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Biofeedback Video Game
Thanks to georgehm3 for pointing out a video game available at bio-medical.com called The Journey to Wild Divine. The game uses a series of sensors connected to your pc via USB port to determine your body's state of relaxation. From the informational page: "We take them on a mythological tour and on this tour, we teach them ancient techniques such as breathing exercises, meditation exercises, a number of tools you can use in real life."
The Commodore 64 had a program that would do this.
Basically it had two modes. Mode 1 would display a visual kalidescope of colors that would change hue as you relaxed. Mode 2 was this game that you had to control a hot air balloon as it flew over and under obstacles.
144.95 to learn to relax while running Windows? Can't I just install Fedora for free?
--Forest C. Adcock--
The URL you're looking for is http://www.wilddivine.com/
Good game, been out for quite a while. Works well.
I never get to do these.
-Clio
Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
It's an expensive ohm-meter. It's just measuring the resistance across your body.
Your resistance is affected by mood (because it affects the salt in your blood, iirc)
I would be a lot more intrested in paying $150 for something like this if not for the hokey New Age garbage surrounding it. If it were open enough that anyone could write apps for it, I'd snatch it up right away.
Don't become a regular here -- you will become retarded.
I did some work on a few neurofeedback projects for Neurocybernetics a couple years ago. It's really facinating stuff. Their programmes go further than simple relaxation and actually work as an alternative to psychoactive medications for the treatment of anything from bipolar to ADD to drug addictions (by focusing on different ranges of brain waves). They use feedback to train your brain to balance itself (and i won't say more than that without fear of getting the bejeezus sued outta me). Check 'em out here: http://neurocybernetics.com/ (I did some of the 3D stuff)
DONT PANIC
Neurocybernetics' website isn't as informative as it used to be. Try EEG Spectrum's instead: http://www.eegspectrum.com/
DONT PANIC
You know, I seem to reading about this game sometime before. Nah, must just be my imagination. They'd never post a duplicate, would they?
Yeah, yeah, I know, complaining about Slashdot double/triple posting is itself just as redundant as the posts. I still don't get why they don't actually try searching on a few keywords from the story before posting just to avoid such things.
Regardless, the game itself has sounded very interesting when I've read about it. I know I'd like to give it a try, and I'm sure it is quite possible that it would be helpful in teaching me to relax more successfully. I'm not sure if I want to spend that much money on it without trying it out, though.
"You know your god is man-made when he hates all the same people you do."
Now all they need to do is work John McEnroe into the game, and they can build The Chair as seen on ABC! You can re-enact all three episodes in your own home!
For more information, click here.
I have been looking at this game over the past year or so and received it for Christmas. The biofeedback works well and I'm just beginning to learn to control the various elements. I've worked with sound-induced brain wave synchronization (anyone remember mindsync?) and this game reminds of some of those mental states.
The "new age" theme to me is more like playing a D&D game in the role of a wizard or cleric.
The graphics remind me of Myst -- highly rendered static scenes with motion captured "actors" and some CG decoration (waterfall, birds) and objects for biofeedback training exercises (floating balls, fire, pin-wheels...). Navigation is like watching a short movie as you progress from area to area.
I rather enjoy the music -- it fits the mood well. I'd classify it as Ambient.
I'm cheap and skeptical so the price is more than I'd want to pay without a trial (however that'd be achieved), but I am very satisfied with the product. The only two additions I'd like so far are 1) recording biofeedback input of what was being detected by the sensors, and 2) ability to quickly jump from exercise to exercise instead of navigating the game-space. I look forward to exploring the project on source forge posted above. Thanks for the link!
I was in a hurry, and left, thinking I'd hear more about this product later. But I never did. Anybody know WTF this was?
Now that would make for some interesting gaming. ^.^
http://www.mega64.com/ I think it is out and being secreatly beat tested...
---In a time of Chimpanzees I was a Monkey.