Marathon causes loss of lunch?

by Richard Mitchell { Aug 2nd 2007 at 5:30PM }

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?

Tags: freeverse, marathon, marathondurandal, xbla

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

bigmac375 @ Aug 2nd 2007 5:33PM

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.

joefro @ Aug 2nd 2007 5:35PM

Yes, it certainly does. I couldn't play for hardly an hour.

Cabal @ Aug 2nd 2007 5:34PM

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.

inferno3387 @ Aug 2nd 2007 5:35PM

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...

Toph @ Aug 2nd 2007 5:37PM

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! :(

DjDATZ @ Aug 2nd 2007 5:50PM

TOPH! I JUST SAW YOUR MESSAGE ON XBL!! OH NOOOOOO! Oh well...that means i might actually get it when it comes out...

Kenneth @ Aug 2nd 2007 6:08PM

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.

teddings @ Aug 2nd 2007 6:11PM

Yep, couldn't play for more than 10 minutes... no game has ever made me feel sick before.

Ostentaneous @ Aug 2nd 2007 6:20PM

The only game that ever made me feel sick was Doom on the Sega 32x. Never had any problems with the pc version though.

Brooks @ Aug 2nd 2007 6:25PM

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!

Imadogg @ Aug 2nd 2007 6:19PM

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.

Sinnix @ Aug 2nd 2007 6:43PM

I have never, ever had any problems playing a FPS until yesterday. I was in complete shock when I realized I wanted to spew!

AoE @ Aug 2nd 2007 6:30PM

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?

Quang @ Aug 2nd 2007 6:34PM

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.

Andres @ Aug 2nd 2007 8:07PM

it started to make my eyes and head hurt. So i took off the sensitivity. I felt a little better. Didnt try the bob though.

Seth @ Aug 2nd 2007 8:30PM

This is pretty funny to read because about an hour ago I was playing the demo and for myself I have never had any motion sickness problems but with this game after about two minutes, I had a major headache and I felt a little dizzy. I promptly decided to delete the demo.

Niyx @ Aug 2nd 2007 6:38PM

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.

Dean Tripp @ Aug 2nd 2007 7:30PM

I played the trial and after about 5 minutes of it I was feeling the firts effects of nausea setting in, i think its because of the strange 3D effects. Although I did get really sick watching a friend play oblivion for hours on end but never when i played it..

MWHDGHS @ Aug 2nd 2007 6:49PM

Hold on, let me go back to 1995...Okay, didn't puke.
Damage Incorporated? Yes, I puked on that one.

www.genericdave.com

Wolfrider @ Aug 2nd 2007 6:51PM

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.

Joe S. Lee @ Aug 2nd 2007 6:52PM

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.

whocares @ Aug 2nd 2007 6:57PM

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.

Project Ekim @ Aug 2nd 2007 7:05PM

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

kdubbb @ Aug 2nd 2007 7:08PM

I played the trial for 20 minutes, with default sensitivity on for 10 min, and down one notch for the other 10 min (perfect setting).

Didn't get sick at all.

Although I'm sure many people are getting sick because it really is making them feel that way, I think some might be getting it just psychologically.

Will buy the game, never played the originals, but I love the old school feel of this one.

ccc @ Aug 2nd 2007 7:07PM

Like I said b4 It hurts my eyes thats it.

Shadow @ Aug 2nd 2007 7:22PM

Wow... I ate a ton of bacon last night and thought it was that. I couldn't concentrate. Tried moving away from my TV. Slapped myself a few times...

I couldn't even get my Halo on. What is up with that game. I even paid the 800 points just knowing I would love it.

I remember turning around and looking at my wife going I think I am gonna barf!!!

This is just terrible!!!

Invader Phlegm @ Aug 2nd 2007 7:53PM

It's really funny. I had just finally gotten around to playing the demo this morning, and right away I noticed that it made me quite queasy - and I don't get queasy very easily; and never from playing a videogame. So Marathon 2 has the distinction of being the only game that I have ever played that made me feel ill.

Something that I did notice while playing the demo, as that the game does not move with the controls. There is also a very serious depth of field issue with the game; objects really are closer than they appear.

Something I did to help alleviate the problem, was go into the options and turn down the sensitivity of the analog sticks. Once I did that, it allowed for the control and the animation to actually catch up to each other, which seemed to fix the problem for the most part.

I have not tried the camera bob trick yet, I may go back and give it a whirl along with lowering the analog sensitivity and see if that eliminates the problem altogether.

Fat Ballz @ Aug 2nd 2007 8:36PM

You guys are all a bunch of noobs. Getting sick from playing a game? Weak-stomached weaklings!

It doesn't bother me in the slightest.

Joe @ Aug 2nd 2007 8:36PM

I'm not joking - I have experienced bad headaches since i started playing this. I haven't been playing anything else.

Jeff @ Aug 2nd 2007 8:45PM

I can't believe people are getting sick from this game. I've been playing non-stop and it PWNS.

the doza @ Aug 2nd 2007 9:04PM

Lame, getting sick from a video game? I'M actually sick, and this didn't affect me at all

Intentless @ Aug 2nd 2007 9:52PM

FPS is my bread and butter I heard about this and had a good laugh... Now I take it back... I have never been sick from a game before... Its weird man... I was really looking forward to it too...

Anticrawl @ Aug 2nd 2007 10:03PM

This game didn't bother me at all. Only time I've ever gotten motion sickness is that one time at the carnival when I rode the spinny spaceship ride for like 6 hours straight. Not a good idea.

In any case this is all to common. Not so much today because games are getting deminsions and depth right along with the color pallete being a little softer on the mind. Unreal Tournament 2004 gave a great deal of my friends a case of motion sickness though, that's about the last time I heard of people getting motion sickness from fps or 3d games in general. My mom n friends use to get sick from Mario Kart.

I did however vomit the day of the release for the Wii when I bought Red Steel, then I cried myself to sleep, what a dissapointment. Every other game is great though on that console.

Taylor @ Aug 2nd 2007 10:08PM

I had played the demo before I read about the sicknesses that people have been getting and I didn't feel any the first time. But then I read this stuff and then I tried it out again and I felt fine while playing it but after I finished the trial, I got a headache! Call it a coinsidense(or however you spell that) or whatever but it was strange.

Bv8360 @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:15PM

Wow, i though it was just me. I have been a gamer for over 20 years now, and not one game has made me sick. I played Marathon for about 20-30 minutes and had to turn my 360 off and lay down. I have never experienced this with any other game. I thought it may have just been coincidence, tried to play again later that night and had the same issue after another 30 minutes of play.

All in all, i am glad it's not just me.

Kane @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:33PM

I am glad to read that it is not just me who is feels this way. Never been sick from a game before and I played all of the original Marathon games vomit free. I hope they fix this as I was really excited about it until I played it and felt bad.

Tony @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:34PM

I actually felt this way the first time I played Quake. The next time I played it, it wasn't an issue.

ra1n1ngblood @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:53PM

yeah man i got sick about 2 minutes in. I didn't feel like puking but my stomach hurt and i felt dizzy. This has only ever happened to me with one other game. But i don't remember which game it was.

ccc @ Aug 2nd 2007 11:58PM

The game just wasnt ment for hd, I have gamed forever and only this game hurts my optics and I often loose track of where I am and where I have been due to it. I dont see things I should Its odd. It wasnt so much of an issue the second time I played it either but still odd. I am some1 that will be straff jumping along in quake, here U comming behind me and in mid jump look 180 degrees behind me, switch to my rail gun and turn U into a pile of meat then face forwards again and switch back to my last weapon all before I land on the ground for another jump.

There is definatly something wierd about Marathon.

Elric @ Aug 3rd 2007 12:09AM

yeeesss!!!.. I'm one of the lucky ones who don't get sick :)

Scott K @ Aug 3rd 2007 12:14AM

I actually did start to feel motion sickness after a little while. I only played the demo version. I had the bobbing turned off. As a kid I got a little motion sickness once in a great while when playing similar looking games.

Tycho81 @ Aug 3rd 2007 1:00AM

I can't believe this many ppl are "feeling sick" from playing Durandal. Note: Eating junk food and sitting in front of anything on tv would probably do it. Also, the comments about being sick from the graphics are getting old. Don't spend your money on it. if you knew it looked like that, hated it and still payed for it. your a bit of an idiot and shouldn't be wasting mommy and daddy's money.

Does anyone remember when HL2 came out and people were getting motion sickness? right, that went away real quick.

btw. any of the old schoolers still remember where the shotgun was in the first level? ;)
I'm so glad it was still there. Just a little disappointed in the new HUD. I want my weapons list.

now, where did I put my points card. playing the demo 5 times was getting repetitive.

FR3SH JIV3 @ Aug 3rd 2007 1:00AM

I have played for a few hours straight and have not experienced any problems at all. I think the game plays smooth as buttah and love it so far.

Joe @ Aug 3rd 2007 1:47AM

I decided NOT to buy the game cuz I couldn't play it for more than 10 minutes straight and I NEVER have this problem with FPSs

Teddy Bear Hugs @ Aug 3rd 2007 2:23AM

Ugh... I loved the original, so I bought this without hesitation. I couldn't make it 10 minutes before I had to switch it off and lie down. The same thing happened the second time I played. I hope if I keep trying I can get used to it.

Jeff Keegan @ Aug 3rd 2007 2:53AM

Got very sick. I play halo and other fpses all the time - no problem. I solved all 3 Marathon games on my mac years ago and never got sick then.

My guess is a slight imperceptable(sp?) lag.

shinesevens @ Aug 3rd 2007 12:32PM

I have been playing games for 29 years and playing FPS' since Wolfenstein and this is the first game ever to make me feel sick.

I played the first level and then had to go and actually lie down becuase I felt like I was going to vomit.

I sit about 5ft from a 26" Samsung HD panel, if I can;t play this I want a refund.