February 25, 2005

• So here's my question to those with the same problem: Do you have the same issue with other games on the Xbox, that are FPS, like The Sims? Do you have the same problem with other consoles? I'm thinking of getting GC or GBA but I don't want to spend the money and have the same problem.
• That should read: "that are not FPS..."
• That doesn't sound like much fun. I remember a question over on that other site about the same sort of thing. Here it is. I hope some of the answers help.
• Yes! I can't play any of the Grand Theft Auto games for this very reason. I found I could play The Simpsons: Hit and Run with no problem though. Have the same problem on the PC.
• When playing FPS games, I sometimes feel sick from the adrenalin spikes, especially if playing in the dark with headphones.
• I get a little sick on some games after extreme playing times. But there is one extreme case - TimeSplitters 2. A piece of friendly advice: if you've ever gotten sick from any computer game playing, stay clear of this game. It will have you laying down with nausea and headaches for hours afterwards :) (The only other response I've ever had that was as severe was with Wolfenstein 3D). I've found that if you persist in playing the game, playing a little longer each time, you can get over it (well, I could) enough to actually enjoy the gameplay. You might try playing for 15 mins, then a half hour, then 45 mins etc. at a time, and see if it helps? Don't know about the other consoles, sorry.
• Thanks smo. From that thread, it looks like the problem isn't the game so much the 3d console. I was hoping there would be something on the Xbox I could play. So that leaves GBA, I think, as the only 2d gaming console. Is that right? Gestas, I did try that when I first got the xbox and gave up after about 6 tries. I packed it away and stopped buying games because the trial-and-error experiment wasn't going anywhere.
• You might want to check out an old Dreamcast. They can be had for under sixty U.S. Dollars usually. Many games for it are still in 2d, and there are downloads availible that let you play roms from older systems (NES, SNES, Master System, etc.) on the Dreamcast. Games for it now are incredibly cheap, and still very fun. Also, if you are into this sort of thing, most Dreamcast games can be downloaded and burned to a normal CD, no modchip necessary. The downside is that Sega stopped supporting this system years ago, so you won't get any new games. However, this also means no one really cares if you download games for it.
• I had this problem and gave up FPS over it. I'm usually OK in Tomb Raider style 3rd person (ass view) games, but sometimes not. The worst for me was any time I "slid" along a wall.
• I have the same problem and it's definitely not just an Xbox thing. First person view in games just make me sick. Headache and nausea in about three minutes. Both on consoles and PC games. If the exact same game has a 3rd person mode, I am fine. The good news is I play a ton of games and nothing else really affects me. Oddly enough, space shooters and flying games from a cockpit view don't have the same effect. It's just the FPS games in first person view that give me the motion sickness. Been like this for me since the original Doom.
• I really like that option, loto. I'm going to look into that. Thanks. pivo what kinds of game, specifically, can you play on the Xbox that have a 3rd person mode. I have about 6 games but I don't think they have a 3rd person mode.
• On the Xbox about the only shooter I have is Mechassault. Awesome game in all it's 3rd person-y goodness.
• DC Emulation will be a good source for emulators for the roms. As you can see from the side bar, there are many of them. Other projects also let you play Video CDs and mp3 cds on your Dreamcast. It even runs Linux (and NetBSD!) It has become very much the hobbyist console.
• I take that back, I do have a 3rd person game: Brute Force. (Obviously, I'm not a big gamer.) It didn't make a difference for me, though.
• Jim, have you had this problem playing FPS on a PC? If not, then the problem might be refresh rate. TV's natively have a much lower refresh rate than most modern computer monitors are usually run at. Some people are more sensitive to lower refresh rates, and FPS games tend to exacerbate this vulnerability. I'm not really into AV equipment, but some quick research suggests that you can get 'flicker free' TV's now that run at twice the refresh of a standard 50/60Hz TV. Might be worth some in-store experimentation.
• Actually, Nal, I remember looking at someone's Doom (I think when it first came out--ages and ages ago) and getting very ill. My thought--then--was that the problem was because the game was so new it wasn't rendered well, or something. When I got the Xbox, I didn't connect the two. Unfortunately, the new TV thing wouldn't work. I'm really liking the idea of trading the xbox for a gamecast, though.
• Dreamcast! Duh.
• I don't play games, but I got carsick as hell watching "Cops - Greatest Car Chases!" as the shot puts you bouncing around in the backseat when the cop driving gets his Dukes of Hazzard on. Oddly enough, I never feel sick in real cars.
• Back in the day when Wolfenstein came out, it made me motion sick. However, since then I haven't ever gotten sick from playing games -- and as anyone who knows my research, videogames and videogame players, is aware, I play a LOT of games. I think that I got used to it. I know that when Half-Life 2 came out recently people were complaining about sickness during the vehicle parts and some were saying it was due to how wide the field of vision is and how it showed a rather narrow scene without much periferal vision. On most PC FPS games there are ways to change that and I know that most hardcore online players tend to make it wider if only so they can see more on the screen at once. There are tons of other kinds of games for the xbox though, so I don't really see any reason to trade it in. There are from old Atari2600 games and Capcom 2d fighters and lots of other stuff that doesn't move the screen at all.
• slightly offtopic, but I saw this comic last night who had a routine about "playstation widows". He said that when his wife gets randy she walks into the loungroom, takes off all her clothes, gets out her lipstick and draws a circle, a square, a triangle and a cross on various erogenous zones. The hand actions he did were pretty funny.
• Working with display technology, I've run into this stuff quie a few times. Luckily, I'm not affected, but there are some remedies that work for chunks of the affected population. First off, refresh rates (as mentioned above by Nal). If you can use a "flicker free" display or can increase the refresh rate, do so. 85Hz works for most people that are suffering from the effects of refresh rates. Note that refresh rates are a completely different beast on digital displays (DLP, LCD, Plasma, LCOS) and really aren't a factor at all. Additionally, vaguley related to refresh rates is the difference between interlaced displays and progressive scan displays. Interlaced displays paint all the odd numbered lines on the screen first, then all the even numbered lines. This is a low bandwidth and typically more economical way to produce an image. Progressive scan displays paint all the lines of the image sequentially. The Xbox is capable of displaying games in 480p mode (progressive scan), as well as 480i, 720p and 1080i - IF - your display is capable of these modes as well. For those who get sick when playing these games, try it out in progressive scan mode on a progressive scan display. A chunk of people affected in this way will be able to play without feeling ill. Others won't. If you don't have a display capable of progressive scan, you can usually go to a big-box retailer (Best Buy, etc) and try it out there to see if that's the solution. It's also a convenient excuse to buy a sweet new display. (Note: I use a digital home theater projector for my display. All digital projecotrs output a progressive image after processing it, regardless of the signal that you've given it.)
• I don't get sick playing FPS games or driving games, but I can get sick watching someone else play them. The Simpsons Hit & Run and one of the ATV racing games especially affected me. This is from a PS2 played on a fairly large projection TV. I'll have to look away or leave the room if it gets really bad.
• most hardcore online players tend to make it wider if only so they can see more on the Had a fascinating discussion with a FPS pro gamer one time where he showed me his setup. His in-game field of view was tweaked really wide, so it took on a fish eye effect. His contrast was turned way up, so there weren't any shadows, and most colors washed out. His targeting reticle was a tiny dot, which took tremendous concentration to follow, but that effort translated directly to his kill accuracy. One of those situations where you walk away thinking 'talk about taking most of the enjoyment out...'
• Thanks everyone. jccalhoun, I've found the Capcom 2d website. You also said "other stuff," can you be more specific? Thanks.