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By Michael Aushenker
Special to the Lookout

September 22, 2011 -- On a recent Monday night happy hour, a few men were gathered around the north end of the main bar at Santa Monica's Hotel Casa del Mar. Cocktails circulated, flatscreens played, and attractive waitresses hustled to and fro, but these individuals had other things on their minds – namely, directing an archer’s arrow to a bullseye and exploding a can of Red Bull. Virtually.

Mental archery. Photo courtesy of Neurosky Mind Games

Since September 5, Hotel Casa del Mar has been hosting Mind Game Mondays, a collaboration with NeuroSky, Inc., a San Jose-based developer of brain-computer interface for consumer applications, and MyndPlay, a movie entertainment technology company that uses the state of the viewer’s thoughts to affect the outcome of a movie or video.

The hotel's general manager, James Barela, welcomes the new weekly techie rendezvous.

“We offer live entertainment five nights a week, so we were looking for something different and interesting to offer on Monday night and this just looked like it would certainly generate some fun and interest.

“These games are fun, challenging and very different from most people are used to when playing video games,” Barela continued, “as the controller in this case is your mind and your ability to make things happen that you can see right on the screen in front of you.”

With headsets on, an onscreen meter gauges one’s level of focus as the player concentrates hard enough to make the live-action man with bow and arrow onscreen hit a bullseye, or, in a weird bit of product placement, will an image of a Red Bull can to puff up until it explodes, sending foamy liquid spilling over the top.

Founded in 2004, NeuroSky was based on a medical industry technology that has been around for over 60 years called EEG.

“We redesigned the technology to be cost effective and user friendly so that it could be used by anyone,” said NeuroSky’s head of communications Tansy Brook. “Most of our business is done with industry partners who take our brainwave reading technology and integrate it into their products.

“We make it possible it bring BCI [Brain-Computer Interface] technology into any industry,” said Brook.

“Mattel created a toy called the Mindflex, which allows you to levitate a ball by concentrating,” she said. “In April of this year we released the MindWave, our first PC/MAC compatible headset for sale directly to the public.”

Tre Azam’s Myndplay Ltd. and Treite Labs, a UK based production and video technology company, provided the interactive film footage.

“Myndplay is the world’s first brain controlled interactive video player that allows viewers to use their mind to interact with, control or direct the outcome or sequence of a video or movie file,” Brook said.

“Using relaxation and focus, you can interact with the movie or video file to dictate the direction or just sit back and let your mind pick for you,” she said.

“MyndPlay immerses the viewer into the storyline and the characters by allowing the viewer to direct the movie using nothing but their mind,” said Brook. “They choose who lives and dies, whether the bad guy or the good guy wins, or whether or not the quarterback will make that all important throw, they choose the direction, they decide the outcome.”

In the inaugural presentation, one film had the player enter a spooky house and focus on exorcising a demon from a possessed woman. If the focus was not strong enough, the woman was consumed and died.

Brooks explained how it all worked.

“Our technology reads the tiny electrical signals that come off the brain when neurons fire,” Brook said. “These tiny signals make up brainwaves. Our technology can recognize patterns of brainwaves that are consistent across all audiences.

“These can be translated into actions: concentrate to light something on fire or relax to make it levitate. The goal is to help you to more easily control your mind,” she said.

“The MindWave headset is like a heart rate monitor for your brain” Brook said. “We take things that are naturally good for people, like having them practice concentration or meditation, make them more aware of it and bring it into an entertainment environment.”

In addition to video games, NeuroSky’s technology will be applied to more serious study.

“This technology can be used for anything from light entertainment applications to health and wellness to academic research,” said Brook, who added that it will help in the research of people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

At Casa though, it’s all about fun: exploding Red Bull cans and virtual archery.

Naturally, Barela is eager to point out that there are additional reasons to show up at the Hotel by the Sea on a Monday night.

“Of course, as is true on every day of the week here at Casa, there is our fabulous view of the Pacific Ocean and magnificent sunsets!” Barela said. “We also have several televisions with ‘Monday Night Football’ as well.”

Located at Casa del Mar's lobby lounge and bar area, the Mind Games set up of three laptop-and-headset stations are available on a first-come, first-serve basis every Monday night from 5 to 7 p.m.