Imagine pong, the classic video game, modified to have a very slow moving ball. Now imagine that you move the paddle up by increasing your blood pressure, and down by decreasing it. So does the other player. Both of you are wearing biofeedback devices that make your blood pressure an input device to the game.

Play ball.

Other biofeedback measurements could be used as well: heart rate, EEG ("brain waves"), GSR, whatever.

And of course other video games could be used too; they just have to be multiplayer and not require too many inputs.

May the best controller of his or her blood pressure win.

My google search reveals that others have come shockingly close to this idea, but always stop short of it.

There are video games that reward ADHD kids for paying attention.

There's a game for an individual player that uses a biofeedback input device for the player to do certain things in the game (Wild Divine).

There are also video games as part of biofeedback systems, to make the biofeedback training process more fun.

There is a multplayer game designed to make the most relaxed player win, using biofeedback (Brainball).

There is even a proposal (Brainathlon) for a multiplayer game limited to EEG input, basically racing for ability to sustain certain EEG activity.

And yes, there are hints of this in William Gibson and friends.

But somehow no one has come up with the idea of a sport based on precise control of physiology. Competition not for more or less activity, but in which the amount of activity at any given moment is the game control. Game in which the skill is control of the nervous system itself.

I see this as highly popular as a video arcade game at bars. "50 bucks says I can whip you at GSR pong, dude"

Naturally, as this spreads out and becomes national and then international, it will become an Olympic sport as well. GSR events. Alpha wave events. Performance enhancing drugs will be an issue.
-- jpk, Feb 05 2004

coming ever closer http://www.cnn.com/...mes.reut/index.html
still for the disabled, but very close [jpk, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

closer . . . http://www.mindball....aspx?page=mindball
Not for the disabled, but still just controlling chances of winning by most alpha. Not paddle position by relative alpha. [jpk]

Another use for bloodpressure... http://www.halfbake...idea/thump-o-graphs
(shameless plug) [jpk, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Another use for bloodpressure... http://www.halfbake...idea/thump-o-graphs
(shameless plug) [simonj, Oct 04 2004]

Could you use it to post to the Halfbakery ?
-- normzone, Jul 20 2004



random, halfbakery