In the early days of console gaming, about 25% or so of all games made me nauseous, dizzy or gave me headaches to the point where I couldn’t play them. A prime example was Deus Ex: Invisible War. I enjoyed the game and wanted to continue playing it. But I couldn’t play for more than 15 minutes without becoming dizzy and nauseous. Ultimately, I had to abandon the game.
[Updated May 25, 2009. Added first person bobbing-while-walking factor.]
In the current (Xbox 360/PS3) console generation, the percentage of games that are unplayable due to nausea, headaches or dizziness has dropped dramatically to, perhaps, 5 to 10%.
For example, I couldn’t play the otherwise enjoyable Laura Croft: Tomb Raider Legend for more than 15 minutes without feeling ill.
Below, I identify three four factors that cause me dizziness, headaches and nausea when playing video games. I also list specific games that have made me sick.
I’d be interested in your thoughts – especially with respect to what might be behind the X-Factor discussed below.
Nausea Caused by Aggressive Camera Centering / Fighting
When a game gives me only partial control of the camera, especially when I need to fight the game for camera control, this makes me nauseous every time. Ironically, when a game takes total control of the camera from me, such as in God of War 2, I do not get nauseous.
The poster-child for this type of camera-control-fighting-induced nausea is the entire Resident Evil series. Not only does the game st0p you from moving your character wherever you wish (they are all ‘on rails’ games), the game aggressively fights the player for control of the camera by constantly pulling the camera back to the center every time the player looks hither or thither. Rumor has it that the forthcoming Resident Evil 5 might finally hand camera control to the player where it belongs. Surprisingly, this is controversial. I won’t be playing RE5 unless this problem is finally fixed. [Spring 2009 Update: The reviews for RE5 were so bad, I’m not even going to bother trying it.]
Each of the recent Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Battlefield: Bad Company, Resistance Fall of Man, Grand Theft Auto IV (but only when driving) and Star Wars, Force Unleashed (but only while moving) games fought me over the camera somewhat. This resulted in mild dizziness. Happily the implementation of camera centering in each of these games wasn’t aggressive enough to cause me to abandon the games over the issue.
Nausea Caused by No Y-Axis Inversion Option
The first console-based video game I ever played was Pilot Wings, on the N-64. As a flying game, it naturally featured inverted Y-axis controls. A dozen years and a hundred or so games later, I have inverted the Y-axis on every console game I’ve played since.
If I can’t invert the y-axis I can’t play. Non-inverted game play makes me instantly nauseous. My brain is wired in such a way that when I pull the right stick back, my brain expects the camera to move up. When the camera goes the opposite way it is very disorienting.
There are very few games now-a-days that do not provide the inverted control option. Indeed, inverting the Y-axis is so common that the Xbox 360 can be set to automatically configure every game I play with the Y-axis inverted.
I was astonished to discover that Silent Hill: Homecoming does not allow players to invert the Y-axis for normal viewing (it does have a limited Y-inversion option for shooting when the gun is wielded). As I wrote here, the game was unplayable. I had to abandon it.
Dizziness Caused by First Person Bobbing While Walking
I first wrote this post in October 2008. In late May 2009 I played F.E.A.R. 2 and remembered another cause of dizziness – the screen bobbing while a character walks. In F.E.A.R. 2 and several other first-person video games, the screen bobs up and down as the character moves. The bobbing, I gather, corresponds with the cadence of the character’s walk. This doesn’t make me dizzy or nauseous as quickly as the other factors discussed in this post, but I can usually only play a game that does this for an hour or so before becoming dizzy. The game is not unplayable, but it has to be taken in light doses.
Nausea Caused by the X-Factor – Possibly Frame Rate
Finally, there is a class of game that makes me seriously dizzy or nauseous even when I have full control over the camera and the Y-axis is properly inverted (see list below).
I’ve never fully understood, absent the camera/Y-axis issues, why some games make me dizzy and nauseous while others do not. I’ve always assumed it was a frame-rate issue. I’d be keen for any of you to suggest other possible causes.
Whatever the reason, such was recently the case with Mercenaries 2. The game gave me complete camera control and I had happily inverted the Y-axis but it still made me nauseous to play.
List of Games Causing Dizziness / Nausea
Below is a list of games that have made me seriously dizzy or nauseous. I also list the underlying game engine in parenthesis. Note how many games are built on versions of the Unreal and id Tech engines. I intend to expand the list over time as I remember them:
PC:
- Half Life 2 (Valve’s Source Engine): Enjoyed it so much I pushed through about 80% it. But, to this day, just the sounds of that game (the gravity gun in particular) make me woozy.
Original Xbox:
- Brothers in Arms: Earned Blood (Unreal Engine 2)
- Brute Force (?): Finished it anyways given how hyped it was – didn’t really enjoy it much
- Deus Ex: Invisible War (heavily modified Unreal Engine 2)
- Doom 3 (id Tech 4): Finished the game anyway – holding my cookies the whole way)
- Psi-Ops (Unreal Engine 2)
- Return to Castle Wolvenstein (id Tech 3): Finished it anyway but wasn’t that good.
- TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (??)
- Unreal Championship (Unreal Engine 2): Couldn’t play for more than 5 minutes at a time.
Xbox 360:
- F.E.A.R. 2 – (Valve’s Source Engine): First person bobbing while walking issue
- Half-Life 2 – Episodes 1 and 2 (Valve’s Source Engine)
- King Kong (Ubisoft’s Jade engine): Bad game – pushed through just for the easy achievements
- Laura Croft: Tomb Raider Legend (Crystal Dynamics Proprietary): I enjoyed it so much I pushed through about 40% of it before I had to stop because I couldn’t take it any more.
- Mercenaries 2 (EA proprietary)
- Perfect Dark Zero (Havok’s HyrdaCore): Thank goodness the game was horrible – I didn’t miss much
- Quake 4 (id Tech 4): Abysmal game.
- Prey (modified id Tech 4): Also pushed through about 75% despite extreme dizziness.
PS3:
(Note, the numbers are fewer here because, if given a choice, I play the 360 version of a game. Each platform is an equal opportunity nausea causer.)
- The Darkness (Starbreeze Engine)
- Resistance Fall of Man (Insomniac Engine): Caused only mild nausea. I was not nauseous when I played its sequel. I note that it’s sequel, Resistance 2, did not make me dizzy or nauseous.
- Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (Naughty Dog Proprietary) – Best PS3 game yet!
Conclusion
Thankfully, better graphics, higher frame rates and the abandonment of nausea-inducing camera controller techniques is making gamer illness increasingly a thing of the past. Unfortunately, as the recent games Silent Hill: Homecoming and Mercenaries 2: World in Flames have shown, we still have a way to go.
Hello everyone. I stumbled across this and decided to post my input for all. I'm in my early 20's and have played video games all my life. They never bothered me once. I could play gameboy in the car, I could sit for hours with a console, same with pc. But almost a year ago I started feeling really sick. Like to the point where I was sick to my stomach and had a bad headache. My history is playing all kinds of games, mostly RTS for PC like the C&C franchise with no problem. I played all consoles all types of games with no problems. I've had the same CRT 27″ tv for a long time and played 360 on it since release with no problem. Then I started CoD4 (& now 5) about a year and a half ago with no problem, then things started to change. I was feeling crappy during play but I never thought it was the games. Then I bought xblive and was only able to play for 30 Min and I would be just sick I had to lay down. It's been the same until this day. A few hours ago I played cod5 on ps3 network on a 42″ plasma and quit in about 5 min. I've felt like crap since and that was about 7 hrs ago. It seems no matter what game, what tv, what console, no matter distance or anything I get sick now no matter what. Except, I can watch tv no problem, movies at the theatre, Internet use, long times at the computer for work an no problem. This puzzled me so I thought back to changes and I can think of one medication I started when this did, around the same time. It's a SSRI to replace another SSRI I was on. I'm going to try to switch that, and also I talked to an eye doctor and she recommended crizal lenses for eye glasses. They supposedly cut glare by 99% she told me people use them when they are at a monitor for long times or night driving. I might try both of those, I'm also interested in the Ginger pill. I would hope this isn't permanent cuz I want to game again soon!! Thanks dr listening to my rant! Hope eveyone feels a little bit better!
Wow, that's sad Kyle. Please let us know if things improve and how. I think aging is probably relevant to all this. I wasn't a gamer until the original Halo came out back in 2001. That means I was 36 before I ever played any video game. So, I don't know if my being younger would have made things better. I doubt glare is the issue though. As for me, its always game specific. As mentioned above I'm probably 20 hours into Prince of Persia and I feel no nausea or headaches of any kind.
I was searching for answers to my game induced nausea and found you guys here with the same problem. I have this issue sometimes playing WOW or other games of the like. It doesn't happen every single time…but when it does happen I suffer from terrible neasea and headache.
I get mild dull headaches the day after playing ResEvil 5 on my PS3 thru a Sony 46″ DLP. Took me months to make the connection between the headaches and the game playing.
I have to wonder if the picture being highdef actually makes it harder to look at. The high level of detail can be somewhat harsh at times. And with it all in constant motion, it makes for a lot of detail for your brain to process for long periods of time.
Another possible reason for the headaches is that when one is playing one tends to keep their head and neck and shoulders ridgidely still for long periods of time without a break. That's bad for the circulation to your brain as tense neck muscles inhibit blood flow. I might try standing up to play and see if anything changes. . .
I don't experience any nausea, jut the low dull headache aspirin can't touch. I'm gonna try to see what resolution adjustments I can make to see if the situation changes any. Sorry to see you've had problems, but glad to see I'm not the only one affected.
jpminst.
All things being equal, for me the higher the resolution (and more importantly, the higher the framers per second) the lower the probability of getting nauseous.
As stated above I have not played Res5 because of its horrible reviews. Of all the game I've ever played the earlier Resident Evil Games were the absolute worst at giving me instant headaches and it was because the game gave me some degree of control over the camera but was constantly trying to wrestle control away and center the camera. Does Res5 do that. If you are looking, say, to the left, and you move forward and let the controls go, does the game recenter the camera. Does it do this, or try to do this as you are trying to look elsewhere. If so, my bet is that that is the reason this game is making you sick.
Also, do you get headaches playing any other game, or just this one? For me, any game that fights me with camera control will give me a headache and nausea pretty quickly.
…Dale
Hi,
I have a Wii and an XBox 360 and have never had a problem with nausea or headaches with any of the games I've played (fps included). I just bought a DS lite, however, and I've noticed that my eyes and stomach feel funny…
Oh… Any hope that I will get used to my DS Lite or is that that?
LfN, I've never owned a DSLite. My gaming experience is limitd to PC gaming, the N64, the original Xbox, Xbox 360 and the PS3 (though I have played PS2 games like God of War on my PS3).
In my experience it is not the platform that causes the dizziness, its particular games. Try a few other games, especially games of different genres, from different developers using different game engines, on your DS Lite and report back. I'll be curious to hear the results.
What game(s) is/are causing your ailments?
Hi everyone! this article is exactly what I was looking for. I am 32 years old and have been playing games for a very long time. I have never experienced this dizzyness until 1994. I had purchased an Atari Jaguar along with games Aliens Vs. Predator and Doom, now before this I was the kind of person that got motion sickness in planes, trains and boats, heck I hated being a passenger in any car period! So I was constantly on dramamine. Within 15 to thirty minutes of playing these games I noticed the same feeling but it was not instantanious, it kind of crept up slowly. Starting with a slight sweat on the forhead, headache, dizzyness than nausea. But at the time I did not make the connection that it was the videogames causing this.
Enter the sega saturn in 1995 and the playstation, with at the time mind blowing 3d graphics and virtual worlds to run around in. Robotica for the Saturn was a first gen game that was in the same mold as Doom but it had robots, anyway 6 minutes in and Im ready blow chunks all over my floor and the saturn. Other first gen games such as wipeout and legacy of kain for the ps1 caused this same effect, I started thinking that I would not be able to enjoy playing games any longer and to tell you the truth once you start feeling dizzy and nauseated you pretty much dont give a F$%K what you do as long as you lay down and get better.
But over these last few years I continued playing games but I was cautious about the games I chose, i stayed away from a lot of fps games because of my “fear” and once in a while I would man up and buy a game that I know would 99% of the time induce nausea on me but I had to play these games.
Half-Life almost Killed me, it was a gift from my brother for my computer and by the time I got it, it was old news by 2-3 years but its one of those games that were revolutionary and had to be played. I honestly played 15 min worth before totally giving up. But Halo 3 I can play all day without a problem.
FarCry 2 is another game that was slow to creep up on me.
Call of duty 4, not so much 98% of the time I was fine but if a flash grenade went off and i was running in-game i felt dizzy and i had a headache.
Prey was 10 Minutes before stopping
Fear I played through but I had to adjust the bobbing up and down to zero before continuing
Grandtheft Auto Series – Forget it 10 Minutes tops before I want to spew.
Another thing I noticed was that I could not watch other people Play FPS games as this was an almost instant nausea attack.
I sometimes take some dramamine before i start playing to help with this motions sickness and it works most of the time. But I am still to scared to try it with Half-Life.
Thanks for letting me share.
Hey Kevin,
Thanks for checking in.
It seems you and I get sick playing pretty much the same games – except GTA4 which I had no problem with.
You could adjust the bobbing up and down in FEAR 2? Gosh, I wish I knew that. I couldn't find a way to do that.
My suggestion. Rent a game before buying. If you don't get sick and enjoy the game, you can buy it. You'll save a lot of money that way. This is pretty much how I play all games now – especially since my local Game Shack has a stellar rent-to-own program they have with used games that makes gaming REALLY affordable. If I like the game I keep it. If I don't like the game I return it within 7 days and pay only $5.
…Dale
I used to have very bad dizziness, headache, stomach ache and a cold sweat “so bad I had to lie on the floor till they passed” which stopped me from being a 3d games programmer over 20 years ago, I just couldn't test my game for more than 2 minutes. Hence I have not played or written any 3d games since but have over the years wondered if it was a middle ear travel sickness type ailment and if it is then do ordinary travel sickness pills cure it, also are they safe to take long term?
Gary
Gary, I think what causes sickness is different from person to person. There do seem to be some common themes though. I do think that motion sickness is related to video game sickness for sure. Some have mentioned above that motion sickness pills do help them. I haven't tried. I figure video games aren't important enough to me to take pills over. And, for me, frame rate issues and game engines are improving so much that the issue is falling away as games get more graphically sophisticated.
Dale,
It puzzles me that there isn't more information on this matter. I believe there has to be a connection between standard motion sickness and videogame induced ones. The reason why I believe this to be true is because the feeling is virtually the same. Sea sick, car sick, I mean I have had many, many years of getting I'll everytime I was a passenger. Now in the 15 years that I've been driving I have not had motion sickness but if I'm a passenger then I do. I figured the reason behind it was because I as a driver knew when I was braking and hitting the gas as opposed to a passenger who wasn't prepared for sudden braking. Now videogames that I mention above that caused me this same feeling like halflife 1 and 2 ( and most recently ) the darkness for my 360, have certain elements in the game or game engine itself that literally makes me sick. F.e.a.r 1 had these same elements, such as the bobbing up and down as you walked. The darkness has this motion when you walk that mildly sways side to side and it feels like your “floating” this killed
me. Now comparable games that don't get me dizzy 98% of the time such as the call of duty series, yet there is slight movements in there that should make me dizzy but don't, so I wonder if it comes down to the game engine itself that might be behind it. I also understand that everyone is affected differently by different games for those of us that get dizzy that is, but I have noticed a trend in the posts above when it comes to the halflife games (which is run on the source engine), seem to induce Nausea more than others. Although certain games that are run on the Id engines or unreal engines make me just as sick I am able to play through most of them. I think it would be interesting to see just how many people that have posted or will post, have comparable problems with certain games basically a list of games that people have gotten sick with and percentage tally. Personally this is a very interesting subject for me and I am curious as to why it only affects a certain number of people and others are immune to it, my brother for example has no issues and it makes me wonder.
I only ever got car sick, or train sick when I was trying to read. Otherwise, if I was looking out the window I never got sick. I thought that had to do with the book swaying back and forth and it being hard for my eyese to stay focused on what I was reading. That 'seems' similar to a swaying, bobbing, floating character in a game.
I would certainly like to see other people's lists of games that make them sick – especially if they could rate which games made them the most sick.
I have made my list above and have added to it several times since I started this post – and will continue to add to it as new games make me sick or I remember old one's. I think that is a good idea Kevin.
Me too, I bought one a year or so ago, and I can play for about two hours, then I get some serious nausea. Not too bad for two hours, but I wih I could go longer.
I have the same problem!
Madden football doesn't give me a headache on PS2,
however Tony Hawk skating does.
I don't get sick, and I never had problems playing RE4 on Wii. The problem, I think, is the Sony DLP tv I have combined with the 1st person shooter format of RE5.
Ordinarily, I never get sea-sick, or car-sick, and the curious thing is that there is a lag between the time I play the game and when the headache pops up. Usually, I'll get the headache the day after I play the game the previous night.
My theory is that the DLP puts a too great a stress on the brain to 1) average all the colors together, 2) to resolve all of the sharp detail that RE5 has in the background. First person shooters are more burdensome than other games because the entire field of vision is always moving.
I'm still experimenting. I may be able to play the game on a regular SD CRT set. It may well be the Sony DLP set itself that I can't tolerate.
Have you tried using a different connector to your DLP? Some people notice differences with different connectors. I've never used a DLP TV so I don't really have any suggestions. Have you tried playing with a different TV. Let us know how it goes if you do.
…Dale
I found this page through google after a discussion of the same topic. I have the same problem you do, but I'm a little more clear on the causes of my nausea and dizziness when in game-play.
Number 1 and biggest issue is lack of PERIPHERAL VISION. I can't see to the right and left of me at all and until I tried playing some of these games, I never quite understood how much I really use my peripherals. Getting closer to a screen so I can tune out the unmoving sides helps on games where I can zoom out a little, like Fable for Xbox of Zelda for N64. Still, I develop a headache after about 20 minutes.
I do however notice that I can get used to the game setting, but once I do and I get up and walk away from the tv, I'm suddenly nauseas and a bit dizzy and literally having issue focusing on things and walking in straight lines. My depth perception completely fails me.
This helped me feel like less of a failure as a gamer, for sure. I'm constantly getting pushed over because I can't play this or that game because of the display. First Persons are always out of the question, my eyes begin to water within seconds. Now, at least, I know I'm not alone in my pain haha..
Hope you find a solution. I'll be googling to see if you ever post one.
Well this is very interesting Ali. I had never thought of peripheral vision being an issue. I moved from my Xbox to my Xbox 360 at pretty much the same time I moved from an old square 4×3 CRT to a larger 42″ flat screen 16×9 plasma TV. This, by definition, gives me more peripheral vision. This may partially account for why I feel less nausea then I did when I played Xbox games (among other reasons discussed above).
I do site pretty close to my plasma TV – about 8 to 10 feet away. I don't know how to test this because I really wouldn't want to be much further away or closer. Where I sit is about right for the size of my TV.
I've never notices peripheral vision being an issue for sure, but now that you mention it, I'll keep it in the back of my mind when assessing games that cause me nausea in the future.
…Dale
Wow, lots of people here getting nausea from games. Good to know I am not alone.
I recently bought a PS3, but more for blu-ay than the gaming. I have a few games, and here is the experience:
Burnout Paradise City: No problems
Baja Edge of Control: Slight nausea
Call of Duty 4: Holy cow, I thought I was going to pass out
Battlefield 1943: I was about to vomit
No clue what causes it. I use to play counter-strike (PC) for years, no problems. Counter-strike Source would give me some issues.
I do get car sick at times.
I wonder if a motion sickness medicine would help?
But for your counter-strike point, I would have thought shooters make you sick. I'm wondering if the consoles make you sick in some way that the PC does not. Some commenters have found that Dramamine (a motion sickness remedy) helps. I”ve never tried it. I could play any of the Call of Duty games on my 360 all day and never get sick.
I ended up trying Dramamine, and it seemed to work. I played Battlefield 1943 for quite a while, until I was too tired to stay awake any longer.
I'll try it with Call of Duty 4 and see how that goes
(these are both on the PS3)
Thanks
Shannon
sorry to say, but this happens alot to me also, and i found out that I have a problem with the my equalibrium, its called vertigo, i notice having problems latter after the games focousing on my right eye, because i dont have 20 20 vission i tend to feel dizzie and because my hearing is also bad on my left side it tends to cause an emblance, the nausea comes from being dizzy, go see an eye doctor and have your ears checked at the same time, knowing what I know now about my emblance gives me a chance to chang the volume on my amp and moving away from the screen helps a lot.
but there isnt much that can be done about it, see your doctor first before trying any of these ideas, what works for some, dont always work for others. fix the balance on your tv or stereo, and move back from the screen it may help some. see wicth side your hearing is better and fade the louder to the side were hearing is poor got it?
Humm … I think vision could be a problem for people that become nauseous with every game, but for people like me, where I get nauseous playing only certain games, while others I could play round-the-clock without getting sick, it can't be eye problems – or I'd get sick with every game. But its certainly something to consider if you get sick playing any game.
On the topic of Vertigo:
https://www.daleisphere.com/vertigo-1958/
🙂
I’d like to share a few thoughts.
First, a question: is this at all related to the epilepsy/seizure warnings on gaming packages? That was my first thought (years ago) but the symptoms described are actually completely different (e.g. http://www.microsoft.com/games/home/photosensit…) so I’m guessing the answer is “no.”
As to my own experience: I could never play Half-Life because of this condition. However, CounterStrike, based on the engine, never gave me any problems at all. Now that Half-Life 2 came out I was eager to play it but it had the exact same problems as Half-Life.
However, and here comes the interesting bit: I’m using a mac so to play HL I’ve got two options: either boot the parallel Windows installation, or start Windows in a virtual machine from inside OS X. DirectX does actually work in the virtual machine and the speed is halfway decent so I *can* play HL inside the virtual machine, albeit with lower graphics settings that require special hardware features/drivers (in particular, no HDR, no fancy water reflections …). Inside the virtual machine, I don’t experience dizziness, even after hours of playing.
I haven’t yet discovered the deciding factors that differ between these two settings. Perhaps someone has an idea? My experience with running HL2 in a virtual machine somewhat disprove the hypotheses that this is related to general motion sickness and/or absence of peripheral vision I guess …
Likewise, I believe it would be too simple to blame water reflections since (for me at least, and as far as I can tell) the effect also exists for parts of the game without reflecting surfaces. It also fails to explain the differences between HL1 and CounterStrike. It might help to know the exact differences between running the game natively versus in a VM, and the technological differences between HL1 and CS.
I’d like to share a few thoughts.
First, a question: is this at all related to the epilepsy/seizure warnings on gaming packages? That was my first thought (years ago) but the symptoms described are actually completely different (e.g. http://www.microsoft.com/games/home/photosensit…) so I’m guessing the answer is “no.â€
As to my own experience: I could never play Half-Life because of this condition. However, CounterStrike, based on the engine, never gave me any problems at all. Now that Half-Life 2 came out I was eager to play it but it had the exact same problems as Half-Life.
However, and here comes the interesting bit: I’m using a mac so to play HL I’ve got two options: either boot the parallel Windows installation, or start Windows in a virtual machine from inside OS X. DirectX does actually work in the virtual machine and the speed is halfway decent so I *can* play HL inside the virtual machine, albeit with lower graphics settings that require special hardware features/drivers (in particular, no HDR, no fancy water reflections …). Inside the virtual machine, I don’t experience dizziness, even after hours of playing.
I haven’t yet discovered the deciding factors that differ between these two settings. Perhaps someone has an idea? My experience with running HL2 in a virtual machine somewhat disprove the hypotheses that this is related to general motion sickness and/or absence of peripheral vision I guess …
Likewise, I believe it would be too simple to blame water reflections since (for me at least, and as far as I can tell) the effect also exists for parts of the game without reflecting surfaces. It also fails to explain the differences between HL1 and CounterStrike. It might help to know the exact differences between running the game natively versus in a VM, and the technological differences between HL1 and CS.
I hope game developers stumble upon this page and do more research on what makes people sick when the play games.
I got dizzy/nausea from Deus Ex 1, the early Doom engine games (Hexen, heretic, doom 1 and 2), Uncharted for PS3, Killzone 2, and Resistance PSP. I've been fine with everything else though, just about.
Some people I know can play Uncharted with no problems, but then can't stand FPS games due to sickness issues. What the heck is going on??
Ugh, dude feel for you, literally. Many of the games you listed, when I play, I get the exact same thing. Especially Call of Duty and Resident Evil.
Another thing, I never realized that the “partial camera control” could be a reason, but now I think about it, when games are like that, I too get extremely dizzy. In fact, today I finally, bought The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and was extremely excited to try it. In fact, I greatly enjoy it, however, while you can center your screen with a button, the camera still moves by itself, especially when moving. I had to constantly wrestle the camera to point it forward, which I doubt is helping my dizziness at all. As such, I was only able to play for an hour before I had to stop, due to the extremity of dizziness.
Also, about 6-7 years ago, I used to play a game avidly, and I had no problems, in fact I don't think I had ANY problems with any games. However, I went to Calgary, AB to visit some relatives and we went to the Calgary tower. Despite not being too tall, when the elevator was rising, I had my ears pop (from the differentiation of air pressure from rising to the top of the tower) for the FIRST time in my life. Right when it happened, I instantly felt nauseous and collapsed. Afterwards when i went back home, whenever I played that game I began to feel nauseous after 10 minutes or so, and so i stopped play.
Also, to the post about reading in the car, I've always just thought of that as motion sickness. I naturally get sick if sitting in a car for more than 4 hours, and so I just thought that when i was reading, my eyes were focused on a book, but the whole car was, so my balance was off since my focal point was not synced with the movement, as such I have found that looking at the landscape far away helps a lot.
Anyway, it's good to know there are others out there 🙂 *Goes to try and play twilight princess again*
Yes, it is surprising how there seems to be no consistency between people. I too got dizzy sick from Deus Ex, and Doom as you did, but had no problem with Killzone or Uncharted. Go Figure!
What was the game you played after the elevator experience – 'avidly'? Have you played it since? Does it still cause nausea or was that a one time experience.
I'm glad to see someone else experiencing nausea from lack of camera control. It's not just me.
I just bought a PS3 today and rented Little Big Planet from the video store. After an hour of play, I got extremely nauseous and end up running for the bathroom to vomit. I have felt dizzy ever since then. I have only experienced this once before with a video game and that was Spyro. I don't play a lot of games. Everyone I have told before say they have never heard of this so I am glad to know I am not alone but wish there were a way to keep it from happening. I really like the Little Big Planet game!!
The only thing that other have suggested that works for them is Dramamine. I've not personally used it becaues there is no video game worth taking a pill for in my mind. But you could try it. Otherwise, I think those of us that get dizzy etc. from games will just have to live with it. 🙁
Omg i aggree that Resident Evil 5 make people nausea i can't stand it for 5min keep turning to aim -_-
Haha it was Gunz by ijji. The game involves a lot of screen movement. Yea I still get nauseous from it.
Btw someone mentioned getting headaches from guild wars. I've been playing for 4 years and I haven't had any problems but after reading your post, ridiculously enough I got a headache. But I think it was just aftereffects from twilight princess or my mind TRYING to make it seem so after reading your post.
And spyro! A lot of people I've read had problems with spyro. You'd think maybe after all this time they'd change something about their games
I've never come across anyone else with my problem. It's especially prominent with call of duty games. I don't play GTA but my husband does and it makes me sick just being in the same room. That's why I stick to playing dr.mario on my gameboy.
You raise a new issue noxious. That of 2nd hand nausea. I get nauseous frequently if I watch other people plat – most any game. The reason, I suspect, is I don't have control of the stick. I am trying to look one-way while the player moves the camera another way. To me this is a variation of the lack of camera-control issue I discuss above. When the camera moves in unpredictable or undesirable ways, that's instant headache for me.
On a positive note, my husband made me play World of Warcraft and it didn't make me dizzy at all. However, I was frustrated that I had to push a different key for every direction instead of just moving a stick around. I was banging the keyboard because I couldn't remember which letter was for what.
Well, that's a WHOLE NEW TOPIC! 🙂 I've never enjoyed PC gaming. But, I don't want to start a war here, so I'm going to sheepishly back away and hope nobody here starts throwing brickbats at me!
The frustration is just a result of me not being able to remember anything. I've never liked computer games either, except Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit which only used the arrow keys.
The first game that made me dizzy and nauseous was Deus Ex. I remember feeling very excited and couldn't wait to install the game on my PC. Installation was succesful without any issues and i started playing. After about one hour of play, the nausea hit me. I just couldn't look at the screen moving without feeling like throwing up my lunch. On top of that , I had this nagging ,dull thudding in my head , kind of like when you have too much coffee or smoke too many cigarettes in short time. That was it , my acquaintance with Deus Ex ended right there and the CD was relegated to the confines of my desk drawer. It was a pity , I was really getting into the game and mentally calculating how many levels would i be able to negotiate in three or so hours i had with me.
Return to castle wolfestein: With deus ex , i could manage about an hour without feeling the effects but RTCW was a different story. I could barely manage 20 mins before i got the spins and the nausea associated with it. I just had to lie down or risk emptying the remnants of my breakfast onto my monitor.
I have also noticed that this happens more often with First Person Shooters, third person perspective doesn't make me feel that way. I have played the Hitman series , Splinter cell etc without any issues.
One exception is Counter Strike. It has never made my dizzy even though its a FPS. Anyway , glad to know that there are others like me!
We both shared the Deux Ex and Wolvenstein sickness! 🙂 But you felt it on the PC and I did on the Xbox. I'm hoping to play the latest Wolvenstein in the next month or so (despite tepid reviews). I'm hoping that as with most games that caused me sickness in the past that their game engines have improved enough so that I don't get sick.
As an update. I just finished ODST campaign mode. Not a drop of nausea all the way through.
Yea the ODST gave me no problems either.
@ Addy I have problems with fps too,but splinter cell does affect me. And counter strike condition zero does as well, yet source doesn't. And battlefield 2142 does and not bf2. It hardly makes sense but yea…
This is a great discussion! I've always had problems with games that have first-person views of an immersive environment, even the old Might and Magic games (VI and onwards). I have trouble with Deus Ex and Silent Hill too, just to name a couple that other posters brought up. After a while of playing almost any first-person view I have to go and lie down on the floor. I only play on PC, and I have the same problems whether with CRT or LCD, older games or newer.
I do have some theories about the cause of the nausea which I'd like to share. One is to do with the lack of physical motion that a few people already brought up before. I never have nausea or dizziness in gaming arcades, and I think it's because the arcade machines allow players to move their bodies in tune with what's happening on the screen. Some of the articles I read suggest that the nausea comes about because the vestibulocular reflex is suppressed while playing FPS. That's the reflex which synchronizes eye and head movements – both are supposed to move together, but apparently only one or the other moves while playing on PC or console, and so people become disoriented.
Another one is the lack of a focal point and peripheral vision, as someone brought up as well. I noticed that if my character is holding something in its hands that's visible, I'm less likely to become dizzy and nauseated. Similarly if I'm playing something like American McGee's Alice, which shows a first-person view of the movement but with the character just in front of you as if you're looking over its shoulder, I don't become dizzy so easily. And also for views with large sidebars, like the Might and Magic series. This one also goes back to the vestibulocular reflex, where the eye continues to focus on something even while the head is moving. Because the entire view moves, the thing being focused on is snatched out of line of sight, creating disorientation because there's nothing left to focus on – unless there's a fixed item of significant size in or around the centre of the screen, like an equipped weapon. Targeting crosshairs and small indicator bars apparently aren't large enough.
(Just for interest, the Final Fantasy battle environment seems to support this. If the camera view is allowed to move automatically, it swings in ways that should give people major motion sickness, but don't – because it's always focused very sharply on the current character.)
I'm not sure about frame rate as that apparently differs by individual vision, as well as being affected by things like myopia, astigmatism or presbyopia. Those conditions can account for eyestrain and headaches though. Also for me, resolution doesn't seem to make a difference. (I mean, Might and Magic?)
Interesting stuff Mint.
Others have also said that first person and third person viewing makes a difference. I've never correlated my being sick to first or third person view. I can get sick in either view and I can be fine in either view.
So there has NEVER been a first person game that you have been able to play without getting sick? I notice that if I'm in a first person view I get sick when the character bobs up and down while walking. But in Halo, for example, Master Chief doesn't bob, so I don't get sick in first person view.
Another thing I forgot to mention in my original post. I have monocular vision:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monocular_vision
My eyes do not work together and never have. My left I follows my right and I use it for peripheral vision but I only use my right eye. If I close my right eye, my left eye has perfect vision, but when the right eye is open it becomes subservient. A side affect of this, for example, is that I can't see 3D movies like others can. It never occurred to me until now that that could be part of my problem.
But then again, as I've said above, as games get better and better and frame rates increase, the probability of my getting sick has decreased dramatically as the years pass.
Geeze sounds familiar!There are some games I just CANNOT play.I get so sick that I will actually throw up if I dont stop in time.
Grand Theft Auto (a couple of them actually) is one for me too.Jak 3(havent played any of the other jak and Dexter games) is horrible.
For me it is the ones that,like you say,take a bit of (or a lot) control over the camera manuevering away from me.
It sucks.I love playing games and the ones that kill me…..seriously render me incapacitated for a good 20 minutes trying to regain my focus and non-upset stomach!!!
Oh yeah,elaborating on my comment directly below.when I hit a spot in a game when it starts happening-it happens like-instantly.I have very little warning.I am just all of a sudden spinning ferociously.For a few days at least after a serious episode(for lack of a better word) I will be more vulnerable to feeling dizzy and off balance.Sometimes later in the day I am also irritable and edgy/impatient.Im normally mellow so these mood shifts stand out.
Its really disconcerting.I refuse to play games the make me feel like that-I no longer even try.My boyfriend has no problems and tries to encourage me to give it another shot…..but it never works so I dont anymore.if anything,it makes it even worse.
Im glad Im ot alone in it.I have found a local gamer shop though who will give me a very very fair price for my second hand never played games if this occurs.bonus!they are not unfamiliar with this apparently!