San Francisco (CA) – Are you sick of playing video games with just your fingers and thumbs?  At this year’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Neurosky showed off their new MindSet headset which turns brain waves into game inputs.  By concentrating on objects and entering a zen-like state, attendees and TG reporter Humphrey Cheung managed to push, pull and even burn on-screen objects.

GDC 2008 H.264 video the Neurosky MindSet

Neurosky’s CEO Stanley Yang told TG Daily that the headset works like an EEG machine and comes in both wired USB and wireless Bluetooth versions.  In a previous press release, Yang said the MindSet adds an extra layer of depth to games, a so-called “fourth dimension” of mental control.

The company had demo stations set up where attendees tried on the MindSets and went through an obstacle course of sorts.  First people had to concentrate on small barrels to lift, push and pull them.  Then we had to focus our minds on the barrels to set them on fire.  After completing those easy tasks, company reps had us move giant “marble” blocks that required intense calmness and concentration.

A meditation meter at the bottom of the screen showed us how relaxed we were.  Reps told us to concentrate on the object and think “lift, push or burn”.  While most attendees seemed to have trouble moving the big blocks and the final X-Wing in a lake (think Yoda in Empire Strikes Back), I’m happy to say that I had no such problems, which is further proof that I am a Jedi.

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