Hardest "feeling" to simulate

[hazabaza1]

Feelings, wonderful things. Or shitty ones I guess, based on the situation. Kind of the point really.
ANYWAY

What with all the new walking shit and Oculus glasses or something coming out I was thinking about the hardest feeling or sensation that games are gonna have to emulate at some point. As we've seen, the walking and seeing are covered. Jump scares and shivers? We got that shit down. Happiness, sadness, anger, whatever, get that shit out my face, ain't no thang.
You know the hardest challenge we have?

The feeling of "missing a step".
You know it. There's a ten step flight, you walk up in the dark or distracted, you're up ten steps but you think it's nine, you lift your foot to walk up and then it comes down. And it keeps going. And holy shit is that terrifying. Like christ that is the freakiest split second thing I know of.

So in this age of modern technology and gaming gibber jabber, explain to me how games are gonna make me feel like I missed a step?

 

[Chessrook44]

Discussed this a while ago somewhere else, but it was probably lost.

The way I see it, there are four obstacles that need to be overcome in order for Virtual Reality to be perfected, all of which involve senses in a way... primarily the sense of touch, although some others may apply.

1: To feel what is not there
2: To not feel what is there
3: To not feel with what is there
4: To feel with what is not there

Due to the difficulty of these... especially that last one (How do you simulate the senses of a body part that DOES NOT EXIST) I'd say the sense of touch is the second most difficult feeling to simulate.

The MOST difficult sense/feeling to simulate, of course, is ones that we as humans cannot experience. How do you effectively simulate the ability to hear subsonic sounds? To sense magnetic fields? Psychic abilities? And so on?

Good luck finding a way to give someone a simulation of something nobody has ever experienced.

 

[PFCboom]

OP, I think you used a very specific example of a somewhat vague feeling. Essentially, it's that instant of panic when you realize that something that used to be very familiar - walking the same flight of stairs every day - is changed up, possibly with terrible consequences.
The best example I can come up with in video games, off the top of my head, would be the pixelated indie horror game, "7 Days." The whole game is divided up into 7 segments, or days, and each day is ended when you pick up a piece of paper which reads "It's not time yet." At the end of the 5th day, however, just when your cornered, panicking, looking for a way out, you pick up that familiar, reassuring paper. You relax for a moment, then realize something is off. The screen hasn't faded out just yet, and the threat is still very, very present. Just for good measure, the game itself taunts you, saying "You seem confused..." The terror that went away for just a few moments has suddenly returned with renewed, heart-pounding force.

Anyway... we've simulated that feeling.

-snip-
I'd say the sense of touch is the second most difficult feeling to simulate.

Well, sorta. Simulating something means you don't have to make it a perfect likeness. The Oculus Rift can trick your brain into thinking you're moving around, for example. I think, given enough time and developer backing, we'll see games that are so immersive, your brain will be tricked into thinking you're really flying jets, and you'll (air-quote) feel (air-quote) the g-force turns.

So let's see... a game can make a person feel hunger just by talking about different foods. A game can make a person feel sleepy through their music and certain visuals. Shoot, I got nothin'.

 

[skywolfblue]

The feeling of "missing a step".
You know it. There's a ten step flight, you walk up in the dark or distracted, you're up ten steps but you think it's nine, you lift your foot to walk up and then it comes down. And it keeps going. And holy shit is that terrifying. Like christ that is the freakiest split second thing I know of.

I'm guessing you're talking about the inner ear, the thing that tells you up from down and sends you into panic mode if you experience a zero-g event (like falling).

That would be pretty difficult. I'm not sure a whole lot of people would ~want~ that particular sensation, it causes a lot of people to get queasy. (It ain't named the Vomit Comet for no reason )

The MOST difficult sense/feeling to simulate, of course, is ones that we as humans cannot experience. How do you effectively simulate the ability to hear subsonic sounds? To sense magnetic fields? Psychic abilities? And so on?

Good luck finding a way to give someone a simulation of something nobody has ever experienced.

Does that even count though? If nobody has ever experienced it, how could one tell if the simulation is accurate or valid? We have no capability in our brains to process it at all, short of inventing new brain parts / organs for the new sense. It doesn't count if the computer does it, because it will just have to translate it into more common senses so that our brain could understand.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Loss of balance then, well that one is a deep seated physical sensation, so we won't really be able to replicate it until we use direct neural interfaces or advanced full body controls.

But I think we can still wait a bit on that part, games really haven't become detailed enough that such input would be required or add anything except novelty for it's own sake.

 

[GoaThief]

Not entirely what you were asking but what about the sensation of smell? Haptics cover the touch thing, we have vision too, sounds? Check. Smell, nada. It's one of the most important senses that is tied to memories and emotions, and probably the most difficult to emulate, especially dynamically.

Immersion could be seriously increased if this was somehow harnessed.

 

[Eve Charm]

humanization of the characters or things, feeling these can be real people with real dreams and issues. A good example is Thomas was alone, they're blocks but I'll be damned if you don't learn more about them then you do then the characters in like an 40 hour rpg.

 

[KeyMaster45]

The feeling of "missing a step".
You know it. There's a ten step flight, you walk up in the dark or distracted, you're up ten steps but you think it's nine, you lift your foot to walk up and then it comes down. And it keeps going. And holy shit is that terrifying. Like christ that is the freakiest split second thing I know of.

I'm guessing you're talking about the inner ear, the thing that tells you up from down and sends you into panic mode if you experience a zero-g event (like falling).

That would be pretty difficult. I'm not sure a whole lot of people would ~want~ that particular sensation, it causes a lot of people to get queasy. (It ain't named the Vomit Comet for no reason )

I believe that if we ever truly want to reach that nirvana of perfect VR, a few people are going to have to ralph on their carpet as a sacrifice to science.

 

[XMark]

The ultimate goal of virtual reality should be an accurate replication of the feeling of accidentally leaning just a bit too far back in a chair.

 

[Uriain]

Rage/Anger. I think that feeling/emotion is the hardest (for me) to get into from a character perspective.

Anger from the player perspective is easy (damn you controller y u no shoot faster) but I have yet to be "angered" like the character is within a situation.