Emotiv unveils thought-based controls

This really would turn us into a nation of zombies.

Holy shit.

I don't see how this could be fun, or how this would somehow enhance existing games.
If you had games designed specifically around that idea maybe.
But as it stands I don't see what's *fun* in controlling a game with your mind past the first couple minutes of discovery. If the system is really solid it might make some games easier, so it might be interesting from a competition or performance standpoint but that's all.

You can't wear that thing if you have an afro or some other thick hair cut, right?

I see this being a niche product.. It'll be great for people who are paralized/disabled.. but having to strap somethig on your head in order to play doesnt seem like its going to be a comfertable experience for the casual gamer.

I also dont see the M/K, controler so "rock hammer" as people try to push it as being when introducing new technology. Sure 1000 years from now, it will be. But in todays time, its a great way to play/interact. You're using your hands in cordnation with your brain, which is after all the best tools we have been given ( evolved if you like ), and is very stimulating. The idea of just using my brain/head/face mucsles to control something on screen doesnt seem very interesting. I'm sure for specific games it'll be a blast, but I dont see consoles building itself around this idea, not anytime in my lifetime I would assume.

I think this will be more useful for people who build certain software programs around this idea ( cad, 3dmax, ect ) and are trying to find new ways to push productivity that much faster/farther.

I was just wondering what Ed Fries was doing.

Any new Psi-Ops would be awesome :(

I played a thought-controlled game at Wired's NextFest this year. It was kinda interesting.

Doesn't the average male think about sex every 6 minutes? I wonder how these things filter out all THAT. :)

Hasn't the military had something like this for years? I seem to remember a History Channel show that had someone leading a ball through a maze with nothing but his thoughts. A this was a few years ago so maybe they have shrunk it down a little.

How does the system know which thoughts to act on though? It reminds me of the BDS system form Macross plus ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YF-21 ). That system had issues where it would pick up on any stray thought so the pilot had to be very well trained. Normally harmless thoughts, such as imagining punching an annoying person in the face, would be acted upon.

I would wait for some long term studies to make sure this doesn't screw your brain up. I seem to remember some rumors about a headset that projected a HUD right onto the eye but ended up blinding the test subjects.

Could be cool someday though.

I dunno. I saw the emotiv demo, and while it was interesting, I wasn't all that impressed by it. it's not so much "thoughts" as it is "how your brain acts when you perform a certain motion" -- think of something like the wii without the wiimote, but with a headcap. their GDC demo was horrendously controlled - conference-goers could only see it through glass panels, looking into a room where emotiv employees were demonstrating the technology.

More direct brain stuff is next. Cooperation between brain and machine to create something 1000x (arbitrary number) greater than the caveman-esque (heh) PS3, 360, and DX10 shit available now. No more of this passive experience nonsense.

Back in the mid-90s there was technology called the MindDrive. It was a sensor you put your finger on, and would interpret thought signals for directional viewpoints...there was a bowling game, a skiing game and a couple of other things.

As a game system, it was a little wonky. It worked, but not terribly well. What it was *really* made for (even if the designers didn't embrace this fully at the time) is as an interface for the disabled. They eventually released a mouse driver (for DOS), and there are still places that use it today.

Funny story: I worked at a place where we had one in the office...I got it working with mouselook in Quake 1. It was weeeeeeird.

I don't think there's much use for this as gaming technology, no more than smell-o-vision. The creators should really put their efforts to those people who will truly benefit from this kind of technology.

i can't see anyone wanting to wear that, especially casual gamers.

I truly fear what would happen if social networks like Facebook or MySpace implemented thought-based controls. People would just stare at the screen for hours without moving a muscle.

CrunchGear has a longer report on the technology.

http://crunchgear.com/2007/03/08/emotiv-project-epoc-sensory-gaming-for-the-masses/

whoaaaaaaaaaaaaa

now that you mention psi-ops, I never finished that... I'll happily be a guinea pig to test this system with that game!!!!!! great call!

:D

So now developers will scan our thoughts automatically and say 'wow, they really do think this game sucks and wonder if the patch will fix it'. :)

Forget Psi-Ops, thought-controlled Jedi Knight is what this thing was made for.