Fighting Gamer Rage With an Arduino Based Biometrics Headset

An anonymous reader writes "Gamer rage is a common phenomenon among people who play online, a product of the intense frustration created by stressful in-game situations and an inability to cope. It can have significant impact on the gamer's ability to play well, and to get along with others. To combat this rage and train gamers to deal with the stress, visual designer Samuel Matson of Seattle has created the Immersion project, integrating a pulse sensor tied to a Tiny Arduino with Bluetooth into a headset to monitor the gamer's heart rate. The heart rate data is sent in real time to the gaming PC, where it is displayed in the game. Matson even created a simple FPS using the Unity game engine that varies the AI and gaming difficulty based on the user's heart rate. Using this system, the gamer is able to train themselves to recognize the stress and learn to control it, in order to make them a much more agreeable and competitive player."

Comments

Why you play?

[Anonymous Coward]

If I lose this game what do I lose in life? Nothing. If I win this game what do I win in life? Nothing. Smile when you win, laugh when you lose. It's a game, for entertainment purposes only.

Re:Why you play?

[citizenr]

Try EVE Online, when you lose in game you lose months of grind or thousands of dollars. Every important battle induces physiological fight or flight reaction.

Re:Why you play?

[Austerity Empowers]

I doubt you'd play at all with so little emotional investment.

Re:maybe they should visit the real world

[Ardyvee]

You'd be surprised how many have "gamer rage" in sports. It isn't just for video games. It is simply them not managing their emotions (or deciding to let them run free).