Trakonya Mutator: When Gaming Becomes a Pain in Your Wrists

Remember the times when the in-game feedback was limited to your PlayStation controller agitating into your palms or the soft feeling of the steering wheel as you went off-road? Well, this kind of tactile experience is pretty outdated, and it's time to really share the same feelings as your character getting killed.

The Trakonya Mutator is a next-generation feedback device that is alleged to give the player negative feedback from taking damage. As many of the already existing pieces of hardware next to its kin, the gadget attaches to the player's wrists. Each time the in-game character is taking damage, the device pumps quite some jolts into the gamer's wrists.

Named after an electric fish, the device connects to the computer via a spare USB 2.0 port, and its feedback is extremely customizable. For instance, users can set how strong the electrical shock would be, as well as the amount of time of the discharge.

The Mutator is allegedly harmless, given the fact that it is powered from a 5-Volt USB bus. However, the manufacturer strongly advises that the device should not be used by gamers suffering from heart or cerebral conditions. Moreover, the maximum recommended time is situated at about 10 minutes per day, which means that you will have to strap it off as soon as you have just started the gaming session.

According to its manufacturer, the device is currently working with the Unreal Tournament series, including the 2003 and 2004 versions, but wider support is in the works. The manufacturer has already announced soon-to-arrive compatibility with the Half-Life engine, so Counter-Strike users would better watch out: getting killed promises to be an extremely painful experience!

However, getting physical damage in the real life surely promises to sharpen hardcore gamers' instincts. After all, where there's no pain, there's no gain.