Tuesday 2 June 2009

games that respond to our emotional state

Just read on the BBC website about a new Microsoft video game controller, which offers the possibility of games that recognise the expressions on our face and respond accordingly.
Steven Spielberg was at the launch:

"The video games industry has not allowed us the opportunity to cry, because we were too busy putting our adrenalin rush into the controller, or wherever we swing our arm with a Wii controller to get a result," he said.

"Because of that, there is no room for a video game to break your heart. We now have a little more room to be a little more emotional with Natal technology than we did before."

I found Steven Spielberg's comments slightly disturbing, but I suppose making video games that really upset people may be something that games designers want? It could be another design principle for pervasive media people to think about; not just how addictive we make experiences, but how much we manipulate people's emotions.