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Valve may start monitoring testers' brains to create better levels

6:40 PM on 11.21.2008 | Brad Nicholson

22 comments

Valve may start monitoring testers' brains to create better levels photo

#Left 4 Dead #Valve

Valve’s Gabe Newell recently wrote an article for Edge that dealt with procedural narrative (dynamic AI that can handle level scripting by itself), and how it’s used for both a story and a gameplay device in Left 4 Dead. As a result of procedural narrative a lot of traditionally human play testing isn’t necessarily needed anymore.

But that isn’t going to stop Valve. In fact, human play testing may enter into the realm of crazy weird. According to Newell, Valve could start wiring “players up with EEGs” to catch the physical reactions players have in response to action in games. In short, Valve could monitor stuff like heart rates and brain waves to see if the decisions that they are making in level design are properly impactful.

It’s not scary in a Terminator way, but I’m not exactly sure if machines need to be the deciding factor in terms of level progression and freaky stuff like monster closets. I’m just fine with how nervous I am while playing Dead Space. I don’t need to actually get to the point where I feel like I’m about to experience a heart attack to have a good time.

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20 comments | showing # 1 to 20

SuperD1984

True, i don't mind a good sneeze now and then but i don't wanna cream my knickers whilst playing any game.

necrozen

Leave it to valve man. These folks always seem to push the industry into new directions. But yeah, I get scared enough - maybe they could use it on other aspects of gaming like making in-game females that much more attractive!

Danmartigan

BRAINS

spas

Hmm this sounds interesting, I do want something like deadspace tenfold. Something which puts you into cardiac arrest and you wake up in hospital thinking "mann that was a good level!"

MrSadistic

GABE NEWELL NEEDS MORE BRAINZ NOM NOM NOM

inque

@ MrSadistic

Or Donuts?

I kid I kid

VengefulPenor

They are going to suck out our mind livers and spleens with bendy straws.

Sharpless

Oh Valve, you so crazy.

Darren Nakamura

Meh, just electroencephalograms? Why not go the whole nine yards and put the testers in an MRI and take an fMRI of their brains while they play?

Volomon

Gabe is like always full of shit. Hell I thought about automated AI difficulty changes back during AC2 (Asheron's Call) however I think only Bethesda has had any work with it and it was poorly implemented.

Also Left 4 Dead is nothing but modified spawn points and difficulty. Come on...

Qalamari

@Dexter- The magnets would mess up the monitors. And Lord knows what a magnet that powerful would do to a 360.

Stephen57

It would appear that NO ONE is safe from Chicago Ted.

UmarifficCKizzle

Just one more reason why Valve stands head and shoulders above all the other game companies.

Velt

Ok, heres an idea instead of that: lets just make more l4d levels and add them as patches.

falinter

I volunteer my brain to the study!

Aspire

I second that, falinter.

mix

Needs more "nothing for few mintues BAM zombies through side windows" acion as you can always tell when the horde is coming from the music.

Demtor

Well, they are responsible for this...

WarZombie

I doubt it would be too extreme, maybe just adding things here and there that would make the level design more interesting. I doubt it would get to the point where you must have constant heavy reactions to what's going on the screen that the game keeps your heart beating at 600 BPM the entire playthrough.

That would be unhealthy.

Pixelated

There's nothing wrong with this. All they're basically doing is hooking you up to an EKG to monitor your brain and other body levels. It's nothing intrusive and isn't the least bit dangerous to a healthy twenty or thirty something. If it helps them with already awesome story telling I say yes.

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