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Brain Wave Videogame Championship

Posted by Zonk on from the he-can-hear-your-smack-talk-with-his-brains dept.

holy_calamity writes "The Science Museum in London is hosting a Mindball Championship next week. Pairs of opponents wired up to electroencephalogram (EEG) machines use their brain waves to push a ball towards an opponent. The challenge is that to win, the players have to relax — the ball only responds to theta waves (4-8 Hz) associated with drowsiness or alpha waves (8-12 Hz) associated with being relaxed. " The winner gets the title of Britain's Most Relaxed Mind. So ... good luck, lazy people.

29 of 37 comments (clear)

  1. I'd win by jimstapleton · · Score: 4, Funny

    but going over there is too much effort.

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    1. Re:I'd win by Tyger · · Score: 1

      I have played those sorts of games before and it's not as easy as you might think to relax. It's not just physical relaxation, it's mental relaxation. You can be physically relaxed but still thinking a mile a minute. The relaxation you need is more of a meditative relaxation.

    2. Re:I'd win by Nappa48 · · Score: 1
      Heyyy, don't do that now, it only enforces your laziness!

      I'd go down, but i am too lazy to go down (or up, where, who? )
      I think i'd do pretty well especially with meditating and using Brainwave Generator (YES, it does work actually! Worked for me, helped me have lucid dreams pretty much at will..when relaxing that is)

      I can't wait to see the kind of games they will try to make from using things like this.
      To have VR games would be like a dream!
      Until then, i only have lucid dreams...hey wait, thats better than games will ever be!
      Time to play some playboy mansion in my sleep! Beat that games company of the future! ;)

  2. OB Overlords by davidwr · · Score: 1

    I for one welcome our lazy video-game-playing overlordzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

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  3. Doping? by Siberwulf · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wonder if you smoke some pot before the competition, you'll get kicked out for "doping".

    Sorry, that was bad.

  4. DIY Mindball? by DigitalRaptor · · Score: 1

    Does anyone know of any do-it-yourself projects for games like this?

    Something like that would be really fun to have.

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    1. Re:DIY Mindball? by Tackhead · · Score: 2, Funny
      > Does anyone know of any do-it-yourself projects for games like this?

      I heard of a pretty cool open source product called Firefox. Someone wrote a flight simulator plugin for it, and it's pretty good, but you have to think in Russian.

    2. Re:DIY Mindball? by n00854180t · · Score: 1

      To answer your question seriously, I think if you had a decent understanding of software development, you could use the OpenEEG project's schematics to build two of them, hook them up to a comp via whatever interface (can't recall, but I'm guessing it's serial or USB or such), write your software that takes inputs from the EEG, interprets them (so, you'd want to look for the band mentioned in the article, theta waves, associated with drowsy or relaxed states) and then send a command to an air blower or whatever (whatever method of propulsion you want to hook up to your tube with your ping pong ball or whatnot), which then moves the ball, according to the volume of your type of brain wave your program is looking for.
      Here's a link to the OpenEEG project.

  5. Doping by silentounce · · Score: 1

    How much you want to bet there's going to be a doping controversy? Allegations of Ambien use, alcohol, rufies....

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  6. Commentators... by KingSkippus · · Score: 4, Funny

    I'd love to see this competition broadcast, complete with color commentary.

    "Folks, I've seen a lot of things, but the intensity at our competition here today is intangible. The absence of pressure is really heating up! I can tell that our contestants are both going to give it their none, their best zero percent. Our favorite to win today is Dan. I interviewed him before the match, let's take a look at it now."

    (Dan) "Well, Jim, it's taken a lot of not working hard to get to this level. I think that if I had to credit one thing with my success, it's my unwillingness to do everything it takes to win. I've also been totally uncommitted to the game since I was a kid. I guess I've just always had that lack of focus that it takes to get to this level."

  7. Here's a game... by Fozzyuw · · Score: 1

    Here's a game I really could play in my sleep!

    I'll wait for WoW to be playable in my sleep. =)

    Cheers,
    Fozzy

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    1. Re:Here's a game... by Imitator01 · · Score: 1

      What do you mean wait? It pretty much already is playable while sleeping.

    2. Re:Here's a game... by beckerist · · Score: 1

      Sleeping while still logged in does not constitute "playing while sleeping." ...though, you have a point. By about the 60th straight hour....

  8. Re:wtf? by adavies42 · · Score: 1

    Follow the link. It's obscure, but actually fairly funny.

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  9. Looking for a cheaper commercial version by cmeans · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We (my family) played this at the MSI in Chicago...it's a great "game"....my years of meditation in college helped me beat everyone, I even went off the chart (at the low end) a few times.

    I've been on the look-out for a consumer version to buy, this would be a cool home game, especially with the other EEG applications possible. I know there's an OpenEEG specification, but things still seem a little bit more expensive than I'd like...plus I don't want to electrocute myself or my family (at least, not yet).

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    1. Re:Looking for a cheaper commercial version by cmeans · · Score: 1

      I've got it on my Amazon wish list, but it only uses simpler biometric devices, not EEG. So it's not measuring brain wave activity, but galvanic responses (or something like that).

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    2. Re:Looking for a cheaper commercial version by Takehiko · · Score: 1

      But think of the fun you would have...

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Theres_No_Disgr ace_Like_Home.jpg

    3. Re:Looking for a cheaper commercial version by emj · · Score: 1

      When this game was developed, must have been in 1999 or something, at Interactive institute I think they paid around $2000 or $4000 for the EEG sensors. I remember thinking well that's bargain when they mention the price. The most expensive thing at the time was to build the machinery to movea physicall ball back and forward on a table, I think they used a Metallic ball and a magnet. The current version with LEDs is alot better.. ;-)

      So you shouldn't have to pay more than $1000 for an EEG now days.

  10. Re:wtf? by DigitalRaptor · · Score: 2, Interesting

    IIRC, the movie Firefox is about an airplane (I think called Firefox), that is controlled by the mind.

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  11. new era of video games by buff3r · · Score: 1

    Think of all of the successful spin-off games this affords. I can't wait for video game titles like "Sleep Over II" and "The Awakening".

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  12. ohhh I get it by ILuvRamen · · Score: 1

    I figured it'd be two weird dudes with big eyebrows making odd expressions at each other but then they said it's about relaxing so duh, just put the sensors on and take a nap :P Or come without having slept for like 2 days lol

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  13. "Theta waves"... by TheSHAD0W · · Score: 1

    Um, is this contest being sponsored by the Church of Scientology?

    1. Re:"Theta waves"... by EvilIdler · · Score: 3, Informative

      Those are 'theta waves', not 'thetans that wave at you', silly!

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theta_wave

      The five types are alpha, beta, gamma, delta and theta.

      Gamma being the one not exactly recognised by most scientists, as it supposedly is the
      40Hz+ range where precognition and other weirdness happens ;)

      The four commonly accepted ranges are delta at the very low 1-4Hz range - practically
      comatose deep sleep, theta at 4-8Hz (or 7, according to some sources) - meditative states,
      alpha at 6-12Hz - regular relaxed states, and beta at 12Hz+ being alertness and concentration.

    2. Re:"Theta waves"... by TheSHAD0W · · Score: 1

      'Twas a joke, son.

  14. South Park? by darkhitman · · Score: 1

    All I can think of is: "Then let this be our final battle..."

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  15. Would it be cheating... by ClassicComposer · · Score: 1

    I wonder if it would be considered cheating to allow me to listen to a recording of my old college botany prof...

  16. Re:wtf? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative
    > IIRC, the movie Firefox is about an airplane (I think called Firefox), that is controlled by the mind.

    Yep. Clint Eastwood plays an American pilot who's hired by the US government to steal a Soviet plane. The Firefox features a thought-controlled weapons system, and to successfully take advantage of everything the plane has to offer while high-tailing it out of Russia, he must "think in Russian", as opposed to merely thinking in English and translating to Russian, as one would do with a voice-activated system.

  17. Interesting Implication. by crhylove · · Score: 1

    You're of course implying that at some point you MIGHT wish to electrocute either yourself or your family. Listen. The holidays aren't THAT bad. Have some rum and egg nog and try to forget about it.

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  18. Not sure it's cheap, but it's certainly there.. by cheros · · Score: 1

    The same readers are used for neurofeedback...

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