1Up - Six New Techs That May Shape PC Gaming

1UP has what they refer to as a "weird science" feature article up on some technology that may —or may not—influence future PC gaming. Here's some of the intro:

…so we present for your consideration six emerging technologies that might change the way you play PC games in the future. Or may not. From brain-wave scanning to pupil tracking to peripherals that simulate a Serengeti breeze, these devices — some prototypes, some real products you can buy today — are nothing if not creative. And their creators are hoping you'll want to play with them every day.

They look at several new techs, and mention that this one revolving around peripherals simulating physical environment may work well in games like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Oblivion:

AmBX
Surround yourself with sights and sounds (and fans)
Product: AmBX PC gaming peripherals
Manufacturer: Philips
Price: $299 to $399
Available: Now
What is it?
A scripting language (and shorthand for "ambient experiences"), AmBX powers a veritable SkyMall catalog of sense-stimulating PC peripherals. Forward-facing fans blow Taco Bell wrappers across unventilated game rooms while simulating gusts and breezes. A vibrating wrist rest brings rumbling console controller tech to keyboards. Mood lights mounted on 5.1 speakers cycle colors to match onscreen activity.

But this is the one that quite literally "caught my eye" :

EyeTech
Look to make you leap
Product: EyeTech
Manufacturer: EyeTech Digital Systems
Price: N/A
Available: Now…in places like museums. For games? Who knows.
What is it?
A camera, mounted underneath a monitor (or somewhere nearby), tracks your eyeballs as they roll around in their sockets. After a quick calibration sequence, your pupil movements translate to the PC screen, meaning your PC knows exactly what word, icon, or image you're staring at at any given moment.
Possible applications?
EyeTech showcased the most obvious: Make spaceships blow up simply by looking at them. (Replace saucers with user-uploaded images of peoples' heads for some high-grade Scanners-style fantasy fulfillment.)…

More information.

I'm pretty stoked about eyeball-only gaming. Now if they can just get artificial eyes rocking a la Blade Runner, I'm guaranteed to be able to play video games no matter how badly age and poor nutiriotn ravage my unsightly body.

Raiding at 85? Aww yeah.

I saw one video in (youtube?) where this german guy played som shooter controlling the characters movement with som hat that monitored the electromagnetic field around his head or somthing. He moved pretty good with no trouble.

I'll stick w/ the standard gaming paraphenalia, this kinda stuff just doesnt interest me in the slightest.

Humm, not sure it would be a great idea to have everything you look at blow up. Really makes exploring a bit dull, since you'll pretty much slaughter the landscape. "Wow, look that beautiful.. BOOOM".

Still, new ways of gaming is interesting to read about.

I've dabbled a bit in image analysis. The eyeball tracker is fairly established technology in other fields. If webcams are good enough I suspect it could become standard in shooters, since you wouldnt need any fancy extra hardware.

Eyeball tracking also has uses in an office- or handicap aid applications. Very nifty stuff.

I think those kind of technologies are interesting, but from concept to a proper implementation represents a HUGE space.

Having grown up with gaming, I know that the neat technologies we hear about and those that actually make it to our desk are two very different things.

Let's wait and see

Originally Posted by Maylander
Humm, not sure it would be a great idea to have everything you look at blow up. Really makes exploring a bit dull, since you'll pretty much slaughter the landscape. "Wow, look that beautiful.. BOOOM".

Sounds like playing an evil mage or an evil Overlord.

Some kids might LOVE this.

It's neat to read about, but its hard enough to afford a decent graphics card any more, so I can only imagine the price tag for adding very many of these nifty items to your system.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
I think those kind of technologies are interesting, but from concept to a proper implementation represents a HUGE space.

Having grown up with gaming, I know that the neat technologies we hear about and those that actually make it to our desk are two very different things.

Let's wait and see

That is true, especially when you need to purchase a gadget for some technology that only is supported by a game or two. I'm rather "optimistic" regarding the eyeball tracking though, as webcams have other uses than games, should have a standardised API for devs, and are fairly cheap. The engineering problems associated with it arent all that daunting either. Once webcams have a high enough resolution (which probably doesnt have to go that much higher) this could be made a standard component in FPS engines or even in the OS itself.