Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Cyberpunk MMO Otherland launches game preview site]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/06/cyberpunk-mmo-otherland-launches-game-preview-site/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/06/cyberpunk-mmo-otherland-launches-game-preview-site/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/06/cyberpunk-mmo-otherland-launches-game-preview-site/#commentsFiled under: , ,


It was only a few months ago when we first got word of a new cyberpunk/VR-themed MMO in development. Otherland is based on the the sci-fi novels of Tad Williams, which deal heavily with the interplay of the virtual and the real. Otherland is being built on the Unreal 3 engine by Singapore-based development studio Real U, a wholly-owned subsidiary of dtp entertainment AG in Germany.

The Otherland information page states the game will release in 2011 for PC, and it could potentially offer some interesting dimensions to MMO gameplay. The site states: "MMO fans can expect a fascinating gameplay experience. Based on the globally successful novels, the Otherland gameplay is distinguished by a unique narrative structure. Rather than retelling the story, players will experience their own individual stories within the Otherland universe and will encounter many of the familiar characters from the books. The game world will change dynamically around them during the course of the game."

Continue reading Cyberpunk MMO Otherland launches game preview site

MassivelyCyberpunk MMO Otherland launches game preview site originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The last thing Merck or Pfizer want to hear is that their drugs aren't needed anymore. According to Diane Gromala, a Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, Canada) professor, that may just be the case. She bases her belief on the many experiments that consistently show people who suffer serious, chronic pain (which Gromala suffers from herself) often find more relief in virtual reality environments than drug-based treatments.

According to a CanWest News Service article, Gromala is currently working with doctors to learn why subjects who are distracted in virtual reality worlds report less pain than those using drug-based pain therapy. She believes that controlling pain through computerized VR and biofeedback mediation gives people ways to express, control, and keep track of their pain that pills can't. Video games have been shown to help patients in drug addiction therapy, why not pain management as well?

If her studies pan out to be true (we first learned about this story from the folks at FileFront) , it will most certainly help vidicate an industry that has otherwise been villified for everything from mass school shootings to creating a generation of slackers. A little bit of good PR for video games would be a nice change of pace.

MassivelyVideo games treat chronic pain better than drugs originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>biofeedbackchronic-painDiane-GromaladrugsmeditationmmorehabilitationSimon-Fraser-Universityvirtual-realityMon, 17 Dec 2007 13:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Using games for rehabilitation]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/07/using-games-for-rehabilitation/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/07/using-games-for-rehabilitation/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/11/07/using-games-for-rehabilitation/#commentsFiled under:

One of the few things I recall from my Psych 101 class back in college was the tale of Pavlov and his dogs. As it turns out you can teach yourself to associate sounds with actions. A new virtual reality therapy is doing just that, helping those with addictions connect things they hear in game with the will to resist temptation.

The game, created at Duke University by Professor Zach Rosenthal, works with rehabilitation patients to try to control their cravings when they are not in therapy. Because the patient is immersed in an environment similar to that they would find in the outside world, the temptations are fairly convincing. Rosenthal explains that cravings are a learned mental behavior, and if you can associate something, say a particular tone (like Pavlov's bell) with resisting that craving, you create a new learned behavior, this time a positive one. I love it when I see positive uses for video games. It proves that we as a society can learn so much from the games we play.

MassivelyUsing games for rehabilitation originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 07 Nov 2007 11:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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