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CD Projekt RED Responds to Game Informer's Epileptic Trigger PSA Article | MMORPG.com
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CD Projekt RED Responds to Game Informer's Epileptic Trigger PSA Article | MMORPG.com
CD Projekt RED have responded to a Game Informer article which pointed out some epileptic triggers in Cyberpunk 2077.
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I have epilepsy and it's a lot more complicated than "Flashing lights equals bad". Each person becomes triggered by different frequencies and some people are not photosensitive at all. Some get triggered by smells or sounds. Some by all of these. I have had one of those strobe machines used on me to test my brain and the frequency AND intensity they had to use was super high, so high that even if I closed my eyes I could not stop it and it was actual torture. Every human being, at a certain frequency/duration would have a seizure, some just have a lower threshold. Most people that have epilepsy, know what triggers them or what they can or cannot do. To add, movies can also cause them. I heard one of the twilight movies caused a siezure in a guy during the birth season and he sued. They then had to put a warning and tone down the flashing lights. But tbh, that's on the guy. For me, dark rooms and big screens with bad refresh rates equals more twitching so I don't really go to the movies like that.
Marvel Heroes had such a trigger in the launcher for a brief period of time. It seems like avoiding flashing lights and colorblind mode should be pretty standard for most devs.
My guess is that Polish law, unlike American law and liability, doesn't require it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harding_test
My guess is, they didn't screen at all. I'd love to hear differently from CDPR, but I expect we will hear crickets.
It's not a hard thing to do.
It doesn't catch everything, but it catches most. Photosensitivity is a bit ideopathic (individual) but most triggers fall in a general range which is why neuorologists can use that general range to try to induce a seizure.
All that entails is having a big message on screen warning for the possibility of seizures. Which happens to be already included in the EULA.
Actually doing something to minimize or eradicate the possibility of a seizure is up to the developer's discretion. Which, by looking at their reply, is in the works.
Which is awesome, considering this condition affects...what...1, maybe 2% of the population?
There are also many recommended ways to self-manage the condition to reduce the likelihood and severity of seizures.
So yes, it does seem like putting epilepsy warnings in video games is a bit like labels on coffee that it might be hot, lighters can burn you or bathtubs can be a drowning hazard to children.
Oh yeah, as Frank Zappa once sang, "watch out where those huskies go, don't you eat that yellow snow."
https://www.epilepsy.com/learn/triggers-seizures/photosensitivity-and-seizures
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I had that light show test with the needle helmet sticking into my head and it was sort of very cumbersome to say the least.
I cannot scientifically or factually pinpoint WHAT in games causes issues but i do know from a few games i could definitely feel a strange sort of uncomfortable feeling from the way the graphics worked.
The first game i really noticed it was inside of Wildstar,something the way the lighting and graphics were done gave me real headaches.I do know for fact at least with me is enough fact for me lol that if the camera in game is too close behind something,yoru character or something else it causes big issues.So for example another game i noticed it a lot was within Wizard 101 because the camera was too close behind the character.
So even first person view is more cumbersome for my eyes/headache than panning out into third person view.I akin it to be exactly like if you sat too close to the monitor instead of the typical 18-24 inches away.You could even try moving your eyes in real close to the monitor and back out and likely notice it.
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2. Developer responds on immediate and longer term efforts to address concern.
I get the conversation about 'how did this even get by QA', but the fact is it did, much like any other bug that gets out into the wild. Seems like an example of the responsiveness many claim to want in a studio.
-mklinic
"Do something right, no one remembers.
Do something wrong, no one forgets"
-from No One Remembers by In Strict Confidence
CDPR acted quickly and responsively because it's not a warning about potential problems but a case where it has actually happened already.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
1. A [thing happened] thus identifying/raising a concern
2. Developer responds on immediate and longer term efforts to address concern.
We can assume it was not the developers intent for [thing happened] to occur and is effectively a bug/unintended result.
The developer seems to have been quick to respond and communicate their intent to remedy vs. the alternate path where they could have left it something along the lines of "it's in our EULA, suck it!" (paraphrased).
I suppose anyone could take issue with the assumption being made, but at that point, we would just be arguing what we believe to be most likely barring the reveal of some insider information stating one way or the other.
-mklinic
"Do something right, no one remembers.
Do something wrong, no one forgets"
-from No One Remembers by In Strict Confidence
It was pretty freaky the first time I saw it honestly.
I do not have epilepsy however, I get debilitating migraine headaches under the right (or very wrong to be accurate) circumstances and I found recently that if I wear a VR headset for too long a time (over an hour) it will bring on a headache to the point of vomiting from pain. Me being curious and semi-stupid when it comes to pain had to try it three times to make sure it was the headset. It was. I can game for a full day (did so too back in SWG days) and not have issue like that.
So if you believe my unqualified back yard science experiment (My degree is in business) then yes, I believe you are correct that at least as far as headaches are concerned VR can induce/amplify them. No idea on epilepsy but I would recommend getting a professional involved if anyone wants to lab rat themselves.
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There is no game studio QA department that can be as efficient at finding bugs and balance problems as the millions playing it in all kinds of weird ways.
We're the ones who find he vast majority of problems when we play the games and that always happens after release.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
Yes, folks with epilepsy who know they are photosensitive to these types of displays should maybe avoid this game, but from what I've read, the pattern they included is dangerously close to the pattern used by doctors to purposely induce seizures in controlled environments. It's good they're changing this as soon as possible.
I swear, some people get legitimately angry when they find out they can't bring a snack with peanuts somewhere because someone has a serious allergy, like they're so put out by it. It's crazy how many people wear it on their sleeves like a badge of honor that they don't care about anyone but themselves even when it comes to the most trivial things.
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