Controlling a human’s balance with nothing but a controller sounds like science fiction.
The streamer who beat Elden Ring using only her mind is back with a new experiment, but this time the controller is not moving a character on screen. It is influencing a real human body.
From Mind-Controlled Elden Ring To Real-World Balance Experiments
Gamers can certainly get very creative with their choice of controller. Some play Warzone with a flute, others try Valorant using Nintendo Switch controllers. But content creator PerriKaryal is on a different level. She played Elden Ring, including the notoriously difficult DLC and Nightreign, using nothing but her mind as a controller.
In her most recent experiment, however, she went a step further. She built a device designed to influence her balance, effectively allowing a controller to impact human movement to a certain degree. The psychology master's graduate shared her first attempts on Instagram and TikTok, where she tries to run in a straight line. As the cameraman tilts the stick of an Xbox controller in a specific direction, she visibly stumbles that way.
This is made possible through a technique called galvanic vestibular stimulation. The signal is transmitted through an electrode placed behind her eye, directly affecting her sense of balance.
After successfully demonstrating the method, she decided to combine it with gaming. As she put it:
"Naturally, my first thought was man, I wanna play Trackmania with this."
Trackmania is an arcade-style racing game where sudden shifts in direction are constant, making it a fitting choice for such an experiment. The test worked, but not without consequences. While she was able to simulate the sensation of in-game g-forces in real life, she later experienced headaches and flashing lights.
Following the experiment, she strongly discouraged viewers from attempting to replicate it at home:
"Don't do this. Don't build this. Don't make this. I do not approve of anyone making this themselves. I don't condone that behaviour. It's incredibly dangerous, and I'm not liable."
Even though this sounds pretty cool, the risks do not seem worth it. So if you want to play games in a unique way, maybe stick to the flute.
