Duke Pukem: Motion Sickness in Video Games

Have video games ever made you sick? No, I’m not talking about how you felt after Nintendo’s E3 showing. (That feeling’s actually much worse.) I’m talking about “sim sickness,” and contrary to what the name might suggest, this isn’t the premise for a new, hospital-themed Sims game, either. It’s video game-induced motion sickness, and it’s turning lots of stomachs.

Originally reserved for when astronauts and pilots had adverse effects to flight simulators, the term is now more commonly used to describe what some gamers feel when they play particular games. After discovering 60% of pilots experienced it during training, the military has researched sim sickness for decades, but not as much research has been done to assess this problem in gamers.

The exact cause is still in question, but what we do know is that certain games throw off some people’s equilibrium, making them feel all sorts of crappy. The “sensory conflict theory” is widely accepted and suggests that especially realistic, 3-dimensional games confuse the body’s senses: your eyes are telling your body that it’s moving, while your inner ear is telling your body that it’s not. Your body consequently doesn’t know who to believe, and freaks out.

Since this malady was practically non-existent when ancient 2-d games ruled the earth (those only produced seizures), this theory seems feasible. The more realistic the environment, the more likely your body will be to mistake it for reality and get mad at you for messing with it, right? Scott Miller of Duke Nukem fame insists the contrary, claiming that the more realistic his 3-D games have become, the fewer complaints he’s heard. But did you ever think, Scott, that maybe the reason you’ve heard fewer complaints is that people have figured out that these games make them feel miserable, so they’ve stopped playing them?

For the most part, like Scott, game makers have responded to this issue with a “too bad,” but little has been done to make their games less likely to induce pukery. Nintendo’s brilliant idea is the following: “If you or your child feel dizzy or nauseous when playing video games, stop playing and rest.” No, really? I thought you were supposed to play the game until you were green in the face and blew chunks all over your console!

One beacon of hope shines for the future of these afflicted gamers. The “rest frame hypothesis” seems promising to researchers and suggests that if an inert object remains in view during gameplay, a sense of balance will be maintained. In other words, if game makers added a noticeable, stationary item to the screen from now on, there might be a lot fewer trips to the bathroom during your favorite FPS.

If you’re a stubborn, sim-sick gamer and insist on playing despite your wooziness, ginger and Dramamine seem to help. Or, if you’re especially proactive, install a toilet in your living room. It might not cure you, but it’ll sure make gaming a lot more convenient!