Technical Question: Motion Sickness from Playing on Console

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MRFAndover

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Does anyone know if it is possible to develop motion sickness while playing a console game?

I was playing Destiny 2--because I like the sound of the game and it's a way to connect with my 24-year-old son--and I got very nauseous and dizzy. I thought maybe it might have been the beginnings of food poisoning. Anyhow, I stopped playing and did some other stuff. Eventually, I felt better.

But gosh, I spent 60 bucks plus tax on the game. I don't want to not be able to play it!

Your thoughts?

Thanks in advance.
 

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Motion sickness (simplified) takes place when the various "indicators" of motion in our bodies disagree enough to induce conflicting responses.

I've heard of this most often with car-racing games. I don't know enough about the actual content of Destiny2, but there's not reason it would be immune.

Come to think of it, I've heard a couple of friends say that FPS (First Person Shooters) have done it to them a couple of times.

I know nothing about how common this is. But I'm confident that it is NOT unknown.
 

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I don't have a console player, but I can't play computer games with a lot of motion--the ones that come to mind are Silent Hill and some Dracula game where the character POV could spin around. Half an hour and I'm motion sick.

You could try taking motion sickness meds like Bonine half an hour before playing. I do that for movies when I hear in advance that they're sick-inducing, but haven't tried it for games.
 

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It is absolutely a thing. I couldn't play Minecraft at first because it made me dizzy, nauseous and claustrophobic. It's common with first-person and racing games, and it's also been a major challenge for VR developers. For PC games, there are often mods you can install that will make the game motion-sickness-friendly. For a console game that's not as possible, but if you're determined to play it, try sea bands or ginger pills. Using a smaller screen, or sitting farther away, can also help.
 

cornflake

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Does anyone know if it is possible to develop motion sickness while playing a console game?

I was playing Destiny 2--because I like the sound of the game and it's a way to connect with my 24-year-old son--and I got very nauseous and dizzy. I thought maybe it might have been the beginnings of food poisoning. Anyhow, I stopped playing and did some other stuff. Eventually, I felt better.

But gosh, I spent 60 bucks plus tax on the game. I don't want to not be able to play it!

Your thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

Do you get motion sick in a general sense? In my experience, people who tend toward motion sickness are more vulnerable to it across the board, which isn't to say you couldn't react to one thing but...

You can absolutely get sick from a game, same as a movie (I lasted 15 minutes into Hunger Games before staggering toward the customer service desk and saying I was about to barf all over their theatre -- they said it wasn't that common but they'd had a few a week and gave me a voucher), a boat, train, etc., Motion sickness is most often caused by a disconnect between your eyes and ears -- your eyes see motion that your inner ears don't experience, or vice versa. If the game was made using handi-cam like filming, that can cause it in a hot second. Handi-cams are the enemy of the easily-induced motion sick.

If you want to see it in action, go find a clip of the opening of the Hunger Games movie on youtube and watch it with the sound off for 2 minutes. It's a scene in a bedroom, but the camera bobs up and down like it's on a dinghy. Handi-cam.
 

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I absolutely get motion sick from games. Worst one was when my husband was playing The Witcher 3. It's got a "Fish-eye lens" mode that you have to use rather frequently, and it was making me just absolutely the worst motion sick, and I don't get motion sick easily. Luckily, that game allowed you to disable to fish-eye effect and I was fine after. If you can change the camera rotation or movement speed or narrow down the effect that's causing your issue, it may help.
 

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I've had this happen a lot with games where you're in the POV of the player or the 'camera'. Something that follows a character down hallways or narrow pathways that twist and turn get me badly. Darkly lit scenes also seem worse than bright scenes.

For me, a lot of it comes from the neck and jaw tension I tend to build while sitting still and concentrating hard on a game. When you're that tensed up, the smallest motion of your head can make you very dizzy when something on the screen moves in a different/opposite way. I have to make sure I take frequent breaks to stretch out my neck and shoulders if I'm playing something for any length of time.
 

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If you want to see it in action, go find a clip of the opening of the Hunger Games movie on youtube and watch it with the sound off for 2 minutes. It's a scene in a bedroom, but the camera bobs up and down like it's on a dinghy. Handi-cam.


Bleck, that sounds awful. I got seasick once, and it was the sickest I've ever been in my life.

Given its ability to make people sick, and to turn at least some potential customers away, it amazes me that they make movies (and games) with these jiggly qualities. I mean, are there really people who say, "I love it when it's all dark and hard to see and the camera is jiggling around like mad during a movie/game"?

I've never met anyone who has, but I've met plenty of people who say they can't stand movies or games that do this, even when they don't get motion sick. Isn't the point to sell the product to as many people as possible?
 
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cornflake

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Bleck, that sounds awful. I got seasick once, and it was the sickest I've ever been in my life.

Given its ability to make people sick, and to turn at least some potential customers away, it amazes me that they make movies (and games) with these jiggly qualities. I mean, are there really people who say, "I love it when it's all dark and hard to see and the camera is jiggling around like mad during a movie/game"?

I've never met anyone who has, but I've met plenty of people who say they can't stand movies or games that do this, even when they don't get motion sick. Isn't the point to sell the product to as many people as possible?

Seasick once? PFFT! :D I've been seasick on boats (even on a cruise ship, which are supposed to be equipped to prevent most motion sickness. So sick a passing crewmember stopped in his tracks as he was walking by and backed up to me to guide me down to the parking garage at the bottom- and centermost part of the boat), planes (I once sat, in the middle of a 9-hour flight I spent motion sick, silently plotting how I might open the emergency door without being tackled by a flight attendant. I figured it'd be cool and breezy on the way down), buses, trains, in movie theatres...

I've no idea about the handi-cam except they don't care, or think it's a few people making a fuss or whatever. It's not that few, though I guess they figure it's not so many that it's not covered by people who presumably like it or don't care. Some directors are in love with it, like Neil Blomkamp (District 9, etc.), and their stuff is noted specifically because people despise it (there are lists of moves -- it's also known as shakycam, queasycam, etc.) At least one chain has posted signs outside some movies filmed with it warning people prone to motion sickness (Cloverfield was bad, I hear). I check if it's something that looks like it could be, but I didn't even think about THG. Really, watch almost any random clip with no sound and you'll see it. Directors think it brings realism or some crap. It's art! Who cares how many people hate their art? Got me with the rationale for a mass market product.
 
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MRFAndover

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Given its ability to make people sick, and to turn at least some potential customers away, it amazes me that they make movies (and games) with these jiggly qualities. I mean, are there really people who say, "I love it when it's all dark and hard to see and the camera is jiggling around like mad during a movie/game"?

Well, there was The Blair Witch Project?

Thanks so much everyone. If I had thought this was a real thing, I would have Googled it.

Lot's of great ideas here. The controller thingie you hold in your hand vibrates at times during play, and that might be part of the effect. When it got really bad, I was standing up so I could see certain things on the screen. It was worse then. Also, I do think the physical intensity of my posture had a lot to do with it; I might even have been holding my breath.

There are two interesting things here. First, I'm going to try an experiment. I have Tomb Raider (this is the newer, backstory game) on my computer. My kid has the same game for Xbox. I'm going to try playing it on the Xbox and see what happens. It never was a problem for me on my laptop.

The only time I reliably get motion sick is in a car and trying to read. I'm OK reading on a plane. I'm OK on the train as long as I am facing the direction that the train is moving. I can't read if I'm sitting backwards relative to the direction of motion.

The other time I've experienced motion sickness when on a sailing yacht that had to motor around for 1 1/2 days because of a lack of wind. There was a huge amount of chop because a hurricane was passing south of where we were on Penobscot Bay. This is a long story, and I will try to write a blog post about it. Not for the motion sickness, but for what the event meant to me.

Rather than trying medication, I think I'll see if I can play the game on my laptop. We just won't tell my son. ;)

Many, many thanks.
 

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Sometimes in a game the FOV may be too close and sudden movement in too close a FOV can cause dizziness. Rise of the Tomb Raider (if that's the one you have) is a magnificent game and, to me at least, ranks right up there with the best. I'm now on my second run-through, having played it a year or so ago. It has a fairly pulled back FOV though and the player can go at their own speed, so not sure why the dizziness occurs- if indeed it does occur with that one.

I run it on a good (home constructed) PC with a 35" Predator (G-Sync)monitor.

Afterthought- I never play games on a perpetual 'fast running' mode. That continuous fast movement and scanning can make me feel a tad 'off'.
 
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kneedeepinthedoomed

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Games, especially multimillion dollar productions, are usually put through a testing and quality assurance process. If none of the testers exhibit motion sickness, they sell the game.

The QA testers probably don't represent older people, though. It's usually a badly paid job for younger people who already love games.

The controller vibration can be turned off in the game menu. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYUBafQtcpA This can be googled.

Tensing up might have something to do with it. Take regular pauses, stretch, have a water bottle at hand while playing, get enough fresh air. There may be a component of needing to get used to it. Don't play when tired. If you get woozy, look away from the screen for a while, look at an unmoving object so your brain can re-orient. Have enough light in the room. Increase the contrast setting of the game.

The Field of view angle (how narrow the "lens" is as you view the game) may play into it as well, but it may not be possible to change this on consoles. This is because higher FOV requires more hardware power to draw the game since more things are on the screen, and consoles may not reach playable framerates when doing that, so the developer disallows it. Which is bad.

Higher FOV (over 90 degrees) creates a fisheye effect though, and also gives the impression of even faster movement. Shooter players use this sometimes.

I will also say that movies use a narrow FOV (35mm camera = 40 degree FOV) and rarely does this affect moviegoers in a negative way... there is an element of myth to it, probably stemming from competitive first person shooter players.

Motion sickness in Minecraft or other "pixely" 3D games can happen when the brain has issues determining where the floor is / where up and down is / where the horizon is. This may have to do with the mash of pixels on the screen. It happens to me in old games like Doom and Wolfenstein - pixels, darkness, sometimes the same texture used on floor and ceiling... bad!

Try putting a lamp next to the screen, too.
 
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Felix

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I've developed this fun new symptom where I get dizzy - comparable to vertigo but not as extensive - when I catch a cold. Some video games do that to me now. And car rides, which saddens me because I'm like an adult puppy and I freak out when someone wants to take me on a car ride.

Non-drowsy dramamine is my friend. It even helps when I have a cold.
 

cornflake

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Games, especially multimillion dollar productions, are usually put through a testing and quality assurance process. If none of the testers exhibit motion sickness, they sell the game.

The QA testers probably don't represent older people, though. It's usually a badly paid job for younger people who already love games.

The controller vibration can be turned off in the game menu. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYUBafQtcpA This can be googled.

Tensing up might have something to do with it. Take regular pauses, stretch, have a water bottle at hand while playing, get enough fresh air. There may be a component of needing to get used to it. Don't play when tired. If you get woozy, look away from the screen for a while, look at an unmoving object so your brain can re-orient. Have enough light in the room. Increase the contrast setting of the game.

The Field of view angle (how narrow the "lens" is as you view the game) may play into it as well, but it may not be possible to change this on consoles. This is because higher FOV requires more hardware power to draw the game since more things are on the screen, and consoles may not reach playable framerates when doing that, so the developer disallows it. Which is bad.

Higher FOV (over 90 degrees) creates a fisheye effect though, and also gives the impression of even faster movement. Shooter players use this sometimes.

I will also say that movies use a narrow FOV (35mm camera = 40 degree FOV) and rarely does this affect moviegoers in a negative way... there is an element of myth to it, probably stemming from competitive first person shooter players.

Motion sickness in Minecraft or other "pixely" 3D games can happen when the brain has issues determining where the floor is / where up and down is / where the horizon is. This may have to do with the mash of pixels on the screen. It happens to me in old games like Doom and Wolfenstein - pixels, darkness, sometimes the same texture used on floor and ceiling... bad!

Try putting a lamp next to the screen, too.

It's not related to age; it's related to your inner ears/brain. Some people are simply more prone than others. I've gotten motion sick since I was a tiny flake. The movie thing is also quite real, and isn't about the camera's fov, but the hand-held cameras producing a moving, bobbing image that confuses the brain when the moviegoer is not moving. It is worse the more of the fov of the person watching the screen takes up, hence watching something on a smaller home television or computer is unlikely to cause it, but watching it in a theatre can.
 

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I never use fish-eye.
 

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Does anyone know if it is possible to develop motion sickness while playing a console game?

It's possible to play videogames and get motion sick, but it's also possible to your "legs" and eventually acclimatize to this. This usually more acute with first person view games such as Destiny 2, but there have always been a few people here and there that have gotten motion sickness to due to games. Virtual reality is actually magnifying this effect, but even in traditional "TV/Monitor" games, it's been known to happen. For a lot of people, the trouble starts once they get "indoors" in tunnels or caves, because the movement in these enclosed spaces is more pronounced and tends to provoke a stronger reaction.

If you start feeling sick, you should stop. But you can build up a tolerance for it, as with anything. Most people don't start off immediately slugging back hard alcohol or smoking cigarettes without coughing at first, they eventually develop a "resistance" to those effects. It can be the same here. I once knew someone many years back that loved competitive multi-player games like Counterstrike, but got serious bouts of motion sickness. However, his addiction was so strong, he actually just accepted it, and got a bucket he could throw up into, near his PC so he could keep gaming. Eventually, he did get better staving off motion sickness, but man... that was some real dedication.
 

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Sometimes in a game the FOV may be too close and sudden movement in too close a FOV can cause dizziness. Rise of the Tomb Raider (if that's the one you have) is a magnificent game and, to me at least, ranks right up there with the best. I'm now on my second run-through, having played it a year or so ago. It has a fairly pulled back FOV though and the player can go at their own speed, so not sure why the dizziness occurs- if indeed it does occur with that one.

I run it on a good (home constructed) PC with a 35" Predator (G-Sync)monitor.

Afterthought- I never play games on a perpetual 'fast running' mode. That continuous fast movement and scanning can make me feel a tad 'off'.

I have been playing this one on my laptop, not on the console. I was thinking of trying it on the console, just to see what happens. If I can find my kid's copy of the game...in the "room" (it's a mess) they share with their twin.

m.
 

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Here is an interesting development. At night, I have been putting a neck roll on my pillow, turning out the lights, and playing Two Dots until I get drowsy. Now, suddenly, I'm finding that after a few minutes I feel sick/dizzy enough to pass out! I wonder if something else, related to my many stress-related health issues, is going on... tbc...

M. or m.
 

VeryBigBeard

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As others have said, there are sometimes design reasons this happens, as well as the usual personal vulnerabilities to it (I also get motion sickness in a variety of situations and have had games I can't play because of it).

It's a known issue with some engines and default set-ups, so you get it more often in indie games (lookin' your way, Unity camera system). FOV is part of it. Camera speed is part of it--I made a game once that proved very good at making about 20% of testers sick because of the way our camera moved. Position in the world, including depth, height, and path of motion relative to objects in the fore or background can contribute. These things are tested for, but testing isn't meant to eliminate all adverse effects but rather tune the game for a primary audience. In a massive AAA game like Destiny 2, that's likely to be people who have become more attenuated to these things.

Check your options menu for any control sliders you do have (I agree that it's frustrating when devs don't put them in--I know there are reasons but, IMO, you can give the user the choice between framerate and FOV). Some games have 'em, some don't, and I haven't played either Destiny so I can't say for sure. There's not necessarily going to be one definite solution--you may have to wiggle things and see what happens. Generally, broadening the FOV can help (but not too far). More likely to be in there is a camera scroll speed slider. See if you can slow it down. Ditto if there's a mouse speed (or analog response frequency on consoles, but less likely).

In the end, sometimes this just won't work and you have to do as cornflake did at the movies. There are other games. I still can't play Gone Home--and I love Gone Home--because of various problems with its camera controls. I can mitigate the effect but I can't get more than hour into it.
 

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I have been playing this one on my laptop, not on the console. I was thinking of trying it on the console, just to see what happens. If I can find my kid's copy of the game...in the "room" (it's a mess) they share with their twin.

m.

Definitely try this if you haven't already. I also have problems with games on my laptop and a larger screen can help mitigate the feeling of motion, particularly that motion which is disconnected from the macro environment you're sitting in, which will be more present when you're on a laptop.

Many of these issues exist x10 or so on VR headsets. The good news there is that, as devs learn how to actually design for VR, some of the knowledge and practices may trickle down to static games, hopefully reducing some of the uncanny valley and perception weirdness there, too.
 

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I'm very vulnerable to motion sickness in games (and in real life—as a kid, I got so sick on car trips that I threw up the anti-nausea meds my parents gave me to try to prevent it). My limit in Minecraft is about 15 minutes, even with the controls carefully adjusted, to give you an idea. Neither screen size nor in-game environment make a difference that I can perceive—it's purely the camera behaviour. I basically just don't play most 3D games where the camera is allowed to do anything without my input other than pan across at the same angle (that is, the same thing it might do in a 2D game). That means there are entire popular game genres I can't touch.
 

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These things are tested for, but testing isn't meant to eliminate all adverse effects but rather tune the game for a primary audience. In a massive AAA game like Destiny 2, that's likely to be people who have become more attenuated to these things.

You said it better than I could. I wasn't trying to belittle older people (hello cornflake!), but people who aren't very used to playing games like this are probably not the target audience for Destiny 2 and the developer and publisher are very aware of that. I doubt they test for that audience.
 

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You said it better than I could. I wasn't trying to belittle older people (hello cornflake!), but people who aren't very used to playing games like this are probably not the target audience for Destiny 2 and the developer and publisher are very aware of that. I doubt they test for that audience.

Why do you assume I'm 'older' just because I said it wasn't about age? Also, you seem to be suggesting game testers won't release games if anyone gets sick playing them. Of course they will. Same as anything else. Do you think they don't have people falling over dizzy or barfing with OR headsets in testing? Sure, same as people in drug trials have bad side effects. It just can't affect too large a percent of the population, or it affects profits (or drug approval).
 

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In my experience, testing results rarely delineate into easy demographics. It's a lot like trying to account for a reader's reaction to a story, in that you can't. You just get a wide range a results (most testing is metric-driven) and use the law of large groups to try and determine what "works".
 
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