DOF pain?
by Daniel Buckmaster · in Torque 3D Beginner · 08/16/2010 (8:25 am) · 14 replies
I've heard of people who get motion sick from certain games, but as far as I've heard this is a new one. When I played around with the T3D demo, I found the extreme DOF blur to actually be physically painful. When looking into the sky, the terrain would slowly blur out - and if I were looking at it, I actually had to squint and my eyes teared up.
Just wondering if this is a common affliction or side-effect of extreme DOF blur... and if so [devious]whether this effect could be harnessed deliberately...[/devious]
...okay, so I'd better explain that last remark :P. I'm setting a game in the 40k universe, which has a lot of Lovecraftian aspects to its horror - things like runes which drive you mad to look at, banners which hurt the eyes. I've never seen anything like this attempted in a game, but I thought it'd be cool to play around with ways of making it actually a bad idea to look at chaotic symbols. Making them a bit more evil than a particle emitter :P. Maybe inflicting an actual physical reaction is taking it a bit too far, though!
Just wondering if this is a common affliction or side-effect of extreme DOF blur... and if so [devious]whether this effect could be harnessed deliberately...[/devious]
...okay, so I'd better explain that last remark :P. I'm setting a game in the 40k universe, which has a lot of Lovecraftian aspects to its horror - things like runes which drive you mad to look at, banners which hurt the eyes. I've never seen anything like this attempted in a game, but I thought it'd be cool to play around with ways of making it actually a bad idea to look at chaotic symbols. Making them a bit more evil than a particle emitter :P. Maybe inflicting an actual physical reaction is taking it a bit too far, though!
About the author
Studying mechatronic engineering and computer science at the University of Sydney. Game development is probably my most time-consuming hobby!
#2
08/19/2010 (12:07 pm)
you realise the ears of US lawsuit lawyers just came into an alert state? :p 
#3
Just pop a 'Warning!' label on it and you'll be fine. (And you'll probably sell more copies of it, too!)
08/26/2010 (1:32 pm)
Quote:you realise the ears of US lawsuit lawyers just came into an alert state? :p
Just pop a 'Warning!' label on it and you'll be fine. (And you'll probably sell more copies of it, too!)
#4
BTW, are you talking about WH40K?
08/31/2010 (11:00 am)
I've yet to experience this type of reaction but I know others who have. I'd agree with Infinitum and Michael. Go for it with a warning label.BTW, are you talking about WH40K?
#5
Jerry - yes, WH40k. (Yes, possible legal issues. That's why we're not going to sell the game :P. I've checked with GW's IP department and they seem fine with it so far. Sorry, just pre-empting that since everyone mentions it ;P.)
08/31/2010 (12:13 pm)
Hmm, I'll see. I'm actually using TGE, so the blurring effect isn't feasible unless I go all-out with the MK or something. Not tempting. But I'm casting about for other odd effects to use to evoke the surreal - so far my favourite is the 'rendering infinity' you get when there is literally no object rendered, and the pixels just stay the same color as the last thing they rendered. When you delete the sky you get this effect instead, and combined with some large transparent precipitation to gradually refresh the pixels, you get a great 'trail' effect on anything that moves across the sky (from your POV).Jerry - yes, WH40k. (Yes, possible legal issues. That's why we're not going to sell the game :P. I've checked with GW's IP department and they seem fine with it so far. Sorry, just pre-empting that since everyone mentions it ;P.)
#6
08/31/2010 (12:25 pm)
I'd love to check out that effect. As far as legal issues, I wasn't going to even ask. I get that all the time though with my RIFTS material... 
#8
Video link was broken before I got a chance to check out the effect though :(
08/31/2010 (10:38 pm)
As an epileptic gamer, I gotta put the vote in for not giving me a headache from hell!Video link was broken before I got a chance to check out the effect though :(
#9
09/01/2010 (12:03 am)
@Daniel: Wow, that really IS trippy!
#10
But that does bring this back to the quasi-ethical question I started with. Is it really okay to implement an effect that is deliberately uncomfortable for people?
It may be on parallel to games with deliberately jumpy cameras (Kayne and Lynch 2 comes to mind), which can cause motion sickness. There tends to be an option to remove that effect - a detriment to the creative vision of the work, to be sure, but not a crippling blow. And if it means someone can play your game without throwing up, that's gotta be a good thing.
09/01/2010 (8:18 am)
An idea a friend suggested is to actually take control of the camera in specific cases, physically not letting the player look at a certain object or in a certain direction (for short, mostly-scripted sequences). I'm not sure I like it, but it could be cool.Quote:As an epileptic gamer, I gotta put the vote in for not giving me a headache from hell!And nor would I want to be responsible for eliciting a severe reaction from someone! Video was probably still processing - I didn't want to wait for it before posting ;P.
But that does bring this back to the quasi-ethical question I started with. Is it really okay to implement an effect that is deliberately uncomfortable for people?
It may be on parallel to games with deliberately jumpy cameras (Kayne and Lynch 2 comes to mind), which can cause motion sickness. There tends to be an option to remove that effect - a detriment to the creative vision of the work, to be sure, but not a crippling blow. And if it means someone can play your game without throwing up, that's gotta be a good thing.
#11
09/01/2010 (11:49 am)
As a point of reference, directors continually choose to utilize the "vomit cam" style of cinematography which makes many people I know nauseous and they provide no warning and there is no way to view the movie any other way.
#12
Also, it's entirely possible that most people don't experience these reactions and all the blurring would just look silly. In which case, it's more like discrimination :P.
09/01/2010 (1:21 pm)
Also, the intended usage here is something you're not supposed to look at :P. It's not the case that these effects would be something as pervasive as camera movement.Also, it's entirely possible that most people don't experience these reactions and all the blurring would just look silly. In which case, it's more like discrimination :P.
#13
Anyway, I'm my years and years of gaming, I've only ever encountered one or two effects that made me feel uncomfortable. The video you posted above is not even close to one of them.
And if it does, then go for it anyway! IMO: Gives something memorable to the project... "Hey, I played this game and it did this cool "burning look" thing. Or in my case "Mario Party 4 gives me a headache!". ;)
09/13/2010 (7:36 pm)
Womdner if Daniel's still looking at this thread...Anyway, I'm my years and years of gaming, I've only ever encountered one or two effects that made me feel uncomfortable. The video you posted above is not even close to one of them.
And if it does, then go for it anyway! IMO: Gives something memorable to the project... "Hey, I played this game and it did this cool "burning look" thing. Or in my case "Mario Party 4 gives me a headache!". ;)
#14
09/14/2010 (6:49 am)
Quote:The video you posted above is not even close to one of them.Oh, it wasn't intended to be of the subclass of visuals that have effects on people - it was just something neat and weird I discovered.
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