LOS ANGELES, CA – March 1, 2016 –  Flying Mollusk, the game studio that uses emerging technology to create entertaining and impactful games, announced today that it has added support for Affectiva’s Affdex emotion-sensing technology, Tobii’s EyeX eye-tracking controller, and (coming soon) Apple Watch to its biofeedback thriller game,  Nevermind. Available by downloading the latest free update for Mac and Windows 8.1 or by purchasing the game at a limited time sale price, the new sensory inputs make the game’s most unique features accessible to more gamers while deepening the player experience in innovative and meaningful ways.

Nevermind  is a psychological thriller that uses biofeedback to make the game more surreal and punishing when players feel scared or nervous. For example, if players cannot manage their stress or fear, rooms might flood, spikes might jut out from the floor, or the screen might fill with increasingly dense static. However, once the biofeedback algorithms determine that the player has calmed down, the game becomes easier and more forgiving. This indirectly teaches the player real, applied techniques that they can use to help manage feelings of stress and anxiety in their everyday lives.

Apple Watch monitors the player’s pulse and sends a signal to the game if potential feelings of fear or stress cause the player’s heart rate to spike. Affectiva’s emotion-sensing software uses virtually any basic laptop or desktop webcam to watch the player’s facial expressions for signs of emotional distress. The Tobii EyeX Controller analyzes the player’s eye movement to unlock new features in parts of the game, such as shining a flashlight in the direction a player is looking or helping the player calm themselves when they close their eyes.

Each of the new technologies announced today affect the gameplay in unique ways. Even though any of these devices can be used on their own, for the ideal gaming experience Flying Mollusk recommends using a combination of heart rate sensor, emotion-recognition, and eye-tracking. Existing supported heart rate sensors include Intel® RealSense™ camera technology, Wild Divine IomPE, Mio LINK, Garmin Heart Rate Chest Strap, and others.

“Our goal is to continue pushing the envelope within this new genre of biofeedback games and to keep finding inventive ways to integrate sensory inputs into interactive experiences,” said Erin Reynolds, CEO and Creative Director of Flying Mollusk. “When played with both Affectiva’s Affdex emotion-sensing technology and a wearable heart rate sensor,  Nevermind can use both emotional and physiological data for the most responsive biofeedback experience possible. For instance, when a heart rate sensor picks up on a change in the player’s psychological arousal, Affdex can validate whether it is an increase in negative arousal such as fear or stress or positive arousal such as excitement or joy and, as a result, react in the most appropriate manner.”

“Flying Mollusk are true pioneers in emotion-aware gaming. Using our emotion recognition technology as a game controller, the  Nevermind game adapts to the player’s facial expressions in real time, making emotions integral to the game experience,” said Rana el Kaliouby, Co-founder and Chief Strategy and Science Officer of Affectiva. “ Nevermind has now demonstrated that emotion-aware games can be easily accessible to all, by using Affectiva’s emotion-sensing software that works with any web cam. This is the next generation of gaming.”

“We were very excited to see all the unique ways Flying Mollusk has carefully worked our eye-tracking technology into  Nevermind,” said Oscar Werner, president of Tobii Tech. “This game is yet another example of how the combination of developer creativity and our groundbreaking technology can create entirely new, exciting and immersive experiences in games.”

Availability:  

For a limited time,  Nevermind can be downloaded for $15.99 – 20% off the retail price – from  http://store.steampowered.com/app/34226.

Apple Watch support is coming soon for all Mac and iPhone users. Apple Watch can be purchased at Apple retail outlets or online at  http://www.apple.com/watch/ .

Tobii EyeX Controllers are supported for Windows 8.1+ and can be purchased at  http://www.tobii.com/xperience/ . A live demonstration of Tobii’s eye-tracking technology in  Nevermind will be available at Tobii’s booth (booth # 1932) at the Game Developers Conference March 16 – 18. 

Affdex is supported for Mac and Windows 7+ and requires only a basic web cam. A live demonstration of Affectiva’s emotion-sensing technology in  Nevermind will be available at Affectiva’s booth (booth # 2405) at the Game Developers Conference March 16 – 18.

To view a video trailer of the game or get other information, visit the official site at  http://www.nevermindgame.com . 

Email:  [email protected]

Product Press Kit:  www.nevermindgame.com/press

Company Website:  www.flyingmollusk.com

Company Press Kit:  www.flyingmollusk.com/press/

About Affectiva

Affectiva, an MIT Media Lab spin-off, is the industry-leader in emotion-aware technology, the next frontier of artificial intelligence. Affectiva brings emotional intelligence to the digital world by measuring and analyzing facial expressions of emotion.  Its patented technology is built on an emotion AI science platform that uses deep learning and the world’s largest emotion data repository of nearly 4 million faces analyzed from 75 countries, amounting to more than 40 billion emotion data points.  Affectiva is used in many different industries to gather insight and analytics in consumer emotional engagement, and to emotion-enable apps and digital experiences.

About Tobii

Tobii is the global leader in eye-tracking. Our vision is a world where all technology works in harmony with natural human behavior. Tobii operates through three business units: Tobii Dynavox makes specially designed computers that are controlled by eye movement or touch screens for use by people with special needs due to spinal cord injuries, CP, ALS or other medical conditions. Tobii Pro develops and sells eye-tracking equipment and services used today by more than 2,000 companies and 1,500 research institutions, including all of the world’s 50 highest ranked universities. Tobii Tech further develops Tobii’s technology for new volume markets such as computer games, personal computers, virtual reality and vehicles. Tobii is headquartered in Sweden and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (TOBII). The group has approximately 600 employees. For more information, please visit  www.tobii.com . 

About Flying Mollusk

Flying Mollusk is a small, independent 4-person studio built to create entertaining and uniquely impactful games that leverage emerging technology and leave a lasting impression on those who play them. Their flagship product,  Nevermind, is a biofeedback-enhanced horror adventure game that indirectly teaches the player how to manage feelings of stress and anxiety.   Nevermind represents Flying Mollusk’s vision to create edgy, engaging and fun games that are both compelling as a popular “mainstream” title, while also giving back to the player via existing and emerging technology. For more information, visit  www.flyingmollusk.com .

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