Motion Sickness in Gaming (Motion Blur)

[KomandO86]

 

I'm investigating motion sickness and I am interested to know if any of you experience motion sickness from gaming. If so, what are the variables?

 

Controlling the camera is well documented as preventative. Increased screen size is also expected to increase motion sickness.

 

I'm interested in what motion blur does, your subjective experience of using it. Your screen size and framerate could also be relevant.

 

 

Thanks in advance. 

 

 

[IdiotDuck]

I've had motion sickness while gaming if the screen movements don't match my inputs or lag behind. 

 

7 Days to Die comes to mind as a title with motion control that didn't agree with me.

 

The first time I played SOS Alpha, the invert mouse y function didn't work. I thought I could get over using the mouse the opposite direction from normal. Ended up feeling sick after a few minutes. 

 

I've gamed on a 50" 1080p TV on my desk and a 28" 4K monitor in the same spot. Screen size doesn't really mess with me. Seems to just be how the motion from my mouse hand translates onto the screen. Your mileage may vary, though

[MegaDave91]

I personally do not experience motion sickness. Head bobble (FPV) and a narrow FOV could contribute to/exacerbate motion sickness. As for motion blur; I simply don't care for the blurring effect and feel at a disadvantage in any PvP FPV game.

[Bananasplit_00]

i have never felt sick from a flat panel, but curved screens are un usable to me because i for some reason get pretty sick from them. VR is compleatly fine, flat panels are also fine, but not curved monitors or TVs. Motion blur worsens the experience of the games i play seeing as i mostly play pretty fast shooters

[mikat]

I don't really experience motion sickness but it's super distracting and makes me almost experience it

[Bigbootyjudy]

The only reason I ever get motion sickness while in game is if I am dehydrated, just woke up, been playing for too long, hungry, or I just need to go outside and get some air.

[KomandO86]

 

Yeah, input lag is really bad. I believe it's essential in VR to have input lag as low as possible, as it's so motion sickness inducing.

 

Yeah, head bobble definitely would. Game makers are trying to emulate natural movement. In natural movement we use vestibulo-ocular reflex, where our eyes move the opposite direction of head movement to allow fixed gaze when moving -- afferent signals are sent at the same time. 

 

FOV possibly can. Again, it likely depends on the size of the screen and the distance from the screen. If you have a stationary reference background, you should be okay. What size was the curved screen you used Bananasplit, and did you sit close to it?

 

The cause of motion sickness is generally accepted as being a sensory conflict (Reason & Brand, 1975). Your vestibular system is located in your ear and acts as a biological accelerometer. It's a fluid mechanism; if the fluid moves it stimulus hairs that signal that you are moving. The eyes have a bunch of tricks to detect depth and motion. They see in 2D; depth, distance, and motion are constructed in the brain. If the visual or vestibular are incongruent with each other then it causes sensory conflict and motion sickness. 

You also have some motion detection from your body (efferent signal from muscles), generally called proprioception.

 

Gaming can cause Visually Induced Motion Sickness (VIMS) due to the conflict of your eyes seeing movement but the vestibular system detects none. This is a contrast to travel sickness where the vestibular system detects motion but they eyes see none -- drivers almost never get motion sick.

If you are stationary, your vestibular system will be signalling that you are still -- unless it is continuous steady motion. So a stationary visual reference should help -- a back wall in your peripheral vision or possibly even a crosshair. A larger screen will take up more of your visual field of view and increase the visual illusion of motion.

If you're playing a game that you don't control the camera or have input lag, then increasing your screen distance may help. It will still play some havoc with your senses due to anticipation. You do habituate to sensory conflict, as we probably all have from playing high fidelity computer games.

 

 

What VR do you use Bananaplit, and have you ever used motion blur in VR?

 

 

Thanks for the input. I'm trying to get my head around some theoretical stuff, mainly regarding anticipation. I can explain why motion blur is of interest to me after the poll -- I don't want to lead or bias the answers right now.

[ono]

I think motion blurs increases my chances of getting motion sick. An example was that Final Fantasy Type-0 game that was heavy on that stuff when it was released on PS4/Xbox One. And boy did that game make me sick. I had to drop it to the easiest difficulty and play the ranged character as to not have to dodge as much. I think they've made it an option to turn it off in later patch.

 

Frame rate and frame pacing is another factor. So on PC I typically do vsync and lock to 30 or 60 fps, whichever I can more stably do. Console games are frustrated to me in this aspect as you can't really control that much. E.g. I think my issues with Bloodborne on PS4 is due to the frame pacing as I could handle playing Dark Souls III on PC without issue. Granted it is not really apples to apples since DSIII combat is a bit slower than BB. I think it was the framerate that did me in on The Evil Within on PS4. Would be interesting to see my reaction to it on PC, but I don't have access to that version.

 

Narrow view as well. Like I was fine playing Fallout New Vegas in the outdoors until I got lost figuring what I should be doing in a building and roaming the narrow hallways. Likewise for the caves in Horizon: Zero Dawn. I'm okay outside but the indoor areas are so bad for me. I also tend to get sick on a lot of first person games because of head hobble and maybe even the weapon sway. Or if they're just too fast moving, e.g. latest Doom.

[Paranoid Kami]

Motion blur makes it worse. The best you can do is have a fluid image with no camera bobbing. I'm a motion sick sufferer and that's what works for me.