Game with Mind Control: EEG Devices in Esports

Can you play games using mind control without needing to implant Neuralink? Yes, you read that right! This streamer took on the notoriously difficult new DLC for "ELDEN RING: Shadow of the Erdtree" and succeeded with advanced gaming technology.

Winning a boss fight without using hands? (Source: Perrikaryal)

On Twitch, streamer Perrikaryal recently defeated two of the game's most challenging bosses using mind control. This EEG technology converts brain activity into game inputs, allowing her to control the game solely through thoughts and eye-tracking. During her streams, she performed masterfully. How does she achieve this? Let's dive into the world of Perrikaryal and her training process.

A Master's Degree in Psychology and Gaming?

Full-time streamer Perrikaryal has a unique background; she is in her twenties and already holds a master's degree in psychology. Her pseudonym, linked to neuronal cells, reflects her deep interest in neuroscience. During her master's studies, Perri used medical-grade EEG devices, which typically involve over 300 electrodes and various wires connected to large machines. This experience sparked her intense interest in EEG technology, leading her to discover portable, Bluetooth-connected EEG devices that are relatively affordable and accessible, though they feature only 14 electrodes.

It seems no game is too challenging for Perrikaryal. (Source: Great Big Story)

Beyond the buzzworthy "ELDEN RING" DLC, she has used mind control to play games like "PalWorld," "Fortnite," and "Counter-Strike 2" on her streams. She has also played VR games using mind control and even challenged her viewers to compete against her mind control skills in esports titles like "Mario Kart."

Mastering "ELDEN RING" Using Mind Control

Perri's "mind control" primarily relies on EEG and eye-tracking technologies. EEG records brain activity, capturing and analyzing brainwave data, which Perri uses to control in-game actions. Specifically, she imagines certain images, like pushing a cube or spinning a plate, to trigger specific button inputs.

Her training process is rigorous. Initially, she familiarizes the EEG device with her normal brainwave activity at rest. Then, she selects several images or actions, like imagining pushing a heavy object to dodge or spinning a plate to attack, and trains hundreds, even thousands of times until the device can reliably recognize these brain activity patterns.

Anyone can learn mind control using her method. (Source: Great Big Story)

To make these actions effective in-game, Perri also designed a controller in Python that translates these brain activity patterns into game button inputs. Additionally, she integrated head and eye-tracking technologies, allowing her character to move in response to her head tilts and eye movements.

In the "ELDEN RING" DLC "Shadow of the Erdtree," Perri successfully defeated two bosses using this method, requiring intense concentration and precise imagination of specific actions to respond appropriately in-game. She mentioned that while imagining an attack, she visualizes a spinning plate, syncing it with the melody of "You Spin Me Right Round" to enhance her focus.

Brainwave changes can be observed in different scenarios. (Source: Perrikaryal)

In an interview, Perri shared that these actions can be reused across different games. For instance, the action of imagining a spinning plate can be set to attack in "Elden Ring," jump in "Halo Infinite," or boost in "Rocket League." This setup allows her to switch between games without needing to retrain actions, saving a lot of time and effort. She can also easily change key bindings through her custom controller, making transitions between gaming technology platforms more convenient.

Theoretically, while anyone can try this training method, it still requires intense focus and repetitive practice, arguably more demanding than a traditional joystick. Would you be interested in giving it a try? Perhaps in the future, more people will join the ranks of mind-controlled esports, fundamentally changing how we interact with games.