Today at E for All 2008 I had the opportunity to have a one-on-one with TN Games President and CEO Mark Ombrellaro, MD. Mark was showing off his baby, the 3RD Space Vest, and its new World of Warcraft compatibility. 

First off I was strapped into a raid vest similar to the front zipping vests that you often see police or military wearing. The vest was outfitted with tactile sensory stimuli which activate to in-game content. Currently the vest is compatible with over twenty PC games, and connects to a standard USB port.

We initially booted up TN Games proprietary first person shooter to demo the vest in action. As I navigated myself through the Quake style game, I immediately realized that the vest was more than I expected.

While wearing the vest, and playing a compatible FPS, you feel everything your onscreen avatar feels. The vest applies pressure to various points in the front, side or rear of the vest depending on where you are shot. Explosions and falls even activate the sensory stimuli.

Initially, while wearing the vest and being shot, I thought somebody was simply bumping into me on the show floor. I quickly realized that the vest was actually the one “poking” me in the kidney. You see, this is no simple vibration vest; it is outfitted with a mechanism that applies pressure to specific regions when specific in-game actions occur.

After testing TN Game’s 3RD Space Vest with a FPS I thought it was time to see how it performed with World of Warcraft. I logged in with a generic level 11 Druid, and gave it a shot. As expected, when I was hit from the front I could feel it. What was unexpected was all the sensors pulsating as I would cast spells.

I would have to say that the 3RD Space Vest would be a welcome additional to any FPS or WoW, and would like to see how well it works with action, strategy, or even puzzle games.

The technology that drives the vest was originally developed with medical purposes in mind. It would give a physician the ability to apply pressure to a patient remotely. I personally could see this technology integrated with existing and developing virtual reality hardware for a complete immersive game environment. Not to mention the obvious benefits when added to military force option simulators.

The 3RD Space Vest is currently available online or at many real world retailers. At the very least it is worth checking out, and if you have the money to spend on a peripheral this definitely beats those vibrating gaming chairs.