While we have yet to enjoy such things ourselves (thanks to an unwelcome visitor), reports are coming in that the Xbox Live Arcade version of Marathon: Durandal is making people a little queasy. As many gamers know, first person shooter games can often induce motion sickness, and it seems that this effect is magnified by Marathon. Joystiq spoke to Freeverse, developers of the XBLA port, about this issue to see if they could get some answers. Freeverse noted that Marathon's popularity and the spreading internet rumor that it can make people sick is probably responsible for most of the outcry. Frankly, we find the idea of a gamer-centric, psychosomatic illness spread via the internet to be highly entertaining.
Freeverse isn't laughing the matter away however, and is investigating the issue. In the meantime, they suggest that players play the game with the "camera bob" option turned on. This should keep the game from appearing smoother than it should be. Furthermore, make sure you're not sitting to close to the TV (duh).
Out of curiosity, have any readers out there experienced motion sickness while playing Marathon: Durandal?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
8-02-2007 @ 5:33PM
bigmac375 said...
i dont know if i was getting sick, but i stopped wanting to play it after 15 minutes of the demo. I dont think i want to buy it like i did before.
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8-02-2007 @ 5:34PM
Cabal said...
I've been sitting close to the TV with no problems, and the only time I felt the least bit disorienting was when I tried playing with the camera bob on, it made the movement feel even more clunky.
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8-02-2007 @ 5:35PM
joefro said...
Yes, it certainly does. I couldn't play for hardly an hour.
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8-02-2007 @ 5:35PM
inferno3387 said...
Everytime I play tis game, my head starts to hurt and my eyes turn red. WTF is happening? I think we should get a refund for this game, it makes me feel really sick... Im no joking, this game has alot of motion sickness...
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8-02-2007 @ 5:37PM
Toph said...
Playing Marathon makes me sick, BUT NOT AS MUCH as the news today from Take Two Interactive..David is working on the story right now! :(
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8-02-2007 @ 5:50PM
DjDATZ said...
TOPH! I JUST SAW YOUR MESSAGE ON XBL!! OH NOOOOOO! Oh well...that means i might actually get it when it comes out...
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8-02-2007 @ 6:08PM
Kenneth said...
Wow, good to know I'm not the only one who felt this way. I have never had any disorienting experiences with video games ever, but I didn't even finish the Marathon demo before I had to take a break. I actually still have a headache.
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8-02-2007 @ 6:11PM
teddings said...
Yep, couldn't play for more than 10 minutes... no game has ever made me feel sick before.
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8-02-2007 @ 6:19PM
Imadogg said...
I just played the trial, head bob on, and beat the level. HD graphics also on an SDtv. I didn't feel any ill effects at all.
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8-02-2007 @ 6:20PM
Ostentaneous said...
The only game that ever made me feel sick was Doom on the Sega 32x. Never had any problems with the pc version though.
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8-02-2007 @ 6:25PM
Brooks said...
I stopped playing the demo because I started to feel like I was getting motion sickness. I played this game like all the other FPS games I play and this is the first time I have ever felt like this playing a FPS!
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8-02-2007 @ 6:30PM
AoE said...
Wowie! I haven't downloaded it yet, Morbid curiosity compells me to download it tonight. Is there any kind of prize for NOT getting motion sickness when playing it?
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8-02-2007 @ 6:34PM
Quang said...
I think the reason why everyone feels kind of sick is the FOV. I can stand it and the plain graphics kind of make me wanna puke cause its just the same texture over and over again. I'm just glad that it wasn't just me and some other people don't feel well playing this game either. I thought it was just lack of sleep.
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8-02-2007 @ 6:38PM
Niyx said...
Only thing that ever gave me motion sickness while playing a game was actually the darkness intro.
Man that thing is realistic and rough. Those crashes and bashes in the car really made me ill.
Playing the demo of marathon this morning, i wasn't particularly aware of sickness though. It was in the back of my mind after reading a report about it earlier but it didn't seem too noticeable. Then again i only played it for 15-20 minutes because damn that game is awful.
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8-02-2007 @ 6:43PM
Sinnix said...
I have never, ever had any problems playing a FPS until yesterday. I was in complete shock when I realized I wanted to spew!
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8-02-2007 @ 6:49PM
MWHDGHS said...
Hold on, let me go back to 1995...Okay, didn't puke.
Damage Incorporated? Yes, I puked on that one.
www.genericdave.com
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8-02-2007 @ 6:51PM
Wolfrider said...
FPSs used to make me feel a little queasy way back when. It had to do with jagged edges and that bright, pixelated look most earlier ones had (ie: Doom, Hexen, Wolfenstein, Quake). Not so bad now that graphics have improved so much but since this one mimics the old school FPS it doesn't surprise me.
Actually, that was the first thing I thought when I saw pics of this.
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8-02-2007 @ 6:52PM
Joe S. Lee said...
Yes, I did. I just had this happen last night. I downloaded the demo was playing and I started to notice I was getting sick to my stomach and it just kept getting worse which was weird because this usually do not happen when I play a FPS. But there I was feeling like I might lose my dinner and ended up going to sleep because I felt like crap. It was horrible, I hate that nauseated feeling. About after an hour and half nap I was feeling fine again.
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8-02-2007 @ 6:57PM
whocares said...
im might have to download it just to see this - sounds pretty funny. the only game that made me sick was Barbie's horse adventure - mystery ride.
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8-02-2007 @ 7:05PM
Project Ekim said...
i had never played marathon before and i picked this up and im in love ive been playing for like 20 hours and i didnt get sick yet
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