Friday, March 24, 2006

The Virtual Hallucination Machine

Could we see a "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" VR game coming soon?

Capable of emulating the symptoms of mental conditions such as schizophrenia, the Virtual Hallucination Machine, manufactured by Janssen Pharmaceutica Products, will be used for training by the US Police.

The machine was created for mental health professionals, as part of an educational project that would help the public to understand that mental condition.

The Mental Health Association in New York State refers to it as a "symptom simulator", and you can see some pictures of it at the NAMI's (The National Alliance on Mental Illness) website. I am not sure how it works, but it looks like an Augmented Reality device.

This could become a very informative serious (non)game, and I guess there will be some sort of interest from the entertainment industries on the subject. I wonder how long it would take until someone came up with a First-Person "A Beautiful Mind" - even if I am not sure how it could possibly emulate the geniality of John Nash.

No comments:

Copyright, Chico Queiroz