Technology is expanding our world in so many ways…soon we will be able to develop mindfulness, align our chakras and perhaps become enlightened via our computers and X Boxes! I think this is amazingly creative and a wonderful example of having technology serve us rather than being enslaved by it.
What do you think about blending technology with gaming, personal and spiritual growth?
From Seattle Pi
“I personally believe that you can accelerate neural development and biological evolution through video games,” said Chopra. “Unfortunately, that’s not what we’re doing right now. What we’re doing is creating addictions to violence, adrenaline and mindlessness, rather than mindfulness. That was my personal motivation to get involved in this medium.”
“Deepak Chopra’s Leela” from THQ Inc. will use the Xbox 360 console’s controller-free, camera-based Kinect system to detect users’ bodies, then guide them through meditation exercises. (An edition for Nintendo’s Wii requires players to hold a controller.) “Leela,” which translates to “play” in Sanskrit, is less of a game and more of an experience, though there are a few gameplay elements.
Seven different interactive exercises based on the seven “chakras,” the points along the body that Chopra says serve as energy centers, task players with moving their bodies to control graphics onscreen set to a soothing soundtrack. The mini-games increase in difficulty, but “Leela” places no importance on a final score or even finishing the exercises.
The root chakra exercise, for example, directs players to tilt their hips to seed a virtual planet, while the heart chakra exercise
uses players’ hands to harness fireballs that release gems imbedded in descending rocks. Peter Armstrong, director of product development at THQ, said transforming Chopra’s teachings into gameplay was a difficult endeavor.
“We wanted to make sure each of the movements was fun and replayable,” said Armstrong. “That’s why we did more than 500 prototypes. We took the teachings and tried to boil them down. We would show those to Deepak and some of his experts, but there were several instances where they just didn’t work. They just didn’t quite fit the meaning of that chakra.”
Armstrong said the developers had the toughest time wrapping their heads around the throat chakra. At first, the game makers wanted to craft a mini-game that would take advantage of Kinect’s vocal recognition capabilities, but Chopra instead steered the game makers toward creating a fluid experience that would be more about communicating than screeching.
One of the guided meditative modes uses Kinect’s depth sensor to measure seated players’ breathing patterns. The result is displayed onscreen as three undulating bars. As players move their chest, the soothing voice of yoga instructor Elena
Brower provides instruction on how to control breathing. It’s the first such use of the technology in a Kinect game.
Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Chopra-hopes-to-connect-minds-bodies-with-Leela-1471723.php
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