How video games save you from motion sickness
video description
Date: 2023-12-10
Related videos
Comments and reviews: 30
-teasp00ns
My mother is a neuro psychologist who specializes in perception, and I wouldn-t be surprised if some of the info in this video came from her research. One of her other findings is that simulation sickness is frequently caused by -framerate- discrepancies between the game and real life, and the lack of eye-tracking in VR systems.
When you turn move your head or eyes to look at something in real life, your brain -blurs- the period of motion to create a seamless transition between focusing on point A and point B. Most games don-t do this, and having that quick pan between points in full clarity is confusing and distracting to your brain. What it-s seeing -does not- match what it expected, and it begins to either over-compensate to adapt, or start making you feel ill to discourage this new behaviour or make you vomit up whatever poisonous substance you ate. This is also why High Framerate movies look so weird.
The eye-tracking bit is less important, but being unable to change your field of view by moving your eyes (since you have to move your head) is also counter to how we-ve spent our whole lives perceiving things visually.
Interestingly, some people get simulation sickness to the point of vomiting within 20 min, and some are not affected at all!
Thanks for listening to my fun brain fax
reply
My mother is a neuro psychologist who specializes in perception, and I wouldn-t be surprised if some of the info in this video came from her research. One of her other findings is that simulation sickness is frequently caused by -framerate- discrepancies between the game and real life, and the lack of eye-tracking in VR systems.
When you turn move your head or eyes to look at something in real life, your brain -blurs- the period of motion to create a seamless transition between focusing on point A and point B. Most games don-t do this, and having that quick pan between points in full clarity is confusing and distracting to your brain. What it-s seeing -does not- match what it expected, and it begins to either over-compensate to adapt, or start making you feel ill to discourage this new behaviour or make you vomit up whatever poisonous substance you ate. This is also why High Framerate movies look so weird.
The eye-tracking bit is less important, but being unable to change your field of view by moving your eyes (since you have to move your head) is also counter to how we-ve spent our whole lives perceiving things visually.
Interestingly, some people get simulation sickness to the point of vomiting within 20 min, and some are not affected at all!
Thanks for listening to my fun brain fax
reply
-MrMightyZ
I play loads of games at 60hz with vrr and always turn off the reticle for immersion but only 2 have ever made me sick with or without the reticle, Rage2 and Necromunda: Hired Gun. I can play hours of Cyberpunk and Destiny at 60hz with no reticle but 1 minute of Necromunda and the nausea is building.
All 3 games hold fairly well to 60hz according to Digital Foundry and since I'm using vrr a few drops or some bad frame pacing is undetectable to me. Does anyone have any idea why this might be?
I know of -reticle science- and totally believe it because it's the same way you're trained to deal with sea sickness on a yacht (sailboat if you're American) by staring at a bow or rigging feature rather than the rising and falling horizon or coastline.
So something else is happening to me. Something similar but not entirely the same.
reply
I play loads of games at 60hz with vrr and always turn off the reticle for immersion but only 2 have ever made me sick with or without the reticle, Rage2 and Necromunda: Hired Gun. I can play hours of Cyberpunk and Destiny at 60hz with no reticle but 1 minute of Necromunda and the nausea is building.
All 3 games hold fairly well to 60hz according to Digital Foundry and since I'm using vrr a few drops or some bad frame pacing is undetectable to me. Does anyone have any idea why this might be?
I know of -reticle science- and totally believe it because it's the same way you're trained to deal with sea sickness on a yacht (sailboat if you're American) by staring at a bow or rigging feature rather than the rising and falling horizon or coastline.
So something else is happening to me. Something similar but not entirely the same.
reply
-yeoss
reticles are important to me
the shape it takes is extremely important
target reticles help me with knowing if im going to shoot the enemy at all, but are not very good for versatility
red dots are great for precision but they do not go well with high recoil
crosshairs are good and all but it has no specialty
triangle and delta sights are painful because if you miss you miss
with T reticles (like on the kobra sight and okp-7, its actually rly nice
this differs from person to person ofc
reply
reticles are important to me
the shape it takes is extremely important
target reticles help me with knowing if im going to shoot the enemy at all, but are not very good for versatility
red dots are great for precision but they do not go well with high recoil
crosshairs are good and all but it has no specialty
triangle and delta sights are painful because if you miss you miss
with T reticles (like on the kobra sight and okp-7, its actually rly nice
this differs from person to person ofc
reply
-RaccoonLaundry
VR games have this game problem - but what's interesting is that some of them have a -bird cage- feature, specifically for people that get motion, where it puts lines around your character like you're in a cage with very widely spaced bars. This tricks your brain into thinking -I'm looking around in game and in real life, but also my body is stationary, also in game and in real life. I am sitting in a sage and turning around, while I am also sitting and turning around in real life. We gucci. -
reply
VR games have this game problem - but what's interesting is that some of them have a -bird cage- feature, specifically for people that get motion, where it puts lines around your character like you're in a cage with very widely spaced bars. This tricks your brain into thinking -I'm looking around in game and in real life, but also my body is stationary, also in game and in real life. I am sitting in a sage and turning around, while I am also sitting and turning around in real life. We gucci. -
reply
-misakichoi636
Wow, this video made me feel very seen and heard. I have trouble explaining my motion sickness to other people as it-s not very common. I don-t play first person games, i get cold shivers, i start sweating HARD and my bowels go crazy. I-ve tried to teach myself not to get sick by watching fps game clips from time to time but no luck. I hope researchers hear our voices and come up with a non-motion sickness pills or something. We would also appreciate more motion sick-friendly games -
reply
Wow, this video made me feel very seen and heard. I have trouble explaining my motion sickness to other people as it-s not very common. I don-t play first person games, i get cold shivers, i start sweating HARD and my bowels go crazy. I-ve tried to teach myself not to get sick by watching fps game clips from time to time but no luck. I hope researchers hear our voices and come up with a non-motion sickness pills or something. We would also appreciate more motion sick-friendly games -
reply
-lukahhhhhhhh
I find this interesting because I've always had the opposite problem! Games that have the reticle make me more likely to get motion sick than the games that don't!
My working theory is that it's because I focus on something still but everything else moves around it/behind it in a way similar to when I read in a car, the moving background I can see through the window out of my peripheral view makes me feel carsick.
reply
I find this interesting because I've always had the opposite problem! Games that have the reticle make me more likely to get motion sick than the games that don't!
My working theory is that it's because I focus on something still but everything else moves around it/behind it in a way similar to when I read in a car, the moving background I can see through the window out of my peripheral view makes me feel carsick.
reply
-BarbarianGod
Didn't Deus Ex have the interactive crosshair thing before Halo? I think there were probably other examples that predate it, Starlancer comes to mind.
Also Vermintide 2 does a lot to communicate hits and if you did damage, hit a weak spot, hit a shield or armor, etc.
And why can't games bring back Quake 3's hit sound, that was one of the best feedback mechanisms in any FPS in my opinion.
reply
Didn't Deus Ex have the interactive crosshair thing before Halo? I think there were probably other examples that predate it, Starlancer comes to mind.
Also Vermintide 2 does a lot to communicate hits and if you did damage, hit a weak spot, hit a shield or armor, etc.
And why can't games bring back Quake 3's hit sound, that was one of the best feedback mechanisms in any FPS in my opinion.
reply
-Dissruptance
a rly small amt of high lvl fps players play w/o an xhair
but its definitely done by some
and its super super super duper mega super crazy easy 2 do despite wat u might think
as long as u remember where the center of ur screen is ur golden, it affects accuracy by like 2 degrees maybe, if its ever more u adjust after ur 1st successful shot naturally anyway
reply
a rly small amt of high lvl fps players play w/o an xhair
but its definitely done by some
and its super super super duper mega super crazy easy 2 do despite wat u might think
as long as u remember where the center of ur screen is ur golden, it affects accuracy by like 2 degrees maybe, if its ever more u adjust after ur 1st successful shot naturally anyway
reply
-Ghengis000
Can't remember where I heard this (I want to say a podcast) but I recently found out that there are studies showing differences in motion sickness between genders, and that women tend to experience it more often. Maybe this is another of those hidden-bias things where games are developed by male-heavy teams, so motion sickness is underappreciated.
reply
Can't remember where I heard this (I want to say a podcast) but I recently found out that there are studies showing differences in motion sickness between genders, and that women tend to experience it more often. Maybe this is another of those hidden-bias things where games are developed by male-heavy teams, so motion sickness is underappreciated.
reply
-avangion80
Theory. BUuuuuut a pretty good theory at that! Came here wondering why The Witness is the only FPS ever to make me nauseous. Found the answer. I can play it for hours with small pauses here and there. But darn do I feel wretched at some point. And it won't go away fast either. Thank goodness I'm soon done with it. Otherwise it's a nice game.
reply
Theory. BUuuuuut a pretty good theory at that! Came here wondering why The Witness is the only FPS ever to make me nauseous. Found the answer. I can play it for hours with small pauses here and there. But darn do I feel wretched at some point. And it won't go away fast either. Thank goodness I'm soon done with it. Otherwise it's a nice game.
reply
-Landscape_
personally low FOV makes me sick, when i turn it up the game feels great, but in console games where you can't change them i can't play them too much. I explained my situation to the atomic heart subreddit and they said that many people told them the same, and 2 months ago they added FOV. I hope more studios realize this problem
reply
personally low FOV makes me sick, when i turn it up the game feels great, but in console games where you can't change them i can't play them too much. I explained my situation to the atomic heart subreddit and they said that many people told them the same, and 2 months ago they added FOV. I hope more studios realize this problem
reply
-__Razer
As someone with hundreds of hours in Killing Floor, I can't say I know how -simulation sickness- feels. Am I better at adapting or am I missing a cognitive function?
If you were go go about daily life with a visor on that put a reticle in the center of your field of view, would that have an opposite effect and make you sick?
reply
As someone with hundreds of hours in Killing Floor, I can't say I know how -simulation sickness- feels. Am I better at adapting or am I missing a cognitive function?
If you were go go about daily life with a visor on that put a reticle in the center of your field of view, would that have an opposite effect and make you sick?
reply
-gamingstation4801
I get intense motion sickness and just like playing a game for 30mins I feel my head hurts, eyes heavy and sometimes even feel like throwing up and have headache And no way that reticles help to prevent it, even with big bold reticles in the middle my motion sickness persist still.
reply
I get intense motion sickness and just like playing a game for 30mins I feel my head hurts, eyes heavy and sometimes even feel like throwing up and have headache And no way that reticles help to prevent it, even with big bold reticles in the middle my motion sickness persist still.
reply
-Whatisthishuhhmm
So THAT is why i didn-t get motion sickness when playing RIGS on psvr, and i do in any other that has locomotion.
I wish more VR games had this type of ui built in whether you are piloting a mech or just plain walking as a normal human being. This would make it so much easier!
reply
So THAT is why i didn-t get motion sickness when playing RIGS on psvr, and i do in any other that has locomotion.
I wish more VR games had this type of ui built in whether you are piloting a mech or just plain walking as a normal human being. This would make it so much easier!
reply
-Jah_Coby
I've played games without any kind of reticle. been just fine. Even with games like mirrors edge with a lot of motion. And many people do? How does reticle make people not sick, that's not even like. the people I know who get sick from games do so with a reticle or not
reply
I've played games without any kind of reticle. been just fine. Even with games like mirrors edge with a lot of motion. And many people do? How does reticle make people not sick, that's not even like. the people I know who get sick from games do so with a reticle or not
reply
-usermnm1104
Just found this video after trying yet another Bethesda game(Starfield) that made me almost hurl after like 10 minutes of floaty fps gameplay.
Turns out the reticle is an optional accessibility setting. Too bad they still haven-t added an FOV slider -
reply
Just found this video after trying yet another Bethesda game(Starfield) that made me almost hurl after like 10 minutes of floaty fps gameplay.
Turns out the reticle is an optional accessibility setting. Too bad they still haven-t added an FOV slider -
reply
-AltecE
I-ve heard that cases of VR simulation sickness dramatically decrease when a virtual nose is added between the player-s eyes. I guess it serves the same purpose-a static, unmoving point where your mind can use to reassure itself it-s not moving.
reply
I-ve heard that cases of VR simulation sickness dramatically decrease when a virtual nose is added between the player-s eyes. I guess it serves the same purpose-a static, unmoving point where your mind can use to reassure itself it-s not moving.
reply
-prenutcalamity
I normally don't get motion sickness but when playing Apex Legends, I find the falling in first person makes me feel sick.
It is the one game that gives me this feeling but it's also a game with a nearly invisible reticle
reply
I normally don't get motion sickness but when playing Apex Legends, I find the falling in first person makes me feel sick.
It is the one game that gives me this feeling but it's also a game with a nearly invisible reticle
reply
-Rafmorna
this is probably my favorite video jenna ever made (which says a lot because i love aaaaaall of jenna-s videos) i come back to this one a lot. it-s just a good mix of information, humor and jenna-sass. love love love it!
reply
this is probably my favorite video jenna ever made (which says a lot because i love aaaaaall of jenna-s videos) i come back to this one a lot. it-s just a good mix of information, humor and jenna-sass. love love love it!
reply
-Snowbomb6
Ah I remember trying to play through the Portal game series. Having to take frequent breaks while dying from nausea but not giving up to complete them. Mirror's Edge was a big no after only a few minutes though
reply
Ah I remember trying to play through the Portal game series. Having to take frequent breaks while dying from nausea but not giving up to complete them. Mirror's Edge was a big no after only a few minutes though
reply
-plusRpm
The only game that ever gave me motion sickness (and i-m including VR-Games) was gravity rush 2. An amazingly beautiful game, but goddamnit, with the additional motion control my stomach thought i was hungover -
reply
The only game that ever gave me motion sickness (and i-m including VR-Games) was gravity rush 2. An amazingly beautiful game, but goddamnit, with the additional motion control my stomach thought i was hungover -
reply
-c3r6s9
I've never gotten motion sickness from gaming and i had no idea it was such a big problem. i thought nier automata was weird for bringing it up so much early in the game. whoops, guess I'm the asshole -
reply
I've never gotten motion sickness from gaming and i had no idea it was such a big problem. i thought nier automata was weird for bringing it up so much early in the game. whoops, guess I'm the asshole -
reply
polygon
damn, didn't know The Witness added a reticle option before reading some of the comments on here. All this time I've been playing the game for 20 mins and quitting because of motion sickness. -
reply
damn, didn't know The Witness added a reticle option before reading some of the comments on here. All this time I've been playing the game for 20 mins and quitting because of motion sickness. -
reply
-SteedDigital1
A game that doesn't offer a reticle instantly meand putting a peice of tape on the center of screen with a small sharpie dot. I remember my friend doing it to cheap on some games.
reply
A game that doesn't offer a reticle instantly meand putting a peice of tape on the center of screen with a small sharpie dot. I remember my friend doing it to cheap on some games.
reply
-03dallasjs00
Funny thing is that I-ve never had this issue and always felt the reticle was immersion breaking, something that often brings you back to reality and tells you -this is a game-
reply
Funny thing is that I-ve never had this issue and always felt the reticle was immersion breaking, something that often brings you back to reality and tells you -this is a game-
reply
-Hologramparty
I turn them off if there is a choice. I think it was Far Cry 2 when I realized I liked games so much more without them. I guess I am lucky sim sickness doesn't affect me.
reply
I turn them off if there is a choice. I think it was Far Cry 2 when I realized I liked games so much more without them. I guess I am lucky sim sickness doesn't affect me.
reply
-ramonas4328
I learned this the hard way trying to play Half-Life without a reticle. Even the transparent one staved off the simulation sickness long enough for me to beat the game.
reply
I learned this the hard way trying to play Half-Life without a reticle. Even the transparent one staved off the simulation sickness long enough for me to beat the game.
reply
-SorchaSublime
I still hate the written articles of polygon for some of the bootlicking they have done for the industry's more shady practices, but their video content is on point.
reply
I still hate the written articles of polygon for some of the bootlicking they have done for the industry's more shady practices, but their video content is on point.
reply
-BadRAM512
This is weird to me because Lovely Planet, a reticleless parkour game, is one of my favorite things and I've never gotten sim sick from it. VR can still do me in though.
reply
This is weird to me because Lovely Planet, a reticleless parkour game, is one of my favorite things and I've never gotten sim sick from it. VR can still do me in though.
reply
-s. a. w5493
I got Fe because of a polygon review. It-s really cute, but I can-t play it! It makes me so nauseous. I thought it was triggering my migraines, but maybe it-s this?
reply
I got Fe because of a polygon review. It-s really cute, but I can-t play it! It makes me so nauseous. I thought it was triggering my migraines, but maybe it-s this?
reply
Add a review, comment
Other channel videos
5:27
