Science team creating 'smell effect' device for games

by Griffin McElroy on Apr 28th 2009 3:02AM

Listen, we're all for new and exciting video game peripherals which lend themselves to sensory immersion, but -- well, we're not really crazy about the idea of total sensory immersion, you know? Nevertheless, a team of engineers at Birmingham University are working on a device that exposes gamers to context-sensitive scents during their gaming sessions. Thank goodness this thing wasn't around when Conker's Bad Fur Day pooed up our N64s.

The device, which uses a system of scented paraffin waxes and fans to simulate in-game smells, was partially funded by the Ministry of Defense for use in military training simulators, a fact that makes us equal parts uncomfortable and disappointed. Give us scented Cooking Mama over scented Call of Duty: World at War any day of the week.

Source

Tags: birmingham-university, military, military-training, ministry-of-defense, scent, science, smell

Reader Comments (24)

Well if there's any upside to this maybe people will stop farting in everyone's face in Fable if the next game uses this feature.

Nah... i think this will only increase the douchebaggery of online interaction.

I wonder what the smell of cooked, raining giblets would be....

would be perfect for a game like flower.
teabagging? not so much....

Wait, would the smell device be BC? Because I was always curious what someone's subconscious smells like and I still have my copy of Psychonauts.

dammit Griffin. you mentioned Conker before me >_>

Geez, I usually just open a window.

great i've always wanted to smell a pile bullet ridden of corpses

This came up my RSS reader right underneath a story about the new farting character in Noby Noby Boy :)

Nice! Now if Fallout 3 gets a patch for this, people will be able to smell a ghoul's essence, you smoothskin!

I remember reading about this when Doom first came out. Can't wait to read about it again in 10 years!

How could you use a picture of that and not the Smelloscope?
http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=156616&title=smelloscope

Emeril Lagasse was right! There is a smellovision!

I remember seeing this being announced as an accessory for dreamcast way back in the day, I still don't see any developers being eager to jump on this one.

ever been to DisneyWorld for Lilo&Stitch's ride where Stitch belches? No fucking thank you do I want smells for my gaming experience. I can make my own smells just fine.

Wario would be a lot less charming if I could smell him

I don't know a whole lot about the brain, but if they knew how couldn't they make you hear or see something that would in turn make you smell something?

In all seriousness, would anyone really want to buy this? I just don't understand the point of it or even a game that this would be "perfect" for.

Legend of Zelda: The Wind Maker - with pack-in smell effect device?

Hey people dont be so negative towards new things!!! It could become a fun thing, for example: imagine you're playing a fighting game online! If your character would win, the other person who would be god knows where in the world, would have to smell something funky like...rotten goodies? I dont know use your imagination! So that would like give a good incentive for you not to loose that fight! If you would win, it would feel good, and your smell-device would give a good scent like strawberrys. Alas, if you would loose...i wouldn't want to be in your place looser