[PA Comic] Wednesday, January 29, 2014 - Sight Beyond Sight

Geth

Sight Beyond Sight
http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2014/01/29

JackdawGin

Witch-eyes are a shockingly accurate description.

cfsbrawl

Before I saw the perspective I really thought there was a giant Gabe sitting on the couch.

YoungFrey

I find that capability slightly more intriguing than disturbing, but the idea that it could tell when my willpower is depleted and then give me an ad, is worrisome. This isn't a proven capability at the moment, just educated speculation.

If the Kinect (or any camera) could detect pupil size, it would open up a whole new level of scaling game difficulty. A puzzle game could be made more and more difficult until you’re taxed just the right amount to get you in the zone –something psychologists call “psychological flow.” And in fact, we may not actually need the camera to be able to detect pupil sizes. One study that looked at psychological flow in piano players found that heart rate variability, respiration, and the movement of certain facial muscles were highly indicative of the state.
...
Or what about knowing when to offer you a helping hand? If the Kinect can tell the point at which you’ve given up on a puzzle or sequence because your pupils shrink back to normal, it might offer you a hint. Possibly in a condescending tone.

Another, more unsettling implication would be that if the Kinect could tell when you are stressed and mentally taxed, it could use that opportunity to sell you stuff.

dfjdejulio

You want "worrisome"? This feature will be built into smartphone hardware within a decade.

Invertin

We've already got Internet Social Media wanting every last piece of personal information they can get, google glasses, now Kinect. By 2020 every print of the dictionary will have a camera where the word privacy used to be.

YoungFrey

dfjdejulio wrote: »

You want "worrisome"? This feature will be built into smartphone hardware within a decade.

And I'm sure somebody has already pitched how this can be used to detect crime somehow.

forty

What else is in the garbage with the Xbox? Is it myrrh?

GeekBabel

not that this isn't a legitimate concern, but has there been a recent boost of awareness of this issue somewhere? I feel like this is the first thing people talked about when this console was announced. Should I be aware of some off-site discussion going on about this or are they just bringing it up again personally?

Also, dat Thundercats reference *snarff* *snarff*

Henroid

At first, the Xbox doing this crazy shit of observing you didn't concern me whatsoever.

And then as these reports of the NSA using video games as vehicles for spying started coming up, I got increasingly wary. WoW and Angry Birds pretty much sealed the deal - the Xbox can fucking shove it. And it's the government's fault. Sorry MS.

It's sad too because the Xbox does one thing with the Kinect that I think is awesome. The most recent NBA game will give you a technical foul if it hears you cursing at the game, just like how coaches get technical fouls in the actual sport for the same behavior. That is ballsy and awesome on the dev's part.

Monkey Ball Warrior

One mans creepy Orwellian intrusion is another mans neat gimmick.

cB557

Tycho wrote:

They should try to talk to Karen Traviss if they can, as she loved Gears as much as anyone who ever worked on it, even as a hired gun.

Nopenopenopenope

Gyral

Henroid wrote: »

At first, the Xbox doing this crazy shit of observing you didn't concern me whatsoever.

And then as these reports of the NSA using video games as vehicles for spying started coming up, I got increasingly wary. WoW and Angry Birds pretty much sealed the deal - the Xbox can fucking shove it. And it's the government's fault. Sorry MS.

It's sad too because the Xbox does one thing with the Kinect that I think is awesome. The most recent NBA game will give you a technical foul if it hears you cursing at the game, just like how coaches get technical fouls in the actual sport for the same behavior. That is ballsy and awesome on the dev's part.

If you have the PS4 camera, it does the same for the PS4 version of the game.

Oddfish

I'm sorry but this comic, for some damn reason, made me laugh until it was physically painful to laugh. It's all the second panel... it's just... perfect.

OgreSmasher

And that's why I'm sticking to PC gaming, with a piece of black tape stuck over my webcam.

undergroundmonorail

I know nothing about Xbox Fitness so maybe there's a mode where you and a friend take turns or something, but is Tycho watching Gabe exercise? Do people just watch each other exercise?

Aegeri

undergroundmonorail wrote: »

I know nothing about Xbox Fitness so maybe there's a mode where you and a friend take turns or something, but is Tycho watching Gabe exercise? Do people just watch each other exercise?

How do you know Tycho doesn't like watching him exercise?

Rottonapple

undergroundmonorail wrote: »

I know nothing about Xbox Fitness so maybe there's a mode where you and a friend take turns or something, but is Tycho watching Gabe exercise? Do people just watch each other exercise?

seems so

Rhesus Positive

forty wrote: »

What else is in the garbage with the Xbox? Is it myrrh?

Crystallised demon blood.

exup35

Henroid wrote: »

At first, the Xbox doing this crazy shit of observing you didn't concern me whatsoever.

And then as these reports of the NSA using video games as vehicles for spying started coming up, I got increasingly wary. WoW and Angry Birds pretty much sealed the deal - the Xbox can fucking shove it. And it's the government's fault. Sorry MS.

It's sad too because the Xbox does one thing with the Kinect that I think is awesome. The most recent NBA game will give you a technical foul if it hears you cursing at the game, just like how coaches get technical fouls in the actual sport for the same behavior. That is ballsy and awesome on the dev's part.

I learned very quickly to turn off voice activation when using teamspeak/Ventrilo when playing FPS games with friends. During a prolonged bout of being spawn camped and having havoc wreacked on our side I couldn't stop a tirade of expletives, I think I went on for about 5 minutes without repeating a word once, which is probably some kind of record. I went to PTT not long after.