THE FUTURE OF GAMING: A SENSORY EXPERIENCE

ARE YOU READY TO TAKE YOUR GAMING EXPERIENCE TO THE NEXT LEVEL?

SMELL AND TASTE IN VIDEO GAMES

HAVE YOU EVER WISHED YOU COULD SMELL THE BURNING RUBBER IN GRAN TURISMO OR TASTE THE HOPS IN A BEER PONG GAME? AS VIDEO GAMES AND MOVIES BECOME MORE IMMERSIVE, THE SENSATIONS OF SMELL AND TASTE ARE STARTING TO BECOME PART OF THE EXPERIENCE.

THE VERGECAST: EXPLORING SMELLOVISION

IN A RECENT EPISODE OF THE VERGECAST, WE EXPLORED THE ROLE OF SMELL AND TASTE IN VIDEO GAMES, AND WHETHER THESE SENSES COULD ENHANCE THE VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE FOR GAMERS. SMELLOVISION, A CONCEPT FROM THE PAST, IS MAKING A COMEBACK IN A NEW GENERATION OF MEDIA.

GAMECENT: BRINGING SCENTS TO YOUR GAMING

GAMECENT, AN AI-POWERED SCENT MACHINE THAT SYNCS WITH YOUR GAMING AND MOVIE-WATCHING EXPERIENCE, IS NOW AVAILABLE. BY LISTENING TO THE SOUND DESIGN OF THE CONTENT BEING PLAYED OR WATCHED, GAMECENT DEPLOYS FRAGRANCES THAT ACCOMPANY THOSE SOUNDS. WE PUT GAMECENT TO THE TEST WITH GAMES LIKE MARIO KART AND ANIMAL CROSSING TO EXPLORE A SCENT-INFUSED GAMING FUTURE.

TASTE SIMULATION IN VIRTUAL REALITY

NIMESHA RANASINGHE, AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE, IS WORKING ON TASTE SENSATIONS AND TASTE SIMULATION IN VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCES. HIS RESEARCH INVOLVES SENDING ELECTRICAL PULSES TO THE TONGUE TO MANIPULATE DIFFERENT TASTE SENSATIONS SUCH AS SALTY, SWEET, SOUR, AND BITTER. EXPERIMENTAL GADGETS LIKE A "VIRTUAL COCKTAIL" HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO SEND CURATED TASTING AND DRINKING EXPERIENCES THROUGH DIGITAL SIGNALS.

EXPLORE THE WORLD OF SMELLING AND TASTING DIGITAL CONTENT

IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE WORLD OF SMELLING AND TASTING DIGITAL CONTENT, CHECK OUT THE LINKS BELOW TO GET STARTED:

• GameScent
• Nimesha Ranasinghe’s Research

SOURCES:

• GameScent: Amazon
• Nimesha Ranasinghe Interview: Skimresources