Tidbits: The State of Gaming on Oct. 17
Things You May Have Missed

NEWS

By Jen Carman on October 17, 2014 at 8:30am

What Is Your Worst Fear? Y’know What … "Nevermind"

By far, the coolest thing I saw this week is the re-emergence of a Kickstarter from earlier in the year and this is probably going to be a bit more than a “tidbit.” It’s a psychological horror adventure game by developer Flying Mollusk called “Nevermind” that utilizes biofeedback measurements to tailor the terror to your particular kind of fear. Even though the Kickstarter campaign in May was unsuccessful, the developers still made the game, secured a deal with Intel, and, at the moment, the biofeedback data is collected via the Intel RealSense camera and the Garmin Heart Rate Monitor. Their shiny, new Kickstarter campaign is to fund their cross-platform plans and to make the game compatible with more data collection peripherals… All the better to scare your pants off and it be your own fault.

The game’s producers also point out that the fear mechanics used in the game could be used to help people deal with real life anxiety issues. As you progress through the game and encounter something that causes you to panic, the game immediately responds causing you to, more than likely, panic more. The only way to stop the escalation is to make yourself calm down. Clinical trials for treating mild to severe anxiety and PTSD are being discussed because the apparent potential for this video game to really help people is very real.

If you can’t afford the peripherals but still want to play, that’s fine. In lieu of external data collection, the game will take cues from the frantic movements your character makes when faced by something that the player finds frightening.

The Kickstarter runs until November 2. "Nevermind" will be available on PC and, if the funding is gathered, Mac, Oculus Rift, and Xbox One.

Roll Them (Viral RNA Back) Bones!

This week, Z-Man Games released a dice version of their incredibly popular "Pandemic" series. The full board game now has two expansions that add more players and player roles, a fifth virus to cure, and a bioterrorist who plays against the other players. This new smaller version is called "Pandemic: The Cure" is a stand-alone dice game. It really just seems like a cardless version of basically the same base "Pandemic" game, so if you’d rather roll dice than deal cards, this might be for you.

Next week, Z-Man will release "Pandemic: Contagion." The tag line is: “You are the disease. There is no cure.” That alone has Player Theory interested. The description seals the deal:

“For too long has the human race assaulted diseases. For too long has mankind found cures and other means to eradicate them from the planet. Now, the diseases are fighting back and humanity doesn't stand a chance! Will you be the disease that exterminates humanity?

A new, non-cooperative game in the Pandemic line! Become one of the diseases in this new game that reverses the roles and where you must now try to annihilate the human race.”

Whether you want to save the world or wreak havoc on it, now you can pick your flavor.