Can't play First Person Shooter games due to Motion-Sickness

[BojTrek]

I downloaded the Destiny Alpha and played for 30 minutes and had to get back to work.

That was followed by a 30 minute headache and I was very nauseous.

THAT IS IT!

I cannot play FPS's and I have known this for years... but Destiny will be the last FPS I will attempt to play.

Anyone else? Do you get sick playing FPS's?

This started when I turned 30 and I will be 44 shortly.

I can ride rollercoasters in real-life, I am basically fit... but these games get me sick.

3rd person games, sports games, racing and 2D side-scrollers are all I can play...

[Blodiak]

is this thread about the game itself or about health issues ???

[BojTrek]

It is a thread on FPS's causing nausea and headaches, but it was Destiny that made me finally decide to never download or attempt another FPS again.

Mods can edit the thread title if necessary.

[MaCruz]

I too suffer from motion sickness. I have no shame. I will man up though and check out Destiny!

Then again I say that now and 10 mins later I'll be suffering the consequences!

[jsteinhauer]

Motion sickness is one of those things that most people can desensitize themselves to. While unpleasant at first, it should wear off over time. You just need to get your sea legs, so to speak. If it's not worth the initial unpleasantness, though, only you can say.

[Trogdor2010]

Originally Posted by jsteinhauer

Motion sickness is one of those things that most people can desensitize themselves to. While unpleasant at first, it should wear off over time. You just need to get your sea legs, so to speak. If it's not worth the initial unpleasantness, though, only you can say.

Actually, it's an issue involving field of view, which determines how much you see on screen, and takes into account of your own field of view compared to the game's field of view on screen.

Many FPS games on consoles have a field of view that is low enough for viewing on a small television. It takes into account that the majority of users use small-mid screen televisions.

The problem unfortunately, is that there are people that have large TV screens, monitors and front projection set ups where people sit closer to the screen, where a higher FOV is valuable. Large screen TVs and projectors are becoming a lot more common, and many people are sitting closer to their TV screens.

If you're suffering from motion sickness, I strongly suggest you sit farther from the screen in order to tolerate the lower FOV. Same principle if the game has a higher FOV, sit closer to the screen.

You can see the effect of FOV on 0:28-1:05 of this video. I strongly recommend viewing in full screen though.

FOV - Field of View Comparison Using Call of Duty Black Ops 2 and Far Cry 3 PC 65 75 90 110 - YouTube

I should note that many PC games (not all, but many) do allow adjustable field of view. I understand people do not want to bring PC into discussion, but many people have gone to PC because of problems with motion sickness related to fixed lower FOV in many console games. Not only this, but there is no good technical reason for console games to not offer adjustable FOV, especially since most performance drops involving higher FOV on PC are minimal at best.

There are a couple of games that offer a field of view slider. On the top of my head Warframe on PS4 does have a field of view slider, which is extremely helpful if you want to sit closer to your screen. If you have a PS3, I recall Resident Evil 6 has one as well (two separate camera settings involving aiming).

[DevStack]

Originally Posted by Trogdor2010

Actually, it's an issue involving field of view, which determines how much you see on screen, and takes into account of your own field of view compared to the game's field of view on screen.
*snip*

This.

It took me a good while to figure out why I was getting sick while playing a FPS on my console and not on my PC back in the day. It was pretty much FoV.

Here's a recent example of this: Titanfall.

I played it on my PC with FoV where I like it and was fine playing for a long time (sitting right up at my monitor too).

I go over to my cousin's house to play it on his X1 and felt like I was going to lose my lunch inside of 30 min. Think the X1 version is locked into a FoV of 60 or some crap.

Since consoles tend to be FoV locked, for me, it's always hit and miss with games.

[Icemage]

Originally Posted by BojTrek

I downloaded the Destiny Alpha and played for 30 minutes and had to get back to work.

That was followed by a 30 minute headache and I was very nauseous.

THAT IS IT!

I cannot play FPS's and I have known this for years... but Destiny will be the last FPS I will attempt to play.

Anyone else? Do you get sick playing FPS's?

This started when I turned 30 and I will be 44 shortly.

I can ride rollercoasters in real-life, I am basically fit... but these games get me sick.

3rd person games, sports games, racing and 2D side-scrollers are all I can play...

I think it depends on the game. Some games are more likely to trigger discomfort than others. The absolute worst offenders I can recall were Mirror's Edge (1st person free-running/parkour, with the camera basically at eye level as you're bouncing and rolling around) and Aliens vs. Predator (where the Aliens could run along walls... stupendously nauseating).

If you want to build up some "resistance" to discomfort in first person, play a slow paced first person game. Portal, for instance.

Or something with no time pressure at all, like the excellent game The Unfinished Swan.

[sukraj]

i'm kind of lucky that i dont suffer from motion sickness

[R3P0]

Sadly the original Doom and Doom 2 are the only FPS that do not give me motion sickness after 30 minutes of playing or so. Sometimes I am ok with Call of Duty but for the most part I get sick on that as well. The smoothness of Second Sun also got me as well. As did GTA 3 originally, Vice City they changed the camera angle for so after that I was fine.

[PrestigeWorldwide]

Originally Posted by R3P0

Sadly the original Doom and Doom 2 are the only FPS that do not give me motion sickness after 30 minutes of playing or so.

Doom and Wolfenstein are the first FPS's that I played back in the 90's and both games gave me a headache after about 10-15 minutes. Over time I got used to the motion and FPS's don't bother me at all anymore.

[MikeCL]

While I did not play the alpha I remember when I first got my projector up and running which is 110" playing BF4 and infamous 2 made me really dizzy at first because I sit about 10' away from the screen and it's a whole bunch to take in at once.

[R3P0]

Originally Posted by PrestigeWorldwide

Doom and Wolfenstein are the first FPS's that I played back in the 90's and both games gave me a headache after about 10-15 minutes. Over time I got used to the motion and FPS's don't bother me at all anymore.

The original Wolfenstein gave me so much motion sickness but i loved the game.

[MaCruz]

At times Last of Us can get me a little motion sickness. Especially during the Hotel chapter. God that was a mess. Had to play maybe 30 mins at a time during that level. I think games with open spaces I can handle but if it's in small rooms or even corridors, those tend to get sick rather quickly.

I do agree. Larger screens and watching/playing up close is one of the biggest culprits that lead to gaming motion-sickness.

[MaCruz]

Originally Posted by BojTrek

It is a thread on FPS's causing nausea and headaches, but it was Destiny that made me finally decide to never download or attempt another FPS again.

Mods can edit the thread title if necessary.

Done to avoid confusion with the Destiny thread.

EDIT: Moved to General Gaming Discussion section.

[jsteinhauer]

Originally Posted by Trogdor2010

Actually, it's an issue involving field of view, which determines how much you see on screen, and takes into account of your own field of view compared to the game's field of view on screen.

No argument with that, but with effort, most should be able to adapt to it. People get used to being in high seas, after all, and there is no frame of reference to help with that. You just need to get used to it. If you are one who is sensitive and still really wants to play the game on the big screen, it's probably worth the initial discomfort. It might actually be easier to get used to than true motion sickness, because the stimulus is only visual. Your vestibular organs are still telling your brain that your person and the environment are static. In real motion sickness, both your eyes and your ears are telling your brain to make you puke.

[wvuwhat]

Have you gotten an eye exam recently? Do you wear glasses?

I never had a problem with FPS games and then my left lens fell out of my glasses on my way to a meeting an hour away. I immediately pulled over to get some super glue to put it back in. The lens didn't sit right after using the super glue, but I was running late at this point.

Driving was a task.

I finally got home that night and popped in COD. I lasted about one match before I was ready to grab a hold of the wall to stop from spinning.

Went and got some new glasses the next day and everything was fine.

Just a thought?

[AeroK]

The first time I ever experienced motion sickness playing a game was Goldeneye for N64. I don't play FPS that often because of it.

[ChowSingChi]

Most FPS give me motion sickness with the exception of Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite. That's why I prefer third person games, The only third person game that gave me motion sickness was the new Tomb Raider

[Rblu-Dblu]

I remember getting motion sickness while playing Goldeneye on N64 many years ago. I still get it but not very often. Last time I remember having it was when I attempted to play GTA 3 on my 60 inch tv. The low resolution graphics made me sick in about 5 minutes.