A controller designed in Stanford University's electrical engineering lab aims to please -- at least that's how those in the gaming industry see its future use. Able to gather data about users' physical signs of excitement, the controller instantaneously measures engagement level. Thus, the invention could one day manipulate game action depending on a player's stimulation.
Created primarily by Corey McCall, who's going for his PHD in electrical engineering, the controller was a hit at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this year not only because of how it could create biologically-induced gameplay changes, but because it tracks mental stimulation by non-invasive means. Rather than attaching electrodes to one's brain or something along those lines, it gathers the after-effects of mental effort (such as heart rate, respiration rate, body temperature, perspiration, and other more) through one's hand.
"You can see the expression of a person's autonomic nervous system in their heart rate and skin temperature and respiration rate, and by measuring those outputs, we can understand what's happening in the brain almost instantaneously," McCall said on Stanford's website.
McCall's invention is more of an add-on at this point than its own device. Actually, that might even be more beneficial. It could one day be purchased separately and then attached, or perhaps its technology will be bought by PlayStation or Xbox and integrated into their controllers.
Whatever the end result, the next step is to develop the device so that it changes gameplay depending on excitement level.
"If a player wants maximum engagement and excitement, we can measure when they are getting bored and, for example, introduce more zombies into the level," McCall said. "We can also control the game for children. If parents are concerned that their children are getting too wrapped up in the game, we can tone it down or remind them that it's time for a healthy break."
