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October 2003: Press Release
Worlds of Alternative Wellness and Computer Gaming Find Common Ground in New Product
Startup technology innovator, game developer and music label The Wild Divine Project has announced it will release The Journey to Wild Divine on December 8, for both PC and Mac computers. An interactive multimedia adventure, The Journey to Wild Divine integrates the power of a healing journey with ground-breaking computer technology, creating an exciting and entertaining tool for self-discovery.
While interaction in traditional gaming is limited only to clicks of the mouse, Wild Divine allows for a true mind-body link to the gaming world. Players hook themselves up to a biofeedback module that measures heart rate and electrical impulses, among other bodily functions. Then, after a guide familiarizes users with the kinds of mind/body skills they will need in order to navigate the game, the player is set free into a world of unparalleled adventure and beauty.
The Journey to Wild Divine is both a healing journey and an exhilarating adventure. PhD biomedical engineer Kurt Smith, animator/developer Corwin Bell and their developmental team has created a richly detailed, imaginative world that will reward gamers with hours of pleasure. But their goal was also to provide users a way to reconnect to their inner wisdom, to reaffirm their own magical journeys through life. The game shows promise as a therapeutic tool and a focusing exercise for professionals—and all others interested in enhancing their experience of everyday life.
“It seems to me that we’ve lost the inner technology—the mystical mind/body connection—that was known to the ancient sages and shamans (or yogis),” says Bell, who met Smith while rock climbing in Eldorado Canyon, outside Boulder, Colorado. “I’ve always wanted to find a way to re-integrate those teachings into our daily lives. That’s what we tried to do with Wild Divine. Users can actually experience mystical states of being through their own mind-body control. In the game it looks like magic, and it is—but magic of the gamers own making.
“The journey that Corwin has developed is very profound,” Smith says. “He’s been working on it for years. When you combine his quest for inner knowledge with current computer graphics capabilities, the effect is mind-blowing. I’ve seen people sit down with the game and have transformational experiences. There’s really nothing that approaches it on the market today.”
In addition to Bell, Smith and the development team, who work in a game studio Smith built in Eldorado, many individuals have served as what they call “allies” to the project. These include biofeedback specialist Dr. Liana Mattulich; former Buddhist monk Nawang Kheochog, one of Tibet’s foremost world musicians and composers; and Dr. Jean Houston, a world-renowned researcher in the development of human capabilities. Smith recorded the music for the game in his own studio, and if features Wild Divine recording artist Chris Berry.
The Journey to Wild Divine, including biofeedback hardware, is priced at $159.95 with an introductory promotion price of $129.95 for the holiday season. The first units will be available to order online at http://www.wilddivine.com/ and at other select web and retail outlets in mid-October, 2003. Units will ship in early December, 2003. In the weeks leading up to the launch, Wild Divine will host demonstrations at events as diverse as the EarthDance in Northern California and the Yoga Expo in Los Angeles.
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