New breakthrough: thought-controlled shmups

[Thunder Force]

Amazing.

The days of attacking aliens with a joystick could soon be over thanks to a breakthrough technique where a teenager played Space Invaders using only signals from his brain.

With a technique that takes data from the surface of the brain, a 14-year-old boy from St. Louis was able to play the two-dimensional Atari game without so much as lifting a finger

"He cleared out the whole Level One basically on brain control," said Eric Leuthardt, a researcher at the School of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis. "He learned almost instantaneously. We then gave him a more challenging version in two-dimensions and he mastered two levels there playing only with his imagination."

(Source URL)

[Damocles]

Hmm....theoretically cuts reaction time because there is no mechanical device to interfere with pure reactions. Will definately have to keep up with this...

...might be able to finally put my psych degree to use.

[SFKhoa]

I can picture Ketsui being no-missed by pretty much anyone using this technology.

[Triple Lei]

And as always, Mode7 is years ahead of us...

http://www.free-conversant.com/gaming_journals/1045

[Thunder Force]

Sure, primitive brain signalling devices have been researched for years, but nothing as sophisticated has been reported as the prototype being reported here. Certainly I've never heard of anything functional enough to play shmups with before.

I guess Firefox is not far away now, either.

[iatneH]

Hmm to get through this swarm of bullets, I'll need to... OMG BOOBS!

[Ceph]

People enjoy having some kind of steering wheel in their hands; like holding a remote control. Removing any physical link is probably against human nature; our evolution hasn't come far enough and we still are mostly physical beings relying on touch rather than thought - we aren't meant to all be like Steven Hawking. Besides, if that worked really well I have a feeling it would make shooters too easy.

[Icarus]

Hmm to get through this swarm of bullets, I'll need to... OMG BOOBS!

Breasts. The primary cause of all shmup-related deaths.

[eretsua]

I’ve heard of people playing pong with their brain(‘s alpha-waves, I think). Supposedly you are quite easily able to learn how to manipulate those brainwaves in order make happen on the screen what you want to. Also it’s supposed to be very addictive controlling a game with your brainwaves. From the study that I heard about people didn’t really wanted to stop playing pong.

[Daigohji]

I guess Firefox is not far away now, either.

Which brings up an interesting point--would we have to think in Japanese to play imports? Migi migi migi, hidari hidari migi, Hadou Da!

This tech is nothing new. These prototype alpha wave "brain sticks" have been in the news section of gaming mags for decades. I remember seeing one in Sinclair User, in fact, though that might have been an April Fool's joke ^_^

[D]

I'm really interested as to how it works, I don't think it's easy to make it glitch free. I think it is hard to implement this. I am very sceptical. He cleared some simple game on simple settings. Playing a manic shmup is another thing. Your brain will be filled with thoughts, like wow how beautiful is this game, etc.
Perhaps it could be combined. Do simple things with your mind, but the hard parts with a controller.
Where are the details? I have an idea as to how it works. But I think we are light years away from peripherals that we can buy for this.
Fascinating.
The comment that shmups will be too easy is offcourse a little daft. If shmups would become too easy. All shmups could be rereleased with extreme difficulty modes and we would really have ULTRA manic shmups in HD and mind control. Wow, the future is looking good.

[Ceph]

The comment that shmups will be too easy is offcourse a little daft.

Let me try to dispel the feeling of daftness my comment caused for you. If we left shmups the way they are now and control by thoughts worked really well, then you could simply think your ship into the the empty spaces between bullets. If we'd make shmups much faster/more cluttered than they currently are it would eventually cause sensory overload. There is a limit to how much additional information can be processed by the human brain while other tasks are being performed; even speech is a task that pushes the human brain to the limit.

I'm sure there would be a way to harness this techonoloy for entertainment purposes, but I'm not sure if what we currently define as shoot 'em ups would be it.

[UnscathedFlyingObject]

I hope positive thinking works 'cause I suck at manics.

[maxlords]

Ironically games like Image Fight and Download are much more apt now, being as the ships are supposed to have brain interfaces.....

If you're sleepy does your ship move slower?

[Shocky]

If we left shmups the way they are now and control by thoughts worked really well, then you could simply think your ship into the the empty spaces between bullets.

You're assuming that the ships would also be moving at the speed of thought, which wouldn't necessarily be the case. The main challenge would be the same as always, perceiving the patterns/developing situations and adapting, which isn't related to the controller.

I've been looking at some medical documents and came up with an idea: A shmup could draw its entire content from the players body.

-Levels: Ultrasound scans of the heart etc, that produce these scrolling, undulating caverns formed in real time.

-Sounds: The internal organs produce all kinds of sounds or movements which can be translated into sound effects and background "music".

-Enemies: This is still the big problem. Where to get intelligent enemies? Everything that can be easily detected in the body is quite random, the white blood cells and cooler stuff may be too small and fast to be useful.

-Weapons: Brain waves, heart beat. Different thoughts produce different waves that can easily be rendered on the screen as shots. Heart beat could be missiles or something.


Yeah, maybe I've played too much X-multiply and Microcosm.

[Dave_K.]

Interesting shocky, learn to control your ship, and heal your own body at the same time (via the supposed mind/body link).

[Klatrymadon]

Hmm to get through this swarm of bullets, I'll need to... OMG BOOBS!

Aye, the higgledy-piggledy, non-linear nature of human thought would make prolonged instances of such a feat nigh impossible, I'd imagine (on top of the problems previously outlined).

And besides, if I'm using my mind to control something, I'd much prefer it to be someone's intake of oxygen, Vader stylee.

[Gungriffon Geona]

I can picture Ketsui being no-missed by pretty much anyone using this technology.

where on earth did your avatar come from? I wanna model that thing so bad. T.T

Anyway, I wouldn't mind this at all. I could actually finish Bakraid on 1 credit then.
Shocky: that idea just disturbs me.

[Blade]

Here's what I see as possible development:

The ship moves based on thought algorhythm...what this means is, the brain observes the bullets coming at the ship and produces a movement calculation based on bullet trajectory to avoid this, the ship moves based on the calculation of where the bullets are NOT heading. So in other words you won't be controlling the ship by the purest definition, you'll be controlling the space the ship moves to based on bullet movement...I know that's hard to picture.

Of course, there is room for bad calculation and this would of course mean making 'mistakes' which is the lynchpin in all shmups, really.

Also, the thought occurs to me that we would be able to mentally control bullet firing intensity, mentally calculate the firing rate and boost it in some areas while not in others...this might be useful for critical 'burst shots' in some areas of a shmup (you've seen Ikaruga do this so I think you know what I mean).

Also, another factor that could come into play...multi-directional targeting and movement. The human brain is capable of processing image movement from just about any direction almost immediately as long as the visual stimulus is within 90 degress of the human's field of vision.

This means we would be able to intercept homing missiles, dodge multi-reflected lasers (no matter how complex the pattern as we have a natural anticipatory reflex for trajectory) and even anticipate the opening spots inside complex and narrow corridors so that navigating will be a breeze.

Lastly, as possibly a safety measure...use a sort of 'instant shield' ability that only takes up a little more 2/3rds the ship's size that would be triggered to go off every time we blink...the shield itself would be able to determine reflex blink from manually controlled blink (autonomic versus mental control they DO have seperate signals you know), so that as a mini protection against making mistakes like blinking at the wrong time would actually be beneficial as opposed to bothersome.

As for bombs...I think a power guage based on our mood/stress levels would be in order...the more stress we're under from the bullet stimulus the higher the guage...when full, it fires automatically based on low stress or high stress response.

Low stress would produce a big laser cannon ala Dodonpachi.

High stress would produce a screen-clearing mega bomb that lasted for a few seconds while also wiping bullets from the screen.

The "power guage" could be calibrated to a person's natural reactions to stress as it varies from person to person...also the game will calculate your stress levels based on pulse rate when exposed to overwhelming stimuli...so no "bomb cheating" would be possible.

[shiftace]

I can't decide if I think this will have any effect on shmup playing. Sure, you reduce eye-hand latency (by a negligible amount, I bet), but reflexes are nearly useless compared to memory. And how detailed is the control interface? Analog direction, or 8-way? How complex of a path can one construct in real time? I don't think that "think[ing] your ship into...empty spaces" is as easy as it sounds. I don't know how accurate the brain is at fine timekeeping, but I don't think it's very good. Of course, I'm no more of an expert than anyone else in the thread...

The article says that the teenager performed better than some adults doing the same experiment; so how does that compare to using a traditional controller, and how much of the difference can be explained by learning rates and practice? So many questions.

The human brain is capable of processing image movement from just about any direction almost immediately as long as the visual stimulus is within 90 degress of the human's field of vision.

I don't think this is right, and it's easy to respond to; I will cite things (1,2). In short, and approximately, it takes at least 150 ms to become aware (consciously) of a visual stimulus, and it takes 300-400 ms to make certain decisions about stimuli, with faster response in peripheral vision. I don't think this counts as "almost immediately." But I don't think response time is very important here, either.

[ED-057]

Removing any physical link is probably against human nature; our evolution hasn't come far enough

Ah but that's where Newtypes come in Just be thankful that they'll be using their powers for shmupping instead of say, throwing a tantrum while at the helm of a large piece of military equipment.

[Thunder Force]

I don't know how accurate the brain is at fine timekeeping, but I don't think it's very good. Of course, I'm no more of an expert than anyone else in the thread...

The article says that the teenager performed better than some adults doing the same experiment; so how does that compare to using a traditional controller...

If you want to take a closer look at how he plays using this control, I found a direct no-ads link to the shmup replay (Windows Streaming), direct from the Washington University in St. Louis site:

[url=mms://mediaserver.wustl.edu/mpa/brainGames/clip.wmv]World's first shmup replay using mind control[/url]

The first part of the video is his "training" where he still sends impulses to his fingers, and the second part of the video is 100% "hands free" shmup playing.

[Generiname]

Saw this on the news last night. My first reaction was 'I want a go of that'.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Believe it or not, Atari was experimenting with "mind control" processing for use with the Atari 2600 console back in 1983-1984 before the massive layoffs caused by the "Great Video Game Crash of 1983-1984". This Atari mind control device had a name: Mind Link...

The user wears a special headband across his or her forehead and hooks up the special interface to the 2600 to play some simple games using brain waves to control the game without using any actual game controllers whatsoever. Unfortunately, the head honchos at Atari Corp. axed the mysterious "Mind Link" prototype project and it never got a general public release (otherwise, it probably would've been released in 1984 with great fanfare & hype).

Atari Trivia Factoid: Atari Corp. was well known to hire female escorts for it's game programmers during it's lavish all-out company parties back in the early 1980's. With the "Anything goes" mentalility, especially when Atari Corp. was 'rolling in the dough' with so much $$$ shitting out of their asses, I'm surprised that they went under so fast during the 1st "Great Crash" incident. And so did many other USA based video game companies never to resurface again such as GCE -- the famed developer and manufacturer of the unique Vectrex console.

(Suppose had this Mind Link device been released, would it have revolutionized gameplay for video games in general or would it have been a huge colossal financial blunder on Atari Corp.'s part?) Very intriguing new fangled technology back in the early to mid 1980's never to be improved upon (mind control). ^_~

Only a few ex-Atari employees knew about it's existence back in the day. Only one working prototype device of this Atari "Mind Link" device survives today along with a mock-up model produced for "show & tell" advertising display purposes. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[eretsua]

Believe it or not, Atari was experimenting with "mind control" processing for use with the Atari 2600 console back in 1983-1984 before the massive layoffs caused by the "Great Video Game Crash of 1983-1984". This Atari mind control device had a name: Mind Link...

The user wears a special headband across his or her forehead and hooks up the special interface to the 2600 to play some simple games using brain waves to control the game without using any actual game controllers whatsoever. Unfortunately, the head honchos at Atari Corp. axed the mysterious "Mind Link" prototype project and it never got a general public release (otherwise, it probably would've been released in 1984 with great fanfare & hype).

Atari Trivia Factoid: Atari Corp. was well known to hire strippers for it's game programmers during it's lavish all-out company parties back in the early 1980's. Anything goes, especially when Atari Corp. was rolling in the dough with so much $$$, I'm surprised that they went under so fast during the 1st "Great Crash" incident. And so did many other USA based video game companies never to resurface again such as GCE -- the famed developer and manufacturer of the unique Vectrex console.

(Suppose had this Mind Link device been released, would it have revolutionized gameplay for video games in general or would it have been a huge colossal financial blunder on Atari Corp.'s part?) Very intriguing new fangled technology back in the early to mid 1980's never to be improved upon (mind control). ^_~

Only a few ex-Atari employees knew about it's existence back in the day. Only one working prototype device of this Atari "Mind Link" device survives today along with a mock-up model produced for "show & tell" advertising display purposes. ^_~

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

that's a fascinating story!

[Thunder Force]

hooks up the special interface to the 2600 to play some simple games using brain waves to control the game without using any actual game controllers whatsoever

The Atari 2600 "Mindlink" headset took its input from the player's deliberate forehead/eyebrow muscle movements, not brain waves.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

hooks up the special interface to the 2600 to play some simple games using brain waves to control the game without using any actual game controllers whatsoever

The Atari 2600 "Mindlink" headset took its input from the player's deliberate forehead/eyebrow muscle movements, not brain waves.

Thanks for the Mind Link usage clairification, Thunder Force...

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[neorichieb1971]

Ive seen this technology before on TV.

Its good for basic applications but I cannot see it being compatible with something like a manic.

Its also very contradicting..Just like Psycho mantis in MGS, if he knows what you move is going to be he can counter it at anytime. If the programming allowed for a counter strike you would be dead everytime.

So imo, its kinda stupid.

Lets say Chess for example, if the computer could read your mind 3-10 moves ahead, it knows your strategy.

As for language, I doubt its based on language at all.. Brain waves are brain waves.

Another cool control device I saw once for a VR game was this belt. You wore a belt and the idea was when you breath in the belt expands making you lift off in the game/VR environment. When you breath out you fall slowly to the ground again.

Gundam anyone?

[5parrowhawk]

Funny you should say that, Shocky, because I played around with that for my Masters' thesis. (It was a bit crap, but there's definitely potential there, if I don't say so myself.)

The player's breathing controlled the spread of the shots - exhale to widen the shots, or inhale to concentrate them.

The player's skin conductivity controlled the overall game speed (like a lie detector). Relaxing and hence reducing skin conductivity would cause the game to slow down, whilst tensing up and hence increasing skin conductivity would cause the game to speed up. (I tried doing it the other way, but players quickly figured out that they could tense up to slow the game down, and it just left them sort of twitchy.)

The game itself was a mediocre sort of Parsec47 clone.

It was an interesting thing to do... I really wanted to add neural feedback, but I didn't have the time or energy.

If we left shmups the way they are now and control by thoughts worked really well, then you could simply think your ship into the the empty spaces between bullets.

You're assuming that the ships would also be moving at the speed of thought, which wouldn't necessarily be the case. The main challenge would be the same as always, perceiving the patterns/developing situations and adapting, which isn't related to the controller.

I've been looking at some medical documents and came up with an idea: A shmup could draw its entire content from the players body.

-Levels: Ultrasound scans of the heart etc, that produce these scrolling, undulating caverns formed in real time.

-Sounds: The internal organs produce all kinds of sounds or movements which can be translated into sound effects and background "music".

-Enemies: This is still the big problem. Where to get intelligent enemies? Everything that can be easily detected in the body is quite random, the white blood cells and cooler stuff may be too small and fast to be useful.

-Weapons: Brain waves, heart beat. Different thoughts produce different waves that can easily be rendered on the screen as shots. Heart beat could be missiles or something.


Yeah, maybe I've played too much X-multiply and Microcosm.

[shiftace]

[url=mms://mediaserver.wustl.edu/mpa/brainGames/clip.wmv]World's first shmup replay using mind control[/url]

This hasn't loaded for me all week. Oh, internet.