What you need to know
- Twitch streamer Perrikaryal has devised a way to control her character with her brain.
- She does this by using an electroencephalogram (EEG) to measure her brain activity. Then, she maps specific types of brain activity to different in-game actions.
- Perrikaryal's goal is to get to the point where she can fully control her character with nothing but the EEG, but she says this will take a long time since it takes extensive training to perform actions consistently.
It's almost been a year since Elden Ring launched, and since then, its fans have made some incredible accomplishments. Players routinely complete challenge runs that limit what types of stats and equipment they can use, and some even make use of unorthodox input methods, pulling their Tarnished's strings with musical instruments, dance pads, and other objects. Twitch streamer Perrikaryal, though, has opted for a uniquely fascinating approach: controlling her character with nothing but her thoughts.
To achieve this insane feat, Perrikaryal — who has a Master's degree in Psychology — has attached an electroencephalogram (an EEG) to her head, measuring her brain activity. Then, she maps different types of brain activity to various in-game controls with a specialized software, giving her the ability to summon allies, attack enemies, cast spells, and more without ever touching a physical controller.
Though some skeptics have claimed that the EEG controls are fake, Perrikaryal has proven their capabilities. The streamer has shown the system working while clearly showing that her hands aren't on a physical controller and that there's no dance pad-style control setup under her desk. She's also been completely silent while using the EEG at times, showing that there aren't any voice command controls active.
The future would be to attach different brain activity to multiple different in-game abilities, but it's very difficult for the program to differ such activity, Perri tells me it takes hours of training and refining for each action. pic.twitter.com/KZHdiFvNuJJanuary 23, 2023
While Perrikaryal's ultimate goal is to fully control her character with nothing but the EEG, the streamer says that this will take a long time to accomplish, as each new individual action she binds requires hours and hours of training to perform consistently. Because of this, she relies on a traditional controller for things like moving around and rolling for now. Even so, watching her spawn Spirit Ashes and knock bosses around with her brain is nothing short of jaw-dropping.
I've witnessed lots of impressive Souls challenge completions and bizarre types of controllers over the years, but I can confidently say that this is the wildest thing I've ever seen someone do in Elden Ring or any other FromSoftware game. And I, along with many others, am extremely excited to follow Perrikaryal's progress with the EEG. Who knows what she'll be capable of doing with just her mind in a week's time? What about a month? How long will it be before she can beat the entire game without ever lifting a finger? If you'd like to watch Perrikaryal as she masters her brain-powered control scheme, make sure to follow her on her Twitch channel and YouTube channel.
Elden Ring is here, and it's available for $60 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows PCs, and PlayStation systems. It's one of the best Xbox games you can play right now if you're a fan of challenging action RPGs, and as such, we strongly recommend it. Between its amazing gameplay, phenomenal presentation, and its staggering amount of overall content, it's an absolute triumph.
