WipEout dev questions validity of epilepsy test

by Andrew Yoon { Sep 17th 2008 at 1:30PM }

The folks at Studio Liverpool have been quiet about the long delay of WipEout HD. While all signs pointed to failed epilepsy tests, the team has been incredibly silent about the issue. Until now. Game director Tony Buckley said that "a lot of games" fail the epilepsy test. However, he questions the validity of the exams. "The hardware that actually does the test, it's quite ... subjective," he told GI.biz. "So, you know, it's difficult to pinpoint what the actual issues are, and whether they are actually issues, to be honest."

In spite of that, the team took the issue to heart and worked on it very seriously. "We certainly weren't going to take it lightly," he noted. The team was going to be uncompromising in the look they were going for and ultimately, it appears they've succeeded. "That was our worry, that the game would suddenly look poorer as a result of it, but no, it's all gone really well."

Tags: epilepsy, studio-liverpool, tony-buckley, wipeout, wipeout-hd

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

SolidOtacon @ Sep 17th 2008 1:37PM

Let me try the epilepsy version ! ! !

blkant @ Sep 17th 2008 4:33PM

hell ill pay the original guess of $40 for the epileptic version :)

Gambit07 @ Sep 17th 2008 1:43PM

Just one more week... patience is a virtua.

heypaul @ Sep 17th 2008 3:29PM

Patience is a Virtua Fighter?

Skunk Ape @ Sep 17th 2008 1:44PM

I've always wondered about this. I'm not too familiar with epilepsy but I'm pretty sure people who have epileptic seizures know they have epilepsy... Couldn't they just have added an option to turn off the epilepsy inducing features or are there certain people who have it and don't know?

visuatrox @ Sep 17th 2008 1:55PM

^^ I assume the problem is that most people don't actually know they have epilepsy until they have a seizure. It is not like taking epilepsy tests is a part of routine medical exams.

kentuckyfried @ Sep 17th 2008 2:48PM

I think the thing is, despite the number of warnings that can be placed in a game, causing a seizure is a big problem, even if it's the buyer's fault and those warning were not followed.

Sony's probably worried that a resourceful lawyer will find a way to find them liable for causing these problems.

But more importantly, it's about public image that needs to be maintained. You don't want to be the company known in the press as causing seizures (a minor problem that Nintendo had to deal with with their Pokemon game some years back, luckily they seem to have had great spin control).

Tom @ Sep 17th 2008 1:44PM

From reports, it looks like the Zones' music sync with the environment is what got removed. To me that seems like a major feature. On a HD screen that would be very cool to see and now we don't get to even try it. :(

Tez (PSN: Tezasaurus) @ Sep 17th 2008 3:27PM

A cool feature for sure, but major? Naw.

Metal_Gear @ Sep 17th 2008 1:49PM

I'm not sure of all the laws and such, but I wonder why they couldn't have added a large:

'WARNING: Playing this game will cause you to climb the walls'

in the splash screens. And offer a altered version for those suspectable. Well, it is something that cant be helped, I am glad they really tried to get it close to how it was though.

Mabey the company in charge of it should work out a better way of doing those tests, lord knows what games have been edited because of it.

jarhead906 @ Sep 17th 2008 2:10PM

Unless I'm mistaken, doesn't Nintendo display Epilepsy warnings when the game is booting up? I saw those warnings on ALL of the Metroid Prime titles and I believe a few on RE games for the NGC.

So...why couldn't they just plop a warning before the game begins?

Yes, most people today know that they are prone to epileptic seizures before they grow into adulthood but many people won't know until it happens. Its just a matter of viewing a specific light frequency that sets the seizure off. Someone I know didn't have anything happen to her until a Physics lab during school. You just can't really know.

Splutter @ Sep 17th 2008 2:28PM

Those tests are a pain in the arse I'm a promo director and that bloody harding test is the bane of my life, sometimes it just goes off when something changes from light to dark quickly and it's not even a flash!

I feel his pain

jojo29 @ Sep 17th 2008 4:26PM

No, you guys are all wrong.

Epilepsy is not something you "have" or "get". See, being the gamer that i'am, and having read EVERY single manual of every game i've ever bought ( i like reading in the shitter) and have a couple of times actually read the Epilepsy warning, and heres the key point:

MAY cause epileptic seisures in persons who have epilepsy AND persons WHO HAVE HAD NO HISTORY of epilepsy.

That to me means, anyone can have an epileptic seisure. It just depends on which flashing lights/moving objects affect you is anyone's guess. I've been gaming since the Sega Master System/Nintendo Entertainment System days, and, thank god, have never experienced an E seisure before, but i know because of the included warning labels, that i can have one. Hasn't stopped me from gaming ever.

Now i dont believe Wipeout HD (WOHD) should have had to remove the content, UNLESS they were having more than usual epileptic failures, which seems to have been the case. All in all, im of the mind, if i didnt see the cool extra stuff, then i wont miss either :)

PinstripeBert @ Sep 22nd 2008 10:37AM

Just because they have no history of seizures, doesn't mean that they don't have epilepsy. That warning is there because the game could cause someone's first epilepsy attack. Normal people (without epilepsy) are not gonna just seize out because of flashing lights, no matter the intensity or frequency.

pasteymofo @ Sep 17th 2008 2:54PM

I hope there's a hidden code to unlock the old Zone mode...

Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Select SEIZURES OMFG ASDLFJFAKLSFJD

Brute @ Sep 17th 2008 3:27PM

I want the epileptic version. D:

Tez (PSN: Tezasaurus) @ Sep 17th 2008 3:28PM

I think this guy is on the money- epilepsy tests are tricky, it's never 100% clear what will trigger a seizure in somebody, and it's not the same for everybody. My friend had one during Warcraft 2, which makes no sense. I think the Zone mode was so over-the-top flashy that the testers played it safe and considered it a epilepsy risk.

chris.westermann @ Sep 17th 2008 4:44PM

Personally, and this may not be a popular opinion, but peanut butter and video games are just God's way of helping us thin the nerds out of our society.

ludwig @ Sep 17th 2008 5:50PM

warnings really don't cut it these days anymore.

Also there are plenty of circumstances were you wouldn't see the warning - what if it was a demo running in a store? Or a friend that stopped by? what if someone recorded a video of a high score and posted it on the net? what if someone purposefully showed it to someone who was sick?

I think it would just be a bad idea for something like that to slip through.

Joshb79 @ Sep 17th 2008 8:50PM

Any got a , or know where I can get a hi rez version of the pic in the article. Sh*t looks sick.

Random Hangman @ Sep 18th 2008 9:14AM

I'm just having a great mental image of how they actually test this...

We need 50 subjects, 25 epilepsy sufferers and 25 non-epilepsy sufferers. Strap 'em into chairs, run Wipeout HD on a massive screen for 6 hours and see what happens...

"Jeff, we have a drooler!! Put back the release date!!"