SoylentNews

Freeman [soylentnews.org] writes:

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/12/cyberpunk-2077-could-trigger-seizures-in-photosensitive-players/ [arstechnica.com]

Epileptic gamers who are sensitive to flashing lights and strobing effects may need to take special care when playing Cyberpunk 2077 after its release later this week.

Game Informer Associate Editor Liana Ruppert wrote yesterday [gameinformer.com] about her experience with a grand mal seizure while playing a pre-release version of the game. The seizure was triggered by the game's short introductory cutscene for the "braindance" interface. That scene features a device flashing bright, screen-filling red and white lights at the player in an increasing cadence before sending them into a virtual world to explore another character's memories.
[...]
Update 12:56pm EST: CD Projekt Red does include a seizure warning in Cyberpunk 2077's End User License Agreement [cyberpunk.net], telling players the game "may contain flashing lights and images, which may induce epileptic seizures." No similar warning appears on screen at any point during the game.

Update 3pm EST: CD Projekt Red has since directly responded to Game Informer's report in the form of a Twitter post [twitter.com]: "We're working on adding a separate warning in the game, aside from the one that exists in the EULA. Regarding a more permanent solution, Dev team is currently exploring that and will be implementing it as soon as possible."

TimeShift also had a nice sequence near the end of the game with lots of flashing lightning arcs in a very dark scene. It's not a new concept or problem. It just affects such a small percentage of people, let alone players, that there's not been a good solution to the problem. Other than including a warning. A prominent notice is desirable for games that have especially troublesome scenes.

Original Submission