Revolutionary Peripheral or Pointless Addition to Manage Stress During GamePlay?

Samuel Matson is a revolutionary inventor who asks the question, can video games train us to handle stress better? Project “Immersion” started out life as a modified Xbox 360 controller which had been reworked to feature a highly accurate pulse sensor which is capable of monitoring a player’s heart rate so that a game can make changes based on player feedback. Matson has developed a third person shooter game which is capable of tracking his heart rate and then modifying the games difficulty based on how elevated his heart rate becomes. As his heart rate rises the game spawns fewer and weaker enemies making his experience theoretically more enjoyable.

It’s an interesting concept, but whether or not the sub conscious advantages outweigh the practicality of wearing a specifically designed headpiece it’s difficult to say, but if the functionality could be built directly into the controller it does pose an interesting design opportunity. Let us know your thoughts on the idea of new hardware below.

Source: Sam Matson