Anyone get sick playing video games?

[Miramonti]

I picked up Max Payne at compusa for $5 this weekend...it was too cheap to pass up. This is the first 3d game I've bought (and 1st that I've played)...heck I didn't even know my video card could handle it.

It turns out I get motion sickness playing it! After about 30-45 minutes, I felt pale and light headed, like I was just on a small boat out to sea in the middle of a storm, and I almost wanted to toss my lunch overboard. (...but fortunately I didn't)

Is this common? And if so, does a person overcome it and get used to playing the game after a while?

 

[Maki]

Low frame rates make me ill. If a game is running in the 10-25 range I get sick playing games.

 

[naddicott]

Games have actually been used to train people's brains to experience less motion sickness.

Link

My experience is moving between two games with different motion mechanics will make me get motion sickness with the title / engine I'm less used to. Play that game long enough and the tables are turned when I go back to the old game. It's all about giving your brain some time to learn what to expect and how quickly it adjusts to new stimulus.

I haven't played Max Paine personally, but I would expect that 'bullet time' stuff could throw some people's internal gyroscopes off a bit.

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: Maki
Low frame rates make me ill. If a game is running in the 10-25 range I get sick playing games.

How can I find out what fps's I'm getting?

Originally posted by: naddicott
Games have actually been used to train people's brains to experience less motion sickness.

Interesting, so there's hope!
Its been a couple hours no and I feel like I have jet lag.

 

[networkman]

Personally, I've never had a problem with motion sickness while playing video games, but I do know several people who got ill when they were trying to play Descent, though not experiencing problems with other games. I think the problems with Descent were because the game allows for movement in ANY direction.

 

[erikiksaz]

Suprisingly, my friends play quake 3 fine, which is one of the faster FPS games around, but they can't hang with the original Doom. Shrug, i know i can

 

[Wingznut]

Motion sickness is basically the result of some of your senses sensing motion, while the others aren't. Your body gets confused and decides to let you know about it.

So yeah, getting motion sick while playing games (ESPECIALLY FPS games) is quite common.

Personally, if I don't play for a couple of weeks, I get a little nautious after the first time. But what's even worse, is watching someone else play. Ugh.

It helps if you don't sit so close to the monitor, blink a lot, keep hydrated (no, Mountain Dew doesn't count ) and most importantly... Take breaks.

 

[Mloot]

I haven't experienced motion sickness from playing, but I played Crimson Skies (yay, $9 shipped from Ebay!) for a couple of hours the other night. After two hours of near constant turns trying to get my plane lined up behind the enemy for some good 'ole strafing, (for about 30 minutes after I stopped playing) while web surfing, I kept anticipating my screen to keep scrolling.

No matter how I tried wording it, I just couldn't make that last sentence come out right.

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: Wingznut
Motion sickness is basically the result of some of your senses sensing motion, while the others aren't. Your body gets confused and decides to let you know about it. So yeah, getting motion sick while playing games (ESPECIALLY FPS games) is quite common. Personally, if I don't play for a couple of weeks, I get a little nautious after the first time. But what's even worse, is watching someone else play. Ugh. It helps if you don't sit so close to the monitor, blink a lot, keep hydrated (no, Mountain Dew doesn't count ) and most importantly... Take breaks.

Dang, sounds like a drug...better to get constant fixes I guess than face withdrawals.
I put my video card in a faster machine and its moving a bit smoother, and I'm sitting back further too. It helps. What a tough choice tho...this game so cool and I'd rather keep playing than avoid the headache. Scary! I think I'm going to need some of Max's pain killers tho.

Originally posted by: Mloot
I haven't experienced motion sickness from playing, but I played Crimson Skies (yay, $9 shipped from Ebay!) for a couple of hours the other night. After two hours of near constant turns trying to get my plane lined up behind the enemy for some good 'ole strafing, (for about 30 minutes after I stopped playing) while web surfing, I kept anticipating my screen to keep scrolling. No matter how I tried wording it, I just couldn't make that last sentence come out right.

lol
I think I'll stay away from the flight/combat games til I get some better sea legs!

 

[LongCoolMother]

having grown up with 3d games, i can say ive never experience motion sickness from video games. although sometimes i get so tired i feel sick after hours of nonstop play. my mom says she gets a headache watching my screen when i play though, so i guess its different for everyone.

 

[CubicZirconia]

Motion sickness from games is definately nothing uncommon. Although I have never experienced it myself, I do have two friends who have. Both of them got stick after playing Unreal Tournament for the first time. I don't know if its the normal occurrence, but both of them "grew out of it." There's hope at least.

 

[waitman]

Originally posted by: erikiksaz
Suprisingly, my friends play quake 3 fine, which is one of the faster FPS games around, but they can't hang with the original Doom. Shrug, i know i can

Doom makes me so sick I wanna puke! Quake on the other hand is no problem, don't know why>

 

[everman]

Only when I'm watching a fps type of game on a tv (played on a console) from a few feet away, never on a PC though. It's wierd, I can spend days on a boat (like a hundred footer) and not get sick ever.

 

[Rand]

I don't know that it's common, but it definitely wouldnt be the first time I've heard of someone experiencing motion sickness due to video games.
It generally seems to be cause by games that have very unusual and rapid shifts in camera angles.... FPS games are generally the type that are most impacted by gamers experiencing motion sickness.

Personally I can't say it's ever bothered me at all... but I seldom play anything beyond RPG/Sports games, which generally arent likely to induce such experiences.
That said, I did play Max Payne and it didnt bother me in the least.

Personally, if I don't play for a couple of weeks, I get a little nautious after the first time. But what's even worse, is watching someone else play.

Wingz.... any hypothesis on why it's more bothersome when you watch others play rather then playing yourself?

 

[crisscross]

Well I get sick when i play violent games like Half Life, Heretic etc. doesn't happen when i play NFS though.

 

[TheOmegaCode]

My aunt gets really sick whenever she plays a game that "moves" quickly (mostly 1st person shooters).

 

[MrCoyote]

In the 80's they would say that some video games could cause seisures in some people when they are in contact with certain flashing patterns. So there were epilipsy warnings on games, but I haven't seen this warning on games in a long time. I think it was purely B.S., and some parent sued some company, after her child played a game 12 hours straight and got a seisure. That's what i think really happened.

 

[Mavrick007]

Originally posted by: Wingznut
Motion sickness is basically the result of some of your senses sensing motion, while the others aren't. Your body gets confused and decides to let you know about it.

So yeah, getting motion sick while playing games (ESPECIALLY FPS games) is quite common.

Personally, if I don't play for a couple of weeks, I get a little nautious after the first time. But what's even worse, is watching someone else play. Ugh.

It helps if you don't sit so close to the monitor, blink a lot, keep hydrated (no, Mountain Dew doesn't count ) and most importantly... Take breaks.

Hehe I agree totally about the getting sick while watching someone else play. It was a few years ago when I was at a friends place and they were playing a fps on a fast machine and my head just started spinning shortly after watching their screen. I think it has to do with the not knowing where they are going to go next as opposed to actually "moving" yourself.

Doom makes me so sick I wanna puke! Quake on the other hand is no problem, don't know why>

It could be because there were so many bright colors like reds and stuff in Doom while Quake is just a bunch of shades of brown. The bright colors might be too much for your eyes to adjust to at the high frames rate.

In the 80's they would say that some video games could cause seisures in some people when they are in contact with certain flashing patterns. So there were epilipsy warnings on games, but I haven't seen this warning on games in a long time. I think it was purely B.S., and some parent sued some company, after her child played a game 12 hours straight and got a seisure. That's what i think really happened.

It's not BS man, it is caused by an optic response that some people who are susceptible to epilepsy can get by bright flashing lights. It has to do with a section of the brain that may be triggered by it. They mainly put the warning there to dispel any lawsuits and I think you will find it on some games still being made today. Plus, some people who do not normally have seizures can get them if they play for too long too, that's why they suggest you take a break of 15mins every hour or two of game play.

Hehe If I play any game for more than a few hours I end up a pile of mush and feel worse than an all weekend drinking excursion. They could give you torture by video games by forcing you to play for 15hours straight without anything to eat or drink except coffee and mountain dew

 

[spacelord]

Descent is really the only game that made me a bit queezy... only if I wasn't feeling all that good anyways.. like too much beer the night before..