Psychological horror video games can often leave a player feeling stressed out, at least if the game is any good at creating a setting that feels immersive to those playing it. So what if a game developer could somehow measure the level of stress that a gamer feels while playing and use that to either help or hinder the player?
That's exactly the concept behind Nevermind, a new psychological horror game by Flying Mollusk. In Nevermind, players must face the psychological traumas experienced by others and unravel the mysteries of the trauma victims' memories, all the while remaining calm. Because if players don't remain calm, the game changes and becomes something else, thanks to a biofeedback sensor that measures the player's heart rate.
It might seem like science fiction, but that game exists, and is now available on Steam. But how did Nevermind go from being a concept to a reality? In an interview, Flying Mollusk game developer Erin Reynolds answered that question.
Nevermind started out as a basic concept some time ago, but when Reynolds first thought of it, the technology to build a game using biofeedback didn't exist. Fortunately, the one thing about technology is that it's always getting better, and eventually, it caught up to the idea Reynolds had for Nevermind.
So Reynolds did what a lot of indie developers do when they need funds to create a game: she put up a Kickstarter campaign, and although things didn't go according to plan, that campaign got Intel's attention.
"There's obviously a lot of people who were as excited about the idea as I was," said Reynolds. "But we had a really high goal because we wanted to get it right. So we didn't quite hit the funding goal at that point in time, but because there was so much attention around the Kickstarter, Intel actually found us. And they reached out to us and said, 'Hey, we're working on this secret technology that can get biofeedback through, basically, a camera. Would you be interested in looking at this?' "
Before Intel, the technology to measure a player's heart rate was a bulky chest strap. However, Intel's RealSense 3D camera was less intrusive and perfect for what Reynolds was trying to achieve.
"So they had this great technology that ended up being the RealSense technology, and it was beautiful because it fit all of the goals for Nevermind," said Reynolds. "And it was really just kind of a very lucky thing that happened."
Flying Mollusk's new relationship with Intel led to a second Kickstarter campaign, which met its full funding goal.
Nevermind combines that technology with a good story: in the game, players take on the role of a "neuroprober," someone who spends their time inside people's brains, but the people's brains they're examining are those who have suffered psychological trauma bad enough to make them repress those events in their subconscious minds.
"As the neuroprober, you go inside these victims' minds and you try to solve the mystery of what the trauma was, to piece together the memories so you can resurrect it, and once the memory is reconstructed, then the patient can start working their way through it, recognize it and proceed to the healing process with that memory intact," says Reynolds.
"So each level is a different trauma story. And they're very different across the board. Visually, it's very different, the stories are very different, and really, it's a great opportunity to get to explore the depth of psychological trauma in many different ways."
By itself, Nevermind involves solving mysteries, puzzles and challenges in reconstructing memories. Adding biofeedback, though, changes gameplay, depending on how players' heart rates react to the dark and surreal imagery the game throws at them. The sensor picks up on any stress or anxiety experienced while playing and uses that against the gamer to make things more intense and more difficult.
"So, for example, one of my favorite areas in one scene is in a kitchen, where if you get stressed out, it starts to flood with milk," says Reynolds. "So you're walking in slowly through it and if you're still stressed, it starts to elevate more, and then maybe covers your line of sight. And if you still can't calm down, it will drown you, which is also our way of getting the player out of that situation because they're having a hard time recovering there."
Reynolds points out that this varies from location to location, and each response to stress by the game is different. The idea, though, is to get the player to learn how to calm down quickly so that they can continue progressing through Nevermind.
Nevermind sounds like something that could also come in handy for those wanting to learn how to better deal with stress, too, right? Well, Reynolds states, that's exactly the point behind the game.
"One of our overarching goals with Nevermind is that although it's still a fun game that people enjoy playing, it can also make people more mindful of those internal responses to feelings of stress and anxiety," she said. "I think for many of us, most of that we're taught to ignore. So it shows up as a tightness in our stomach or tightness in our shoulders.
"So the thing with Nevermind is connecting the physiological reaction to what's happening in the game: we really hope that players start to become more aware of that, and in turn, learn how to manage those feelings of anxiety on the fly. For everyone, it's different, what calms them down. For some people, it's visualizing being on a beach, for some it's deep breathing and some people look at cat photos.
"Learning what works for you while playing the game and then becoming good at it can also be used in the real world. We want the player to explore what works for them and learn how to use those techniques in real life."
Nevermind is available now on Steam. Interested players can find a full list of supported sensors for the biofeedback interaction with the game here.
