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Input Devices Entertainment Games

Device Reduces Stress While Gaming 133

Posted by CmdrTaco from the or-just-in-bad-traffic dept.
Bayscribe writes "Vyro Games, a Dublin Ireland company, unveils a device today that forces you to relax while playing games. It is called a PiP, or "Personal Input Pod," and it measures things like the moisture in your hand to assess whether you're stressed. If you're showing signs of stress, your performance in a game deteriorates. If you relax, you do much better. The PiP communicates wirelessly with software on devices such as mobile phones, PCs or games consoles... If you relax, the dragon spreads its wings and flies. If not, it stumbles all over the place."
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Device Reduces Stress While Gaming

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  • Imagine that on a gaming competition show! (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday September 24, 2007 @09:48AM (#20728111)
    Yep! It's on now folks! Our competators are sitting in their bean-bag chairs and are completely relaxed. It's really exciting, two have even fallen asleep!

    Wait, this is the most boring competition ever. I'm breaking for lunch.

  • moisture in your hand... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Spy der Mann ( 805235 ) <`moc.liamg' `ta' `todhsals.nnamredyps'> on Monday September 24, 2007 @09:49AM (#20728121) Homepage Journal
    like the moisture in your hand to assess whether you're stressed.

    In other words, whenever your palm gets sweaty, you're stressed. And I'm supposed tu buy an expensive device to tell me that? O.o

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anne_Nonymous ( 313852 )
      Serious gamers all keep kleenex right by their computers to, uh, dry their sweaty palms.
    • Sounds like the end of one hand typing has we know it.
    • Well, if you think it's so pointless then I suggest you tell them about it [vyro-games.com].
    • I seriously thought that read "moisture in your asses"

    • RELAX IMMEDATELY!

      Ever notice the parents in the grocery store? *shake* *shake* *shake* CALM DOWN RIGHT NOW! *shake*

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AVee ( 557523 )
      "In other words, whenever your palm gets sweaty, you're stressed. And I'm supposed tu buy an expensive device to tell me that?"

      Yes, you're a gamer, you sole existence depends on buying overpriced pointless hardware. You ego depends in the price of your 'rig', so expensive is good.
      Go, buy it, it will work even better when combined with a killer nic [killernic.com]. You do have one of those do you?

      Besides, there is has Pod and a lower case i in it's name. How can it not be totally cool?
    • It doesn't just tell you, it forces you to deal with it and reduce your stress in order to perform well at some task. Biofeedback, basically.

  • I sweat profusely and uncontrollably (Score:3, Funny)

    by InvisblePinkUnicorn ( 1126837 ) on Monday September 24, 2007 @09:50AM (#20728129)
    I'll never be relaxed because my dragon ain't going nowhere no matter how relaxed I get.

  • I have a better idea (Score:4, Funny)

    by patio11 ( 857072 ) on Monday September 24, 2007 @09:51AM (#20728145)
    1) Wire up the Microsoft headset with firmware which detects excessive swearing, racial slurs, and other anti-social behavior...
    2) ... and causes you to de-buff your damage and resistance if you're the one doing it, to the point where a butterfly flapping its wings in China has already killed you in Halo 3.
    3) ????
    4) Profit. And you just saved the sanity of the rest of the world, too.

    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      by PhoenixOne ( 674466 )

      I'd be happy if it just cut their microphone when they got stressed.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by patio11 ( 857072 )
        You know, I like your idea enough to compromise: we should both debuff their avatars and cut off their microphones. And, if there is money left over in the production budget, we should detonate a shaped charge in their earpiece.

        • ...or call their moms and play-back what they just said.

          The result would be a lot like a shaped charge, but less messy. ;)

  • So calm, until... (Score:5, Funny)

    by IndustrialComplex ( 975015 ) on Monday September 24, 2007 @09:52AM (#20728153)
    The dragon's cruising along.... crap he is getting lower. Oh NO DAMN IT! It's falling. I've got to get him back up. Come on, FLY. FLY YOU GOD DAMNED DRAGON. Ahhh crap! ...

    Now, I've got to go load up an FPS to releave the stress I generated keeping that damned thing flying.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Speare ( 84249 )

      The secret is: "There is no dragon."

      I'm not sure why this is considered new. It's just the same biofeedback we saw in the 70s, with new glitz spat upon it. I can imagine the Nintendo DS version now: Wario Yawned, with fifty microgames to test how fast you can get your zen on.

      • I was actually thinking of a game I played in Epcot. Simple helicopter game where it flew higher the calmer you were, but as you got stressed, it lost altitude obviously causing more stress.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Tacvek ( 948259 )
          Yeah the making it harder when stressed could be a problem. First of all when you are stressed the game is naturally harder (less clear minded and focused). Making it even harder seems wrong. However, if one does manage the skill of quickly killing off stress, the game remains easy. Then later with other games (not supporting this system) hopefully you will be able to apply the same technique, and thus not get stressed making this unrelated game easier, due to the lack of the naturally difficulty stress can
    • Exactly, it would just piss me off more if the dragon was more difficult to control.
      • Though my original statement was just intended to be funny, this thing seems little more than a mood ring, something that requires no active interaction. You could glance at it every 5 minutes or so and keep track of your stress, much like you would monitor your heartbeat if you were running on a treadmill. Though it does seem a bit overkill of a solution to something I didn't really know was a problem.

        Though I suppose it could reduce the cost of controller replacement for those who suffer from 'Nintendo-
        • Stress is a huge problem for women.

          I don't mean to come acress as a sexist here, but I feel that men either don't stress as much, or are better at dealing with it/hiding it, while women tend to become noticably wrecked under stress.
          • That's probably a social thing; women are taught its ok to show they are stressed or to stress over everything. I don't think there's anything inherently about women that would make them unable to deal. We wouldn't have gotten very far as a species if they were like that.

  • Really ticked off (Score:5, Funny)

    by anton544 ( 1142525 ) on Monday September 24, 2007 @09:52AM (#20728155)
    What does the dragon do when I throw my controller up the side of my monitor? Die a horrible death?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by faloi ( 738831 )
      What does the dragon do when I throw my controller up the side of my monitor? Die a horrible death?

      Nah, it chuckles to itself as it uses credit card info stored on your computer to buy another controller, and monitor just in case. Any maybe something nice for itself when you're gone.

    • What does the dragon do when I throw my controller up the side of my monitor?
      I think maybe you'd find your anger more easily dissipated if you threw your controller *at* your monitor. Double points for throwing it at the *front* of your monitor.

  • Work (Score:1, Funny)

    by reabbotted ( 871820 )
    A job might be a better place to use this than video games. I know I'm a lot more stressed at work than when I'm playing DS. Clippy could start throwing up on your screen if you're working too hard.

  • Rex needs this (Score:4, Funny)

    by EmperorKagato ( 689705 ) * <sakamura@gmail.com> on Monday September 24, 2007 @09:55AM (#20728197) Homepage Journal

    He said other applications can be developed for the product. Professional sports players, for example, can use it to find ways to relax before competition.
    Should have given one of these to Rex Grossman last night.

    • Re: (Score:1, Offtopic)

      by everphilski ( 877346 )
      I'm not sure anything can help Rex Grossman. Then again, I kinda like being on the top of the NFC.

      Signed, a Packer fan.

  • Old... very, very old (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    The only "new" about this is the idea of using it while playing computer games (re-inventive). The same devices were very popular in the end of the 60s and early 70s, and you found repeated schematics for them in every electronics magazine out there. The most common ones back then measured alpha and/or beta waves (if I recall correctly) from brain activity and controlled oscillators with this, triggering people to relax to reduce the sound, or simply controlling the sound by controlled relaxation.

    • Re:Old... very, very old (Score:5, Informative)

      by @madeus ( 24818 ) <slashdot_24818@mac.com> on Monday September 24, 2007 @10:20AM (#20728469)
      I know this story has been posted a few times, coming up every 2-3 years since at least the 80's (that I know of), and it does the rounds in the TV and newspapers too.

      It's been a "fish that swims and grows as you relax" and "an animal that evolves (from a fish to a lizard to a monkey) as you relax" this time apparently it's an insect. It's usually funded by University research grant (a waste of money IMO, especially when it's public funds) and with pumped up headlines like "games of the future to be controlled by your mind".

      As you say, really simple stuff, I'm really sick of reading about this same "advancement"/"new technology" over and over. I'll probably *still* be reading "news" about it when I'm an old man.
      • I misread "dragon" as "dragonflies" (which for some reason I've been thinking about a lot lately).
      • Ah it is even older: back in the days, if you were all stressed and sweaty while punching your punchcards, they would get soggy and clog up in the card reader! That really forced you to relax!

        Anyone who can make up an older example :p

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Zerth ( 26112 )
          If you were too stressed you could sweat on the vacuum tubes, which would make them pop a lot faster.
          If you were too stressed you could sweat on the Jacquard looms, which would make them gum up.
          If you were too stressed you could sweat on the abacus strings, which actually made them slide better.
          When Ogg sweat on rocks, rocks change colors. But rocks dry and change back, so must re-sweat to keep data. Ogg invent DRAM.
    • i had to do this in some sort of therapy when i was 6.

      It was some stupid tortise and the hare game in which i could win as the tortise based on how relaxed I was...and I had to hold these 2 sensor things in my hands.

      how is this new thing 'new'?

  • Depends on the game (Score:4, Interesting)

    by PlatyPaul ( 690601 ) on Monday September 24, 2007 @09:57AM (#20728219) Homepage Journal
    ... and on how you play it. Think, first and foremost, about how you play a FPS. Those who favor snipers need a steady aim and patience - the stress-free style. However, those who favor blitzkrieg moves (or leapfrog-style run-and-gun in a small team) need to be quick and erratic - the hyped-up style. Besides which, consider the time of play: for those who end up playing long into the night, a rush is needed to keep on top of things.

    It's no surprise, then, that stimulants are so common [tomsgames.com]. I'm actually pretty surprised that they aren't selling energy drinks with added Diazepam [wikipedia.org] to counteract the jitters....

  • Biometrics (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Dan East ( 318230 ) on Monday September 24, 2007 @09:57AM (#20728221) Journal
    These people should be making lie detectors! Really, I don't see how this could work well universally. Personally, my palms don't sweat much, but I know people whose do very easily. Pretty much if they hold onto something, regardless if they are stressed or not, their hand will become very sweaty. These biometrics vary so much from person to person I don't see how this could work very well. The system would also have to take environmental factors into consideration, like temperature and humidity.

    Dan East
    • From TFA:

      The company, which has three employees in Ireland, and two in a Santa Clara, Calif. office, has two other games, including Storm Chaser, where storms and wind howl until you relax, at which point, the sun comes out and birds start chirping, and Lie Detective, which gets more interesting because it detects whether youre lying or not.

      So, yes, they already have a lie detector. Using electrodermal activity to detect lies has been around for ages [howstuffworks.com]... these guys are just engineering it nicely. Good f

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by nuzak ( 959558 )
        > Using electrodermal activity to detect lies has been around for ages...

        Yes, and it's never been anything but pseudoscience and snake oil. Time and time again, lie detectors have done no better than chance when subjected to double-blind tests.
    • If you RTFA one of the 'games' they make is in fact called "Lie Detector".

      I agree though, something like this could be an interesting gimmick for a game, but it wouldn't work for any real MP games.. i think it'd be to easy to cheat at.
    • Actually galvanic skin response [wikipedia.org] is a pretty widely used technique that actually does work for detecting changes in "arousal" (not necessarily sexual arousal in particular). As for GSR differing between people, depending on the temperature, etc., the secret is that you're looking for short-term changes in GSR in response to stimuli, not absolute levels of conductance.

      I think this could be a cool way to learn to be aware of and control stress.

    • Personally, my palms don't sweat much, but I know people whose do very easily. Pretty much if they hold onto something, regardless if they are stressed or not, their hand will become very sweaty. These biometrics vary so much from person to person I don't see how this could work very well.

      Perhaps because... The product works by first establishing a baseline set of characteristics for the user. It finds things like the normal level of moisture in your hand, and then works by detecting the slightest bit of variance from that baseline level.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by HTH NE1 ( 675604 )

        Vyro Games, a Dublin Ireland company, unveils a device today that forces you to relax while playing games. It is called a PiP, or "Personal Input Pod," and it measures things like the moisture in your hand to assess whether you're stressed.

        The product works by first establishing a baseline set of characteristics for the user. It finds things like the normal level of moisture in your hand, and then works by detecting the slightest bit of variance from that baseline level.

        So you can cheat not only by putting on a pair of "gaming gloves" but also by submerging the controller in a fishbowl during its initial calibration?

    • These biometrics vary so much from person to person I don't see how this could work very well.

      According to TFA, the device measures a personal baseline, and then interprets deviations from the baseline as stress. Although, for someone who is stressed all the time, I'm not sure how that would be useful.

      --Rob

  • Problem? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Jarjarthejedi ( 996957 ) <christianpinch@g ... om minus painter> on Monday September 24, 2007 @09:58AM (#20728225) Journal
    So basically if you're stressed, you do horrible in the game...which makes you more stressed, which makes you do worse in the game...

    One would think that stressed people would need to have an easier time in order to unwind, not be forced to unwind to have an easier time. I know that when I play I want the game to be easy when I'm stressed (I love just blowing through a couple of levels really easily, makes me feel 'in control' which helps de-stress me) and hard when I'm not, not the other way around.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by grimJester ( 890090 )
      A stress-reinforcing feedback loop might be common at first, but I suspect you actually learn to relax when you get clear feedback from working yourself up. Imagine a situation at work when you're stressed - when you realize you are stressed and just making things worse, you can really force yourself to relax.

      I'd be more afraid of getting used to that feedback and not being able to relax without it...

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Minwee ( 522556 )

        A stress-reinforcing feedback loop might be common at first, but I suspect you actually learn to relax when you get clear feedback from working yourself up.

        Yes. You might learn to not play the silly little flying dragon game that works so hard to get you stressed out.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by dave562 ( 969951 )
        You're right on the money with that. I did some biofeedback about a decade ago as a way of dealing with ADD. The place that I did it at (the Drake Institute) had many different programs, but in my case I was working with delta and theta waves. There is a "hyper concentrated" state that will bring the two waves close together, but it shows up as muscle tension. The polar opposite of that hyper concentrated state is focused relaxation.

        I'd be more afraid of getting used to that feedback and not being able

  • First test.... (Score:3, Funny)

    by martyb ( 196687 ) on Monday September 24, 2007 @10:02AM (#20728273)
    FTFS:

    If you relax, the dragon spreads its wings and flies. If not, it stumbles all over the place.

    Hmmm, this sounds interesting. Let's give it a try!

    • configures stuff
    • plugs it in
    • starts game

    Hey! This is great! I feel SO relaxed. Oops. Oh-oh. Oh Noes!!! My dragon she be stumbling!!! I gots to RELAX! RIGHT NOW !!!!!! ARGHHHH!!!!!!!

    Doesn't seem to help much. :/

    • Hey! This is great! I feel SO relaxed. Oops. Oh-oh. Oh Noes!!! My dragon she be stumbling!!! I gots to RELAX! RIGHT NOW !!!!!! ARGHHHH!!!!!!!

      If this is how upset you get playing a video game, perhaps it's best that you don't play.
    • Oh Noes!!! My dragon she be stumbling!!! I gots to RELAX! RIGHT NOW !!!!!! ARGHHHH!!!!!!!

      Why am I suddenly reminded of psygnosis' Lemmings?

  • This is beyond stupid (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Sciros ( 986030 ) on Monday September 24, 2007 @10:07AM (#20728325) Journal
    If your hands are sweaty it means you're stressed? Wow how about it means you've been holding a controller for a while, or it's really warm where you're at, or you generally sweat easy (not a bad thing afaik) and your palms get sweaty when you're holding something? (this will probably be 'redundant' because I'm sure a bunch of folks have typed this same thing faster than me ^_^)

    This is almost like saying if you have an elevated heart rate it means you're frightened.

    The folks that made this device are playing their clients/customers for chumps.
  • It seems to me this has been done before as Journey to Wild Divine [justadventure.com]. I suppose that wasn't as portable, though.

  • It should monitor chat instead (Score:3, Funny)

    by Hoi Polloi ( 522990 ) on Monday September 24, 2007 @10:13AM (#20728397) Journal
    The next model will monitor your chat for stress.

    "You cheater! Noobs! You homos! He's glitching! You"
  • Completely useless. How will this help anyone game?
    Unless you're into those kind of Barbie-Pony games... But even then I'm not so sure.

    This is the first interesting piece of technology I've seen come from my country, yet still it's not even worth developing.
    • These guys did a demo at an Accenture "Team Day" (Attendance mandatory) I was stuck in about two and a half years ago. Talk about a vortex of pointlessness. A company with no real innovations showing a demo of a moisture sensor attached to the most pointless game in history to the whole countries collection of Accenture drones who'd been listening to reports of how great the company was and how happy we all were to be in the company for the previous 5 hours.

      As I recall, I bailed as soon as the manager watch
  • They could make it so that the dragon feels your stress and makes it harder to pilot the dragon until you become less stressful.

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Monday September 24, 2007 @10:15AM (#20728427)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by morari ( 1080535 )
      You're that guy that squeals during "scary" scenes and gasps during obvious "twists" at the movie theater, aren't you? I hate you.
    • Are we really sure we want to train people to be able to kill a bunch of people, decapitate enemies, stalk people etc. without getting an elevated heart rate? Myabe this would be a great serial killer training device. :D

      Jack Thompson, is that you?!
  • Does this mean we can expect to see Fatal1ty branded anti-perspirant on the market soon?

  • Finally... (Score:4, Funny)

    by OglinTatas ( 710589 ) on Monday September 24, 2007 @10:24AM (#20728541)
    A dragon flight control scheme worse than Lair
  • ...you die. Yeah, that usually works.

  • This is similar to an idea I once had (Score:5, Interesting)

    by hey! ( 33014 ) on Monday September 24, 2007 @10:31AM (#20728657) Homepage Journal
    for cars.

    You'd have a device which monitored physiological measures of stress and aggression in the driver, as well as behavioral measures such as weaving, blowing the horn, etc.. A heads up display would score the driver's net aggression score: green, yellow or red

    After half a minute or so in the red zone, the sustained speed available to the driver would begin to drop. He could still accelerate for emergency maneuvering, but only for a few seconds, after which power to the engine would be reduced. After such a maneuver, his speed limit would drop even more unless he moved his physiological stress markers towards baseline, which would always be rewarded by an upward increment of speed. At the worst case, a speed limit would be enforced which would not be unsafe in the right lane of a highway, say 40mph or so. After a minute at this bottom level, a visual signal would alert others to the presence of a dangerous driver, and the driver would be legally required to find a place to stop and cool off.

    Eventually, operant conditioning would result in drivers automatically modulating their stress levels when behind the wheel. People would learn to keep the needle on the green, zooming to their destinations with unlimited speed, arriving relaxed and refreshed. Even with traffic, they'd be able to monitor their stress levels and would be trained to limit it.
  • Sort of like an anal probe?
  • If my raid isn't sweating profously / cringing at what I last called them or high enough not to notice then they aint working hard enough!

  • It is called a PiP, or "Personal Input Pod,"
    I wish they would just be straight with us and admit it will be marketed as the "Personal I-Pod" :-)

  • Great... (Score:2, Funny)

    by TyFighter ( 189732 )
    Another thing to worry about while playing games. I'm already worried to death that Shamblers are going to get me, now I have to worry that the Shamblers can tell I'm worried. You've just given video games the ability to smell fear.

  • I was actually just thinking about this today, as graduate school has caused all sorts of stress in my life.

    Some people exercise to reduce stress, some people drink, some people have sex, and the list goes on. Some people play video games to relieve stress, and you can't do that if you're forced to relax. The whole idea of relieving stress is to take out anger and frustration in ways that won't harm anyone. So this whole idea is crap.

    As aside because I know someone will comment - certainly some ways

  • I really hope the device helps you and just connects when you have connection problems in multiplayer games, or when the hardcore tech advises you to restart your DSL modem for the 42nd time, even though ALL GAMES work, but one ....

    Games do not stress me. Work does. Dealing with support does....... anyhow the idea could not work in FPS too well..... you need tension there ....

    unless they make me fall in an epileptic shock (in the game) when my hand is sweating ... or make my character run into a corner, cr
  • I have one of these. It's called a bong.
  • Why not to use simpler solution and stop playing stressful games?
  • I know the games on at least one airline (sorry can't remember but I think Continental, otherwise NW or UA) has games in the lcd in front of you that are tricked.. they seem to make it easy for you to win on purpose to reduce your stress. Of course they are therefore not too interesting.

  • "Relax and Race," where two people control a dragon, and the goal is to race a course as fast as possible.

    Because I am most relaxed when playing a racing game head-to-head against someone else... Wouldn't a more appropriate theme have been to control a floating Buddha around a screen, collecting jade statues or some such?

  • Ain't it the other way 'round, rather? I mean, think about it: When you play a game for the n-th time and build up again to the point where you failed last time (and lost your save games in the meantime), do you really sweat for those first few levels? Then think back, did you when you played it the first time and didn't have the moves down to the point where you don't even think about pressing the 'right' buttons anymore?

    I had a similar revelation lately, when I tried a new class in an MMORPG. I've been pl
  • ...I remember seeing a Tetris game where you clip something to your ear to take your pulse, and the game would slow down when you got too stressed. Same idea, opposite goal; bailing the player out instead of forcing them to stay calm.
  • This devices causes what's known as a positive feedback loop: you're going poorly in your game, so you get stressed. The device detects this and degrades performance, which makes you even more stressed. Repeat until your frustration approaches infinity and your game performance reaches negative infinity.
  • I play videogames to relax in the first place. It's all about release. This sounds very contradictory to the point of the entire hobby. Maybe it could be used to make sure grandpa doesn't burst an artery while in some game where hes trying to cap a flag and being fragged and insulted every two seconds.
  • Now if they did it the opposite way - making it easier when you're stressed, and harder when you're relaxed, it would actually make for a stess-busting fun game that's conducive to flow http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology) [wikipedia.org].

    As it is, it just lurks in wait to stress you out a bit, then spiral into unplayability - unless of course you don't care about the game whatsoever, in which case you shouldn't be playing.
  • So what happens if the device detects so much stress that it determines the only way to make you relax is to kill you? "RUN, ATREYU! RUN!!"
  • Yeah, I take it this controller won't work very well for Silent Hill. If you aren't stressed, you aren't playing the game right.

    Though this does remind me of the computers in a sci-fi book I was reading, the Species Imperative series by Julie Czerneda. Her computers monitor you for fatigue (breathing, droopy eyes, etc). Then they start popping up warnings saying "Hey, you're getting tired. Stop working in 15 minutes". The warnings get progressively more intrusive. Eventually, the computer saves your wo

  • Bah. (Score:2)

    by Pyrion ( 525584 )
    If they want to do something about frustration, get rid of that fucking 20-second respawn timer in TF2.
  • I bought a device that basically warns you when your head is too close to the monitor. No more leaning forwards over the keyboard.

    It uses some kind of range finder to work and sits on top of the monitor. Brilliant for posture.
  • When i play competitive CS I notice that i get a surge of adrenaline.. it seems to make my reactions quicker and my brain race.. i usually have to step away for 30 minutes to calm down enough to sleep (when playing nights).. i like the rush and it helps me.. why would i purposely buy something to counter act this effect?

    Newsflash.. intense gameplay might make you edgy? Film at 11?
  • I can't imagine this game being useful for anything except children's games and young children. For me, playing Quake Wars, CSS, Far Cry, etc. I'm going to get pissed, edgy, aggravated, what have you. A device that makes my character perform worse than I probably already am as the controller of the character is just going to make me that much angrier, not calm me down.

    Tell you what Vyro Games, you wanna calm me down when I start to stress? Hook up electrodes to the pleasure centers in my brain and stimulate
  • What? No Pip-Boy jokes? You people are letting me down...
  • What about those of us who do not exhibit sweaty palms when stressed? I am taking a beta-blocker called propranolol for treatment of a movement disorder. It works by blocking the effects of adrenaline on my body; as a side effect, it masks the physical symptoms of stress. My heart rate does not elevate, my palms do not sweat, and my breathing does not change. I don't even feel stressed most of the time, even though subconsciously I know when I am in over my head. It's unlikely this system will ever kno
  • Mindball! [wikipedia.org]

    The type of brain waves which help a player win are alpha waves and theta waves. They are usually greater when the player is more relaxed.
  • Shouldn't you be playing games to relieve stress, not create it? Shouldn't buying such a device and using it tell you something about how much time you're spending playing a game, and how much you're letting it get to you? Maybe what the thing should do is BSOD your computer and force you to do something else for fun that won't stress you out in the first place.

  • huh? (Score:2)

    by m2943 ( 1140797 )
    Isn't that missing the point? Why would I want to play a game and be "relaxed" in the way this device measures?
  • They call it a "fleshlight" or some such. I wouldn't know being married, but maybe she'd stop smacking the top of her head on the underside of the desk if I cut down pugging with those total noobs all the time.
  • A couple of clarifications on some of the previous comments (and yep - I work for Vyro Games): With the PIP you can play a variety of games, and some of those games, like Relax & Race, intentionally put you in a stressful situation. Why would anyone want to do that? Well, because it's an accurate reflection of real life. When do we get stressed? When something puts us under pressure. By practising with a game like Relax & Race for the PIP, you can learn what you need to do to reduce your stress pre

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