Neuroscience May Cure Videogames Industry's Obsession With Guns

An anonymous reader writes "Leading developer Chris Stevens tells Edge magazine that neuroscience researchers will soon find 'non-violent triggers to mimic the rush of pleasure gamers feel when firing guns.' Researchers can now use functional MRI scanners to monitor what is going on in a player's brain and search for more optimistic and non-violent pleasure triggers. 'For decades it's as if developers have been driving a car with no speedometer,' Stevens claims, referring to the reliance on reported emotions rather than empirical measurements in game development. The functional MRI now gives a much more accurate indication of when peaceful triggers light up the brain's pleasure regions, opening up alternative game designs, without crude weaponry. 'I would like to see many more beautiful games like Fez and Limbo,' Stevens says. 'When I was a kid, games were more beautiful and magical and immersed you in fantastical, peaceful and enjoyable landscape.' The functional MRI could make these peaceful titles provably superior — no mean feat in a mass-market games industry currently obsessed with the crude dopamine-triggering effects of simulated weaponry."

Comments

Misread the title

[TheInternetGuy]

I misread the title as "Neurosurgery may cure videogame industry obsession with guns".
Now I must admit to being slightly disappointed.

They've already invented that

[Ukab the Great]

non-violent triggers to mimic the rush of pleasure gamers feel when firing guns.

It's called an orgasm, produced by a hand motion similar to squeezing a trigger. You typically fire one of these at a simulated woman in place of firing a gun at a simulated bad guy to get your rush of endorphins. There's actually quite a thriving industry on the internet involved in this gameplay, so I'm not exactly understanding what the scientists hope to achieve.

Re:They've already invented that

[techno-vampire]

It's called an orgasm, produced by a hand motion similar to squeezing a trigger.

You really need to get out of your mother's basement more often and find out by personal experience why there are two sexes.

Re:They've already invented that

[guttentag]

non-violent triggers to mimic the rush of pleasure gamers feel when firing guns.

It's called an orgasm, produced by a hand motion similar to squeezing a trigger.

Developers have already come up with a video game that simulates the excitement of violence without guns. It's called Angry Birds.

Interestingly enough, it is a fair approximation of this orgasm thing you mentioned:
"Aww... How the hell am I supposed to hit that when you don't even give me a clear shot at it?! You want me to get creative on your ass?! Bounce it off the what now?" (thirty minutes later) "I hit it?! Bam! That's what I'm talking about! Now I'm just going to do my little dance and act like I knew what I was doing all along. I'm ready to take this to the next level! Hey, I need to buy something to continue? I'm just getting started."

Re:They've already invented that

[Dunbal]

You mean the two sexes are not "left" and "right"?

Yiff!

[MobileTatsu-NJG]

You really need to get out of your mother's basement more often and find out by personal experience why there are two sexes.

Only two? Pffft. You obviously haven't seen my browsing history.