Rogue-like Doom

[SwissMercenary]

I have had some vertigo episodes after long hours in FPS sessions. Mostly it is not a sick feeling, more of a trippy wierdness where the world wobbles in some strange movements I'm not ready for.

Doom3 made me queasy though, but I'm not sure why. It might have been the lighting, gore and motion all combined together, but I can take them all when seperated. FPS like Counterstrike, dark and moody like Thief, or gore... Ok, maybe it was the gore... The thought of spending hours playing a game like Redwood Falls blowing body parts off zombies I think would make me a little queasy too.

I think it's something along the lines of the Uncanny Valley, except it's in regards to character movement. Unlike CS, Thief, and most of the old FPSes, your point of view in Doom 3 is not just a floating camera... Sliding inheritant in the movement, and the 'odd' jumping is probably what triggered it in you. At least Doom 3 didn't take it to an extreme, like Thief: DS did.

[pakman]

I have had some vertigo episodes after long hours in FPS sessions. Mostly it is not a sick feeling, more of a trippy wierdness where the world wobbles in some strange movements I'm not ready for.

Doom3 made me queasy though, but I'm not sure why. It might have been the lighting, gore and motion all combined together, but I can take them all when seperated. FPS like Counterstrike, dark and moody like Thief, or gore... Ok, maybe it was the gore... The thought of spending hours playing a game like Redwood Falls blowing body parts off zombies I think would make me a little queasy too.

I have been queasy during/after playing an FPS. The ones that comes to mind immediately are Half Life 2 (which I loved, but after long sessions I somehow started feeling sick), Doom 3, FEAR (another great one, but I felt sick sometimes), and a few others I can't recall at the moment. Thief 3 really wasn't that bad for me, and I've played counter strike for hours and hours on end without feeling anything, however, the Counter Strike: Source, did make me feel weird after about an hour or so. I have also gotten queasy watching other people play games.

[Hammerskjold]

> Maybe it's a good thing those VR glasses never really did catch on. People having symptoms 15 hours after playing Heretic for 20 minutes... if it was like that under normal gaming conditions these games would have been banned years ago. It would be interesting to have a study involving newer games on widescreen monitors vs. regular to see if widescreen results in a higher number of symptoms (although I guess widescreens aren't really that wide).

Yep, them VR helmets\shades at least popular gaming wise, is pretty much dead right now. I did try a tennis game on Virtual-Boy once in a ToysRus, now that was truly scary.

Again speaking mostly out of my own unscientific view, maybe until wall sized projector screen is the norm, the problems right now seems to be treated the same way as those epileptic seizure warning from video games. That is, put a disclaimer warning on the box or in a readme file during installation or such. Most people I know that can't stand FPS games because they make them feel dizzy etc, well, won't buy or rent them so it's sort of solves that 'problem'. I'm not saying there is no problem, but some people seem to be more sensitive to it than others, and they usually refrain from playing them for obvious reasons. Although I'm curious if exposure is any factor as well, are some players more sensitive because they don't play FPS much, or they don't play them because they are sensitive?


>When it comes to my own gaming health though, I'm much more worried about permanent handwrist damage. Neither the rapid key inputs of Angband nor the constantly left-clicking of Diablo are particularly healthy for the hands.

True, one thing I wished the Diablo series had was a gamepad support. I prefer FPS with the standard keyboard & mouse setup, but for something like Diablo a gamepad is a lot more comfortable for my taste. Hell the rare chance I do play D1\Hellfire these days I usually use an autoclicker program, saves my finger and my mouse.

ps. Merlinios, I looked at some info on GuildWars, and while I'd say it has almost everything I'm looking for. Or at least willing to settle for at the moment, there was one deal breaker for me. Unless the newest version changed things, it says it's does not have an offline mode, even for single player. Too bad really since otherwise it has a lot of features that I wanted.

[Merlinios]

ps. Merlinios, I looked at some info on GuildWars, and while I'd say it has almost everything I'm looking for. Or at least willing to settle for at the moment, there was one deal breaker for me. Unless the newest version changed things, it says it's does not have an offline mode, even for single player. Too bad really since otherwise it has a lot of features that I wanted.

Bummer. Guess I'll take my advertising elsewhere. I love the game so much that sometimes I feel like a mascot, but I can see that it's not for everyone.

--me

[Munkay]

Although I'm curious if exposure is any factor as well, are some players more sensitive because they don't play FPS much, or they don't play them because they are sensitive?

Now that I'm getting on in my years (the tenderly young age of 21;)), I've noticed a change in my stomach when it comes to FPS gaming. When I was in my mid teens I played a lot of FPS' like Quake 2, etc. Now that I'm older my skill is still preserved in long matches of Halo or Unreal
"I can't believe they are still making these" Tournaments, but sometimes my vision/stomach is not. Halo hasn't proved a problem, even with increased sensitivity on the double joysticks. But Unreal in particular has left me slightly "sea sick" when watching others play, or after very long sessions. I personally think it has to do with going from playing an FPS once every couple days, to playing once every 2-4 weeks.

True, one thing I wished the Diablo series had was a gamepad support. I prefer FPS with the standard keyboard & mouse setup, but for something like Diablo a gamepad is a lot more comfortable for my taste. Hell the rare chance I do play D1\Hellfire these days I usually use an autoclicker program, saves my finger and my mouse.

Funny you mention that, I vaguely recall playing some abonimation resembling Diablo for a console system - playstation 1 was it? For the Diablo series I love the tried and true clicker. It may sound odd, but I often play RTS's like Warcraft and Age of Empires unhindered on my laptop with only the red button. But yet when I boot up Diablo or Diablo II, without a USB mouse plugged in I can't play it.

...I did try a tennis game on Virtual-Boy once in a ToysRus, now that was truly scary.

Virtual Boy! Now that is something I forgot about completely. And you sir, are entirely correct about the truly scary part :D

Cheers,

Munk