It’s pretty difficult to put into words what it feels like to use the Emotiv headset. While you are required to concentrate for a certain amount of time, it’s important not to think too hard. The efficiency of the function depends on the clarity of the thought, so don’t concentrate on lifting as if you were competing in a strong man competition. Instead, it is necessary to enter a relaxed state, and only make calm mental gestures to allow the objects on screen to be moved. This sounds easy but it can be a little difficult to adjust to, given that you have to think about something like lifting, without actually doing it.

The final product is set for release this December for the price of $299, which despite the intriguing technology is quite steep, especially since there aren’t really any games currently on the market that take advantage of it. This could always change, and we were quick to ask the folks at Emotiv if they had any wishes to integrate the technology with the upcoming Star Wars game The Force Unleashed, since there is really no better sales pitch for Emotiv than the Force itself. While they did share our enthusiasm to applying the technology to the Star Wars Universe, there were unfortunately no plans for such a deal.

Emotiv CEO Nam Do

Besides Star Wars fanboy wishes, there are other ventures that Emotiv has been asked to embark upon, such as the application of this technology to the disabled. “A lot of people ask us why you don’t provide this to the disabled market,” said Emotiv CEO Nam Do. “I said yes, we would love to, but then the system is going to cost $40,000 for a unit. By achieving critical mass with the game industry you can drive it down to a consumer price point of $299, right? Then all the disabled people out there can start getting it for a very affordable price.” Putting the technology into gaming in order to drive down the price is of course a noble endeavor on the behalf of disabled individuals, but it’s worth noting that the gaming applications of the technology could also create avenues for the disabled to get into videogames themselves.

Although there is the question of whether or not Emotiv is ready to be practically integrated into gaming market, it’s apparent that the team definitely has something important on their hands, or should we say heads. Besides having the ability to think about certain movements, there is a subconscious level to Emotiv, such as the music in the game changing based on the player’s mood. Nam Do discussed this advancement for interaction with technology in general saying: “You look at man/machine communication, it has always been in a conscious form. Communication between us is a lot more interesting because we have subconscious communication. We have body language. We have facial expression. We have feelings and emotion. So that’s our vision for the next generation of man/machine to be like that.”

This more intimate interaction between players and games could end up being a very large step forward for emotional involvement in games, instead of just getting teary eyed when you see those adorable yet sad little sisters in BioShock. One potential difficulty is that passive interaction differs greatly from conscious, when it comes to the already high state of mental alertness needed when playing a videogame. It remains to be seen if gamers will be able to balance hitting buttons and using voluntary thoughts at the same time, or if these thought driven games will have to exist as separate genres. While it can be endlessly debated if the technology is ready to invade the gaming market, there is no denying the potential of Emotiv’s applications for future game design and the way we interact with games.