions, a couple small books/manuals, and a music CD. Anyway, so far it seems like it is pretty well done. They have a web site:
http://www.wilddivine.com/
I'm not affiliated with the company in any way.

Are you not familier with biofeedback training? People can learn to control thier heartbeat and galvanic skin response. A few days of using this thing and the steady eye movements will start coming.

FlopEJoe wrote: I'd like to play around with something like this but $2K is pretty high! And the SDK is tree-fiddy! Are there any other rigs with sainer prices?

I think a real EEG machine is going to run you at least $1500 unless you build it yourself.

As others have noted, the Journey to Wild Divine game is somewhat similar to Mindball, and much cheaper. (About $160.) However, it doesn't read brain waves, it detects relaxation levels with skin conductance and heart rate variablity-- it works very much like a "lie dectector." I don't think it is sensitive enough for multi-axis control, it only does "more relaxed" and "less relaxed."

There is a guy, Bryan Ingram, who has been working on a program that reads the signal from the Wild Divine monitor so you can do other things with it.

I havn't bought it, because I'm a poor college student, but this idea has already been fully experimented with in Wild Divine.

A similar game is available, Journey to Wild Divine. It measures skin conductance and heart rate variation to control various objects in the game. I've played it, it was quite fun though it was a little short and had too much of a "new age" theme for my taste.

It has been covered on Slashdot.

There is an adventure game called The Journey to Wild Divine.

Instead of reading brain waves, it reads heart rate fluctuations and skin conductance level (sweat), both of which you learn to control over the course of the game.

There's already a game out there that does this.

the journey to wild divine

It uses biofeedback to control the game, which is a little different than the technique used in this game.

Although probably a bit more expensive then you were probably planning on spending, you might want to consider The Wild Divine Project.

From the site: The Journey to Wild Divine is more than a computer adventure. It integrates a personal spiritual quest with an innovative biofeedback interface and high-end multimedia production. The result is an unparalleled and fulfilling "Inner-Active" experience.

Basically, you explore the virtual world and learn to complete tasks that require you to learn to control your pulse and breathing rate using a biofeedback system.

I haven't played it... but it certainly looks cool

I was diagnosed with ADD when I was in elementary school. I tried chemical regimens (Ritalin) but gave it up when I was in Junior High because I didn't believe it was actually helping me.

About that time, my parents heard about a clinic in our city (Denver) doing neural feedback therapy for ADD, so they signed me up.

The drill went something like this: I would take the bus across town to the offices of the clinic. There, they would put a hair-net with a built-in series of electrodes onto my head and squirt a cold, goopy saline-type gel into each of them to enhance conductivity between my skin and the electrode. This was then hooked up to a desktop computer, which would output the signals from the electrodes in a variety of different colored graphs -- line graphs, bar charts, and I think there was a pie chart. Then I had to stare at the screen and try to control the graph.

The one I remember most clearly is the line chart. It had different colored lines scrolling across the screen for the different types of brain wave (alpha, beta, gamma, delta) and I had to keep one type down (that was alpha, I think) and another up (that was beta -- I don't recall what gamma is, but delta waves are most common when you're asleep). And that's what I would do. For an hour.

It was the single most boring thing I have ever done in my entire life. I could indeed see that I was sometimes able to exert some limited control over the relative strengths of my brainwaves, as shown on the graph, but it was intermittent at best. The whole thing bored me out of my skull. Not to mention I had to wash the electro-goop out of my hair every time I went. Blech. In retrospect, I have to wonder -- if the object is to teach someone to concentrate, then why on earth did they design such a dull program? I can think of few things more dull than staring at a graph for an hour at a time. It's like they went out of their way to pick the most boring thing they could think of. And they expect adolescent patients to actually learn mental discipline from this?

The very best part was when they let me play Commander Keen at the end of sessions where I'd done well. I bet you if they had designed the brainwave-monitoring program as a game, I would have been interested enough to actually work at it. Slashot had an article about a biofeedback game last fall -- I can't find the Slashdot article, but the game is called The Wild Divine. You hook up some biofeedback finger rings to your person computer and use them to control the game. I haven't tried it, and there's a lot of New-Age-ish claptrap about "soul-awareness" and "finding inner peace through the game", but the basic principle seems to be the same as that employed by the therapists I saw.

We gave up the therapy after a short while, mostly because our finances took a turn for the worse and we could no longer afford it.

Now. As to results: I didn't notice any particular benefit from the therapy I took. However, there are a number of things which suggest that my experience is not reliable. 1) I was only at it for a short time -- a couple of months, I think. If I had worked longer, I might have progressed far enough to get some benefit out of it. 2) Their equipment and techniques were primitive. I bet their techniques (and their technology) have improved a LOT. I recall seeing a story on Slashdot a while ago about a place in Boulder, Colorado, that made a therapy game controlled by biofeedback -- you had to "lift a feather" on the screen, which sounds a lot more interesting than staring at spikes on a line graph.

I gave up both medication and therapy after seventh grade. I had a rough time in 8th and 9th grades, but by the time I got to 10th grade I had learned to focus when I needed to, and to control my physical symptoms (which are, in many ways, similar to your daughter's -- strange vocalizations and a tendency to twitch a lot).

I have been looking into similar treatments for myself, since I really REALLY hate the way the stimulant meds make me feel. They do help me get some clarity, but I'm miserable the whole time. I was recently looking for alternative treatments and stumbled upon neural feedback. I was very interested in this thread, hoping that somebody else might have had experience with the treatment. Instead, it's the same old "IANAD, but Ritalin sux0rz" stuff.

Oh well...

As an aside, I got a great christmas gift this year: The Wild Divine game. It uses a USB-connected biofeedback sensor to control the game. Basically, you get to learn some good meditative skills and apply them in a game setting. It's not neural feedback therapy, but I have found it useful in learning relaxation techniques and I have found it to be very helpful in achieving mental calm...something pretty novel for me.

If you would like your daughter to try this type of therapy, the Wild Divine game may be a good place to start. It's not as cheap as other video games, but it's cheaper than talking to a neural feedback therapy specialist. I bet you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I think The Wild Divine will be a hot item, even moreso for female gamers who *may* be more apt to explore their spiritual side.

From the blurb:
"This is a wild and visionary concept which works so fluidly you can blow on the screen and objects move as if propelled by your breath."

My gosh, that's amazing! All I had to do was click on "Hi-Bandwidth QuickTime Movie" and their server got blown away too!

How do they do that!? ...oh, wait...

Oh Indeed! I must have skipped over that!

I read through most of the rest of the website and it does seem to be a tool for meditation more than a game. The screen shots do appear rather nice if lacking in obvious movement (hard to tell from just screen shots granted).

I do have concerns about a doctor called "Whitehouse" though that they use to describe the interface - it makes it sound very official if you only give a cursory glance over the material.

On the plus side it does appear to be going to Mac and PC platforms judging by what is in the download area (downloads for ZIP and SIT formats). Unfortunately this will probably mean only Windows and OSX compatible though.

Oh Indeed! I must have skipped over that!

I read through most of the rest of the website and it does seem to be a tool for meditation more than a game. The screen shots do appear rather nice if lacking in obvious movement (hard to tell from just screen shots granted).

I do have concerns about a doctor called "Whitehouse" though that they use to describe the interface - it makes it sound very official if you only give a cursory glance over the material.

On the plus side it does appear to be going to Mac and PC platforms judging by what is in the download area (downloads for ZIP and SIT formats). Unfortunately this will probably mean only Windows and OSX compatible though.

The testimonials are what you would expect from a new product but with no mention of an estimated release date or where to purchase it makes me wonder if this could just end up being a marketing tool without an actual release.

I guess I'm going to have to wait until I see something more tangible.

The testimonials are what you would expect from a new product but with no mention of an estimated release date or where to purchase it makes me wonder if this could just end up being a marketing tool without an actual release.

I guess I'm going to have to wait until I see something more tangible.