Valve/Gabe Newell is Researching Brain Computer Interfaces for Gaming

The idea of plugging in your brain to play video games is still a work of science fiction. But according to gaming icon Gabe Newell, Valve is wanting to make it a reality.

Newell, the co-founder of Valve, the number one PC game distribution platform, recently spoke with New Zealand-based outlet 1 NEWS about Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs). According to him, Valve is currently working on an open-source BCI software system that would allow game developers to interpret brain signals for use in video games.

We're working on an open source project so that everybody can have high-resolution [brain signal] read technologies built into headsets, in a bunch of different modalities.

The project has been in conjunction with OpenBCI, who produce brain analysis headsets. The organization revealed their own BCI headset last November called the Galea, which was made to work in conjunction with popular gaming VR headsets like the Valve Index.

Valve has been working with OpenBCI headsets. OpenBCI unveiled a headset design in November called Galea, designed to work alongside VR headsets like Valve's Index. According to Newell, these headsets have been critical for development, even if simply for data reasons.

If you're a software developer in 2022 who doesn't have one of these in your test lab, you're making a silly mistake.
. . .
Software developers for interactive experience[s] you'll be absolutely using one of these modified VR head straps to be doing that routinely simply because there's too much useful data.

Dont worry. The headset cant read your thoughts. They read various signals given by your brain and body. These signals can indicate what general emotion the user may be feeling, including things like fear, boredom, and excitement.

This has amazing potential for custom tuning a game to how the user is feeling. When the player gets bored, it could ramp up the action. If they are feeling frustrated, it could turn down the difficulty. Horror games could tune in to what makes the player feel afraid, and hone in on that aspect.

The more intimidating idea that Newell also discussed is the possibility of sending signals to the brain. In theory, this aspect of BCI could influence what the player feels emotionally or introduce visuals sharper than anything the eyes can see.

"You're used to experiencing the world through eyes, but eyes were created by this low-cost bidder that didn't care about failure rates and RMAs.
. . .
So the visual experience, the visual fidelity we'll be able to create the real world will stop being the metric that we apply to the best possible visual fidelity.
 
The real world will seem flat, colorless, blurry compared to the experiences you'll be able to create in people's brains.

Newell continues to expand on the topic in the interview with 1 NEWS, touching on even more sci-fi ideas like brain editing, body prosthesis integration, and dark concepts like digital pain and mind hacking.

Valves dedication to create an immersive VR system, starting with the HTC Vive and most recently with the Valve Index, is strong evidence that the companys dedication to creating as immersive of an experience as possible is genuine. As cool as it sounds, however, we remain a bit skeptical of the technology. Though we have a feeling most folks are too.