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Atari 2600's Mind Maze Exploits Your ESP

Posted by simoniker on from the ghostbusters-academic-research dept.

Thanks to Atari Age, who point to the AtariProtos site's new information about the unreleased Mind Maze for the Atari 2600. The writers have spoken to original designer Howard Scott Warshaw, also famous for Yar's Revenge and the cataclysmic E.T. for Atari 2600, and "...apparently Mind Maze was based on the unproven theory of ESP (Extra Sensory Perception) and was an attempt to create a mind reading game for the (also unreleased) Mindlink controller." The updated preview, based on a recently unearthed prototype, reveals: "Supposedly, the headband was to read the player's Alpha and Beta waves in an attempt to help predict their actions. However, since the Mindlink was really just a sensor that detected muscle movements in the player's forehead, this was complete bunk."

1 of 25 comments (clear)

  1. Similar experience by dtfinch · · Score: 3, Interesting

    While working for the shareware distributer RocketDownload I had to review a similar game, but it didn't involve headbands or other forms of input. Just a random number generator moving something that you're supposed to try to control with your mind. Give it long enough and it'll always arrive somewhere. What a crappy day that was.

    With a headband to control it through slight muscle movements, that sounds like a great way to impress your friends. Too bad it never took off.