What is it about?
With reference to horror genre games and music in particular, this article reviews some of the scientific literature relating to specific physiological responses induced by “fearful” or “unpleasant” musical stimuli, and considers some of the challenges facing the games industry in its quest for the ultimate “plugged-in” experience.
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Why is it important?
In the case of games designed to induce negative physiological responses, the successful achievement of these goals potentially raises some legitimate concerns relating to health, ethics, and even behavior. However it is also true that in its quest to create the ultimate gaming experience, the games industry might develop technologies with the potential to unlock the therapeutic power of music through adapted applications in music therapy, medicine and the home. If so, this next phase of development in the industry might offer new avenues of exploration and related technological developments, with the potential to tap the curative benefits of music for gamers and non-gamers alike.
Perspectives
I've always been interested in the response of the body and brain to music and sound. If the game industry seeks to exploit these relationships directly through biometric gaming, developers will need to ensure that physiological responses are fully understood and that resulting feedback is appropriately and safely implemented in games. As developments in XR progress alongside biometric gaming, there will be significant ethical and health issues to consider, so interdisciplinary research exploring the impact of such game industry developments is needful.
Ms Helen R Mitchell
University of Hull
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Plug-In to Fear: Game Biosensors and Negative Physiological Responses to Music, Music and the Moving Image, April 2015, University of Illinois Press,
DOI: 10.5406/musimoviimag.8.1.0037.
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