The Journey to Wild Divine Biofeedback Software & Hardware for PC & Mac: The Passage
|
Our Price: $298.00 Availability: Usually ships in 4-5 business days Buy 3rd Party: from $229.00 (click here) Category: Health Care See more product details |
|---|
Customer Reviews of The Journey to Wild Divine Biofeedback Software & Hardware for PC & Mac: The Passage
Customer Review: New age game with biofeedback
Summary: 4 Stars
I am only motivated to write a review if I think there is some observation I have that is not already captured in the product description or other's reviews. So I am going to try to focus on what I didn't get from other reviews and then what I found.
I found this game because I was looking for some sort of biofeedback tool. This has biofeedback instrument that connects to 3 fingers and interfaces to the computer with a USB. The sensors measure heart rate variability and skin conductance levels. When I refer to this as a game it isn't because it's keeping score per se, it is because if you are wanting to come at this from a clinical or scientific approach, you will be disappointed. That's not to say that there are not real science and psychology behind the technology, it is because the game presents it in a new age coating - for instance, calling the instruments "magic rings" and the USB device a "light stone". My initial thoughts were to roll with the premise and hopefully I would learn in the process. After spending time with the game, I think this is possible. If you are reading this wondering if you want to shell out nearly $150 and want to know more about what you're getting into, I have a few more observations.
I didn't find the hardware and software particularly polite or friendly. To get things to work, I ended up removing other USB devices. I am not sure what was going on, but I find that inconvenient and I have been rebooting the machine before or after the game to clear issues that I find with other software and devices. In the same vein, I don't like the way the software takes over the graphics display, resets the screen resolution, and virtually traps my use to the game until I exit. Of course, when the resolution of the screen has been changed like that, one's desktop and other applications are rearranged and re-sized. Not cool. While this means one can see the game's graphics to their best advantage, this practice of the programmers is simply rude. Also, even though one should allow proper time to get into the game, relax and meditate, once in a while one needs to quickly return to some other computer application, and one cannot simply minimize a game window - it has taken over, so one must quit and wait for around 3 screens of graphics or credits before one gets their computer back. Also rude. If you thought of using this at work for a quick way to take a meditation break, this will probably be a hindrance. Pity.
Essentially the game is a collection of biofeedback exercises placed in an imaginary world created by graphics - there are example screen shots available elsewhere so you can see what the world looks like. I must say in my complaining about the rudeness of how they are implemented on one's machine, they create a rather stunning effect - almost taking advantage of the fuzziness of the graphics to create a more mystical looking world. One needs to negotiate the world by choosing directions and various nodes to discover locations of the exercises. Although there is a map, when one is in the game it is difficult to know where one is or one is going and this is not what is useful in a game meant for relaxation. Some exercises are well-explained in context and even on the first tries one can start to get the wordless kind of thinking one needs to affect changes in the autonomic system by working with conscious thought. However, there are some exercises that I have no idea what I am supposed to do and nothing within the game seems to tell me. I then found the accompanying book that gives hints. While I am capable of reading, it is kind of a drag to try to use the computer with one hand, have the sensors on another hand, then try to juggle a book that is mostly trying to build a sense of fantasy as much as helping one learn how to best use the game as a tool.
There is another product by the same group called "healing rhythms" which seems to be much of the same exercises but without the metaphor of the fantasy game to wade through. It also includes tools to actually graph the inputs from the sensors, seemingly to allow one to approach the biofeedback from more of a clinical, scientific way. If this is true, I probably would have been happier with this approach versus the approach of this game. However, if you wish to be able to enter a world of gardens, landscapes, and buildings to explore while at the same time discovering exercises along the way, the Journey to the Wild Divine could be for you.
Customer Review: Not your ordenary game
Summary: 4 Stars
System:
Apple PowerBook
Chip 1.25 Ghz G4
1Gb RAM
ATI Radion Mobility 9600; 64Mb Vram
This is on the face of it an adventure game. A Myst style wander around solving puzzles and looking for objects way to relax. The twist of it is that it uses biofeedback to control what is happening. You use a standard point and click to travel from place to place. Once there the puzzles are operated by using the biofeedback to raise or lower your "energy" level. I don't know if they are using temperature, pulse rate, or galvanic response but it works surprisingly well. It is really cool to see kites or balloons, or balls, or whatever floating up or down and being able to control them just by thinking. The hard part I found was that just as I would almost get relaxed enough to reach my goal, I'd think "Yeah!, I did it!' and my energy level would crash so I'd have to start over. The puzzle where you are stacking rocks was the most interesting for me because you had to raise and lower your energy to set the rock down in just the right place. Overall the temple complex where you wander around is quite beautiful. The graphics are similar to earlier Myst games or the Buried in Time series. There are a few places where they use fog to obscure objects and it doesn't come off too well but overall the graphics are not bad. This is a fixed frame Myst style game though, not a full 3D environment. The complex is also very large. I've been playing it a couple times per week over the last month and I haven't explored it all. What's more because the puzzles are the focus, not "winning", you can, and are in fact encouraged to go back and replay puzzles over and over. The puzzles are arranged roughly in order of difficulty so when you first start they are easier and get harder the deeper you progress.
This brings me to my few complaints. I thought I had read that all functions were controlled via biofeedback, this isn't the case. You use a normal point and click interface to get from place to place and the biofeedback is only for the puzzles. This isn't bad except that the game often assumes that you want to move in the direction you turn. There were a number of times I would click to turn right see what was there only to have the game turn right and walk down the path. This was especially annoying when I then had to go around the long way to get back where you started.
The music is very mixed. The instrumentals are very relaxing and beautiful, I would love to get some of them to play on my iPod. The vocal pieces are like bad '60s psychedelic new-agey religo-babble. I literally found myself turning the volume down while the singers were on because they were so annoying. Fortunately the majority of the music is instrumental. In a similar vein, once you get past the pseudo religious stuff at the beginning your guide does tell you how to play and how to make the biofeedback system work. Anyway she only is there to instruct you through the first couple of puzzles. After that you should have a good idea how to play. If you get stuck you do have You can click on Deprak Chopra at the bottom of the screen and he'll tell you what the goal of the puzzle is. After a while you also pick up two other guides. One is an energy gauge that shown you how close you are to your goal. The other is a pair of eyes that appear on the screen just as you enter a puzzle. Their color depends on whether you need to raise or lower your energy for this particular puzzle. They help a lot. Oh, and don't make the mistake I made. The finger sensors go on with the spring loaded doors on your fingernail and the body on the fleshy part of your finger. I started with them upside-down and the game kept complaining that it was not getting a signal.
Overall the game plays well and is really a lot of fun. It is very peaceful and relaxing and I've even learned some meditation skills which seem to be doing some good. I have noticed I sleep better after playing the game for a couple of hours. It's not a twitch and shoot game, but if you're looking for something different you might give it a try.
Customer Review: A playground for the mind and a classroom for the spirit
Summary: 5 Stars
OK. I admit it. In some ways Wild Divine is a form of escapism. When wars, the economy, the ecology, earth changes, and 2012 get just too much to worry about, it is a relief to move into a world of peace and light and beauty. The colors are a bit brighter, the people loving and helpful and I get to float rather than walk. Addictive? It could be, but in our list of possible addictive scenarios I can't think of a more positive one.
The first evening I used The Journey to Wild Divine before going to bed, I slept a deep, comforting sleep - for nine hours! Yes, there are some goals in the game but most of them concern adapting body rhythms not deciphering cryptic clues. In fact, those in the Myst 4 camp may find that there is not enough challenge. Wild Divine is not a typical adventure game. You don't need to be a gamer to play as clues are available through guides and magic mirrors and sometimes words in your "head".
The actors (real people, not animations) portray a variety of archetypes. There is the pagan Lady of the Woods, the Eastern guru / yogi, the mystical Lady of Compassion, the clock making wizard and the list goes on.
Many health care professions advise daily meditation. Many laypeople agree. Still, it is sometimes difficult to make the time in our busy schedules to do our yoga or qi gong or drumming. Sometimes-even though we know it is good for us-it seems like merely a chore. Enter Wild Divine. Play with the ball or the pinwheel. See if you can hit the bullseye with your imaginary, mind-body controlled arrow. Move on to more difficult tasks as you will. PLAY!!!!
The Journey is not a typical 360 degree navigation game. You cannot delve into each nook and cranny. In other games this inability to explore has bothered me, but in the land of Wild Divine there is no hurry and as the land glides by I am content to play the part of observer. There is no choppy change of scene; everything glides effortlessly together. The experience, in part at least, is a guided meditation. The initiate has control of his main movements, but the paths are clearly defined.
The downside? For some people it will be the price. Since Wild Divine is not simply a game, the cost reflects that. The biofeedback components (you could think of this as a metaphysical Xbox of sorts) attach to fingers and measure your Skin Conductance Level as well as your Heart Rate Variability (HRV). You can visit the Institute of Heart Math to learn more about how HRV can boost your immune system. Moving through the game involves mastering the Heart Breath. Don't worry (after all the point of all this is to relax), there are lessons and guides along the way.
The upside? A new game is in production, so if you love Wild Divine you can explore the sequel without purchasing new hardware. Wisdom Quest featuring Deepak Chopra's new book, The Book of Secrets is due out in Spring 2005. Keep your fingers crossed. And The Journey includes a music CD is included for the times when you just can't get to your computer.
From the users guide:
To succeed in The Journey, players have to learn certain principles, which basically require an "allowing attitude" - a kind of passive will. It's the difference between saying, "I must do this" and learning that the only way you're going to progress is by deepening your breath or being in touch with more positive emotions or imagining that what you want to happen is already happening - bringing the wished-for event into the present.
Yes, there is indeed a scientific explanation to WHY objects move for you in The Journey, but sometimes I have to admit it simply seems like magic. And why not? We are!
Customer Review: Good for controlling your states of mind - not so much for meditation
Summary: 3 Stars
I bought this product for my 12-year old son to entice him into meditation. I am sure the game will be doing a good job at that even though he hasn't started yet. There is gameplay, beautiful graphic and good biofeedback.
However, as a meditation teacher I would like to raise one thing: Biofeedback is good for getting into meditation but for 'real meditation' it is more a hindrance than a help.
Why is this so? All 'real' meditation aims at a state of oneness - ultimately at oneness with the divine. Biofeedback by its very nature prevents this state of oneness because it always keeps the part of our mind awake that judges ourselves and asks questions like, 'do I do this correctly?', 'can I do this better?' While these questions are valuable when starting out with meditation they need to be abandoned later on as the meditator and the object of meditation (mantra, visualisation, breath etc.) merge.
The journey to the wild divine is a valuable tool to learn to relax and invogorate your mind/body and learn certain breathing techniques in order to accomplish that. For that reason it can be compared to the warming-up exercises of an athlete or of the finger exercise of a pianist. I do not want to down-play how important mind-control is.
It can not teach you, however, the meat and flesh of meditation - the abandonement into something that is utterly uncontrollable, mysterious and the fulfillment of our deepest dreams. No biofeeedback device can give us information about how loving and wise we are. These states will only develop in us when love, devotion and surrender become the main focus of meditation - just like a pianist can never produce beautiful music from perfect finger technique alone. Biofeedback - by its nature - is essentially self-centred and thus - when used as the sole means of development - prevents the emergence of any true form of spirituality.
Why only three stars? Because the set came without a user manual. I think for this price tag the manufacturers should have included a beautiful little booklet to explain to the novices of meditation and biofeedback what this is all about. Also, not all the exercises are self-explanatory.
Update: Now my son, my husband (who is also an experienced meditator) and I have spent many hours playing. My son - to my joy - loves this game. Many of the exercises are relatively easy for him - or at least after a little guidance from us - BUT THIS GUIDANCE IS NOT PROVIDED BY THIS GAME. I find it hard to imagine how a complete novice should find this out just by trial and error.
The relaxation exercises, however, are extremely hard. I have decades of meditation experience and work as a relaxation teacher. I know I am not bad at relaxing because I can put myself consciously too sleep. I can also start dreaming while I am totally conscious. However, in order 'to open the doors' in this game I need to focus for 30 to 40 minutes, sitting absolutely motionless with breath suspended to be hardly detectable. One single deeper breath, one single joyful thought that 'I am nearly there' and immediately the door closes. My husband doesn't do any better.
My son cracked this problem by lying on the sofa, finger sensors on his hand and really tries going to sleep and not looking at the biofeedback. It still takes him 15min that way.
So, I am just writing this as a little warning about how difficult this game is. I think a couple of other revieweres who are very experienced in meditation as well attested to the same difficulties.
Customer Review: Not a Good Investment for Most People
Summary: 2 Stars
What bothers me about having to write this review is that I was really looking forward to recommending this system. I have to admit that the idea of an interactive video game based on your own biofeedback had me sold. I believe I remember reading somewhere that this game is supposedly a lot like Myst. What could be more cool than puzzle-solving, exploration and meditation all in one convenient game?
While the potential seemed to be there, the execution here is just downright flawed. This game is no Myst! I would compare it more to one of those kid's educational titles where you do a bunch of silly activities with rabbits and turtles to learn to read: in fact this game may be far more suited to three or four year olds than adults (although I question whether children would have the patience to play this game). As it is, I suspect most people do not have the enormous reserve of patience it must take to get through this game; and once you finish it (total gameplay time is only eight to ten hours at best), I can't see why one would want to replay it.
You start out the game as a "Seeker" and meet a kindly woman named Sophia who hands you a magic wand and makes you take a deep breath to enter the magical kingdom of Wild Divine. After that, there is absolutely no plot whatsoever. You meet a bunch of strange characters who speak to you as though you're a little child. They all repeatedly explain the concept of the deepth breath (counting in to 7, holding, counting out to 7). This allegedly relaxes you; however, this particular form of meditative breathing does not work for everybody, myself included, and you may need to experiment to find another meditation technique to successfully release tension (I personally find using a mantra far more effective).
Exploration in this game is extremely limited. The map is pretty small, and there are clearly linear paths to go from place to place. The only reason you even know what you're supposed to be doing in this game is by trudging back to a "Magic Mirror" that tells you what your next quest should be. I found it strange that the game designers wouldn't just have in-game characters tell you what you should be doing and why, but I suppose this would have involved writing a story for the game. As it is, when the Magic Mirror tells you to fetch flowers as an offering to the Drejja, you'd better not expect any answers about who or what the Drejja is and why you should be making offering to him/her/it.
Gameplay is similarly unsatisfying. There are very few items to find as you go about your journey. Along the way you can choose to click on various activities like juggling, making birds fly in circles, and "archery." I suppose this is the real heart of the game, but these activities aren't that different from each other. Almost all of them involve deep breathing until you slow your pulse down enough to complete the activity. Umm, so basically to make birds fly in circles you take deep breaths and relax. And to shoot an arrow you take deep breaths and relax. And to juggle you take shallow breaths to "build energy." And to build a fire you take deep breaths and relax. Those four sentences just gave away about 75% of the game...
All in all, highly disappointing. In fact, until biofeedback gets to the level where you can monitor brain waves in your home while playing a video game, I suspect that using biofeedback to monitor the results of meditation will just produce silly results like we have here in this game.