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Motion sickness accessibility in video games

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Re: Motion sickness accessibility in video games

#81

Post by freilanzer »

jezzamon wrote: post #37
ziml77 wrote: post #20

Narrow FoV ruins me. Even after all these years, Far Cry 2 on PC was one of the worst video game experiences ever for me because it had FoV tuned for couch gaming. IIRC I was able to somewhat fix it with a console command to adjust the FoV, but actions like sprinting which forced the FoV to something even narrower than default would undo that. And for me motion sickness isn't felt in my stomach, it's in my head. The…

Interesting, I thought having a too large FOV would result in motion sickness. Which is why when running you might reduce it, to compensate for the faster movement. I guess to clarify, you're mostly talking about PC gaming where you're sitting close to the screen, or is this something you also experience with console games? In VR, one method of reducing motion sickness is covering the edges of the screen during movem…

> I guess to clarify, you're mostly talking about PC gaming where you're sitting close to the screen, or is this something you also experience with console games?

For me, it doesn't matter how far I am from the screen. If the camera is too far from the character in first person or too close in third person (Darksiders is impossible, Metal Gear 5 is fine), I can't play it.

Also, screen shake, head bob, and small FOV are impossible.

Re: Motion sickness accessibility in video games

#82

Post by lofaszvanitt »

ziml77 wrote: post #20

Narrow FoV ruins me. Even after all these years, Far Cry 2 on PC was one of the worst video game experiences ever for me because it had FoV tuned for couch gaming. IIRC I was able to somewhat fix it with a console command to adjust the FoV, but actions like sprinting which forced the FoV to something even narrower than default would undo that. And for me motion sickness isn't felt in my stomach, it's in my head. The…

Isn't that because of the missing head bob?

Re: Motion sickness accessibility in video games

#84

Post by markedathome »

I've often wondered if there is a problem with 'handedness', or more specifically 'footedness' whereby my brain is expecting the motion to start off with my right foot moving forwards first, but the game model goes left foot first. Mixed with head bobbing as well this throws off the brain's balancing model, as everything is "opposite". Certain games I have immense problems within 15 minutes playing, such that I feel drenched in cold sweat and nauseous, others I can play for hours or more without a problem, even if they are the same type of games. For instance Quake nope, Unreal tournament fine. Rainbow Six Siege fine, CoD not a chance, though Battlefield is fine. Maybe there needs to be something in games like the goofy test that snowboarders use to decide which foot forward for orientation, but more developed for motion sickness?

Re: Motion sickness accessibility in video games

#85

Post by theshackleford »

bentt wrote: post #69

This is an important topic and I don't think this article is really getting into all the important things that have been learned about it over the past few years, primarily by VR developers. Too much of the current dialogue is about how players can "get over" it. This is silly. There are demonstrable, proven things which cause motion sickness via the visual system. Unfortunately there are some irreconcilable issues w…

I get zero motion sickness from VR, it’s just never been an issue. And I really abuse the limits of locomotion with my highest playtime being doom wads/duke3d.

Oddly, what will induce nausea is <120 FPS on sample and hold displays. From the day someone put an LCD in front of me, they’ve done the same thing. The blur as my viewpoint shifts, it’s immediately like I’ve been placed on a boat in rough waters.

Re: Motion sickness accessibility in video games

#86

Post by ziml77 »

lofaszvanitt wrote: post #82
ziml77 wrote: post #20

Narrow FoV ruins me. Even after all these years, Far Cry 2 on PC was one of the worst video game experiences ever for me because it had FoV tuned for couch gaming. IIRC I was able to somewhat fix it with a console command to adjust the FoV, but actions like sprinting which forced the FoV to something even narrower than default would undo that. And for me motion sickness isn't felt in my stomach, it's in my head. The…

Isn't that because of the missing head bob?

Head bob would make it worse in these cases where the FoV is too narrow for the viewing distance

Re: Motion sickness accessibility in video games

#87

Post by smusamashah »

Reticles or Crosshairs avoid motion sickness. It's a well known thing experienced devs. It gives you an anchor as a way to stay focused avoiding motion sickness

https://www.polygon.com/videos/2019/11/14/20962065/reticles-...

I had worst motion sickness after playing Sable because it has no reticle and no textures.

Re: Motion sickness accessibility in video games

#88

Post by marginalia_nu »

donatj wrote: post #10

Probably a decade ago at this point, a friend got the first publicly available Oculus Rift development kit. We all wanted to try it, so a bunch of us gathered in his attic to give it a go. We were playing this tech demo where you would swing around on ropes to get between flying islands. Every single person who tried it got sick, except for myself. I played it longer than anyone else and did not have an issue. I have…

A while back I had worse eyesight on one eye than the other, and the result was that if I closed just my good eye, after a few seconds, I'd see nothing with both eyes, because even though my bad eye was still seeing the world, my brain was so used to the opposite being true it sketched in the darkness from the closed eye.

What seems to happen is your brain learns to ignore the signal from one of the eyes if the other is "malfunctioning" somehow.

Re: Motion sickness accessibility in video games

#89

Post by trivialcode »

rs_rs_rs_rs_rs wrote: post #4

I can't play any first person shooters because of motion sickness, it's quite annoying. Anyone else in this situation that managed to figure out something?

Exposure therapy. Just play for a very short amount of time, even 2-3 minutes, then stop for a while. Do this over and over. Always keep the duration below the threshold of your motion sickness. Eventually your brain gets used to playing without being sick and you'll be able to play for longer and longer periods. Always stop the moment you feel motion sick in any way - don't try to push through as doing that makes it worse. This is what I had to do to get used to games in VR, and it worked great. I can now play for hours without issue.

Re: Motion sickness accessibility in video games

#90

Post by me4502 »

trivialcode wrote: post #89
rs_rs_rs_rs_rs wrote: post #4

I can't play any first person shooters because of motion sickness, it's quite annoying. Anyone else in this situation that managed to figure out something?

Exposure therapy. Just play for a very short amount of time, even 2-3 minutes, then stop for a while. Do this over and over. Always keep the duration below the threshold of your motion sickness. Eventually your brain gets used to playing without being sick and you'll be able to play for longer and longer periods. Always stop the moment you feel motion sick in any way - don't try to push through as doing that makes it…

Honestly while this does work for some people, it doesn’t seem to work for everyone. I’ve tried this basically my entire life (am 27), and it’s never improved. If anything it feels like it’s gotten worse with age. I’m not sure if it’s just a different underlying cause, or it only works if you’re under a certain threshold of motion sickness sensitivity.

There are so many games I’ve played in 30-60 minute increments because they’re in my “make me motion sick but not immediately” bucket, and a lifetime of doing that hasn’t done anything to improve it.

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