Video games allow for deeper immersion than other visual entertainment media such as film and television. Allowing players to take control of a character or interact with a game’s virtual world allows players to inhabit that world for a period of time. Companies have long been trying to find ways to increase that player’s immersion, which has led to big strides in VR gaming in recent years.
However, video games are somewhat held back in the pursuit of immersion as they are primarily reliant on audio and visual feedback to the player. For most gamers, the only tactile connection to a game is through the controller, which can only convey so much through rumbles, although the PS5 DualShock 5 controller has seen improvements in immersion through controller vibration.
Now, a haptic technology company called D-BOX is looking to bridge the gap between standard controller feedback and highly specialized simulator platforms. The company is looking to do that with its new patent for a gaming chair with a built-in actuator that is able to connect to a PC or console to simulate in-game movements for the player. The chair will likely be best suited for driving simulation games, where it can emulate the road surface the player is driving on in relation to the vehicle’s speed.
Gaming chairs have become an extremely popular choice for many gamers, especially those using PC or table-based setups. Gaming chairs also come in a wide variety of designs and so this makes it a good base design choice for the D-BOX motion simulation chair. What makes the D-BOX’s patented design unique among gaming chairs, however, is the actuator found between the seat and base of the chair. Normally, an actuator like this would be one of many in a much larger specialized simulator, but using just one makes the design more compact and affordable.
D-BOX is a company with experience in creating simulators for professional training and PC games. D-Box already has a gaming chair co-engineered with haptic technology for sale, just without a built-in actuator. Its new gaming chair patent, however, is likely closer in design to its haptic cinema seats, which move the viewer in sync with the action on the screen. Simulator platforms with built-in actuators are often used with games specifically designed to provide specific feedback to different points around the player. However, as the D-BOX gaming chair only contains one actuator, it can be synchronized with controller vibrations that are already designed for that game.
This should leave the players whole body affected by the controller noise, which would help make driving games more realistic, but also the chair actuator could help make the smaller moments of other games more immersive, like riding a horse in Red Dead Redemption 2if a chair simulated gallop effect was added.
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