Motion Sickness Remedies for Games?

MagikSlinger asks: "A friend of mine gave me Silent Hill 3 for Christmas (yeah, I know it's old), and I finally got around to playing it. Within 2 minutes, I had to stop and step away from the computer: intense nausea and pressure right behind the eyeballs. I got really, really motion sick playing the game. Does anyone have home remedies, set-ups, video options to make it bearable?"

Ginger

[Luis Cypher]

I get this also.
After a few minutes play I am sick , 30 minutes I start to vomit and need to lie down for a few hours.

There are things that work such as motion sickness tablets.

However if you intend to play a lot I suggest taking ginger, it actually does work and wont slow your reflexes.
Another thing is "head bob" if the game has an adjustable head bob (like F.E.A.R does) try different settings, I get the sickest, very quickly, in games wich have no head bob at all.

Ginger and Light

[Malkin]

This is nothing to be embarassed about. I occasionally have problems with games that are jittery, have tunnels with low ceilings, or use any kind of camera-bob.

Dramamine does really work, but if Dramamine makes you too sleepy, some people get good results from eating candied ginger, or drinking a real ginger beer/ale with a high ginger content. (If you live too far out in the suburban wasteland to find a good craft ginger beer, you can homebrew it with basic brewing equipment -- but don't go to too much trouble, unless you've verified that ginger actually helps you, first.)

Also, make sure that you play in a well-lit room (yeah, I know, it's a horror game, but playing a dark room will make your head hurt).

An Alternative...

[Bootle]

Might I offer a possible alternative solution... Stop Playing!

Seriously, headaches, carpal tunnel, eye strain, etc. aren't worth it for serious work, physical damage is completely unacceptable for play.

Play a different game.

Re:Change the FOV

[Anonymous Coward]

Although people see around 120 degrees just look how little of those 120 degrees the screen in front of you takes up. It's like 40 degrees, maybe 30. And if you try playing games set to 30 degrees POV... with that narrow a field of vision it'll be difficult to play or see anything.

So the only way to take up 120 degrees of vision is to get it filling up your field of vision, either with a projector or 24 monitor setup [plastk.net].

Re:An Alternative...

[Kattana]

Yes, play chess or some form of sport, no one was ever injured in a sport, maybe quail hunting is the game for you.

Rather hurt myself at play...

[Digital_Quartz]

Seriously, headaches, carpal tunnel, eye strain, etc. aren't worth it for serious work, physical damage is completely unacceptable for play.

You say that as if, somehow, play is less important than work. If I'm going to risk damaging myself, I'd much rather take the risk at play than at work. As the old russian proverb says; "The church is near, but the roads are icy. The pub is far, but I will walk carefully." :)

Afterall, people take larger risks for the sake of "play" than work all the time. Recreational skydivers come to mind, for one.