Deepak Chopra’s Leela
Platforms: Xbox 360/Wii
Developer/Publisher: Curious Pictures/THQ
Genre: Health & fitness
Release date: Nov. 11, 2011
Nowadays many gamers play video games to exercise, dance and practice yoga. But spirituality and mind-body wellness guru Deepak Chopra wants to use the motion-sensing technology for something a little more sedentary: meditation.
“The medium of interactive video games is enormously rich and filled with creative opportunity that has barely been tapped,” said Chopra. “So many people who practice yoga and meditation and want to expand their minds have video game systems in their homes, but few people use them to their full advantage.”
In his upcoming new game Leela, which means “play” in Sanskrit, players will be able to use either Microsoft’s hands-free Kinect device for Xbox 360 or Nintendo’s Wii remotes to learn breathing and meditation exercises.
Based on the seven “chakras” — the major energy centers in the body, according to Hinduism and Buddhism — the game includes different interactive exercises and mini-games for each particular chakra. Although the most “game-like” parts have players trying to perform the correct movements to control brightly colored graphics onscreen, there’s no scoring system because there’s no winning or losing in Leela.
“You’re competing with yourself, and every time you play, you want to improve yourself,” explained Chopra. “So it’s still a game, although a lot of people say it’s more an experience than a game.”
Leela also provides a reflective element, with self-meditation and guided meditation exercises. The Kinect version is even able to track players’ breathing in order to teach solid breath practices and support proper meditation. A soothing voice instructs players how to breathe as the depth sensor shows oscillating bars onscreen. It’s the first time this technology has been used in a Kinect game.
“I wanted to build in meditative practices and breath awareness because, in a sense, your breath mirrors everything that’s happening in your mind and your emotions,” Chopra said. “Your breath, your emotions and your heart rhythms are all integrated.”
Though not a gamer himself, Chopra had been introduced to games such as flOw, Flower and Child of Eden, all titles known for their elegant simplicity and entrancing audio and visuals. But Chopra hopes Leela can do more than provide just a fun game-playing experience.
“I enjoyed those games, and I actually got a lot of insights by watching and playing them,” said Chopra. “They are great games, but I want to give a much broader experience than they do.”
“Deepak reaches many people, and they read his books and get the ideas, but then afterward, maybe it’s not [sticking] there,” added Lewis Kofsky, Leela producer and partner at developer Curious Pictures. “Video games are a very rich, interactive medium. When you interact with something, you’re able to follow through. So we came together and started brainstorming ideas about how to engage people through video games. And here we are with Leela.”
When asked how involved Chopra was in making this game, Kofsky replied that he was involved “every step of the way.” In fact, Chopra even provided his voice for the game, giving instructions and bestowing his words of wisdom to players. Ultimately, the makers of Leela hope to bring meditation and mind-body awareness to all kinds of people.
“First and foremost, we wanted to create an authentic spiritual experience [for Chopra’s followers], and those seeking that authentic experience are going to come from many different backgrounds,” explained Kofsky. “We feel we’ve made something that has a lot of depth, but we also made the game so that people with very little gaming experience could step in and pick this up. Also, I think it’s going to be great for parents to teach their kids about some of these ideas at a young age ... Meditation is an incredibly powerful tool to lead an enriched life.”
“I think the game will reach a lot of people, and they don’t need to already know about the chakras,” added Chopra. “They’ll learn about meditation and all these ideas, not necessarily immediately and intellectually, but experientially. That is my goal.”
Platforms: Xbox 360/Wii
Developer/Publisher: Curious Pictures/THQ
Genre: Health & fitness
Release date: Nov. 11, 2011
Nowadays many gamers play video games to exercise, dance and practice yoga. But spirituality and mind-body wellness guru Deepak Chopra wants to use the motion-sensing technology for something a little more sedentary: meditation.
“The medium of interactive video games is enormously rich and filled with creative opportunity that has barely been tapped,” said Chopra. “So many people who practice yoga and meditation and want to expand their minds have video game systems in their homes, but few people use them to their full advantage.”
In his upcoming new game Leela, which means “play” in Sanskrit, players will be able to use either Microsoft’s hands-free Kinect device for Xbox 360 or Nintendo’s Wii remotes to learn breathing and meditation exercises.
Based on the seven “chakras” — the major energy centers in the body, according to Hinduism and Buddhism — the game includes different interactive exercises and mini-games for each particular chakra. Although the most “game-like” parts have players trying to perform the correct movements to control brightly colored graphics onscreen, there’s no scoring system because there’s no winning or losing in Leela.
“You’re competing with yourself, and every time you play, you want to improve yourself,” explained Chopra. “So it’s still a game, although a lot of people say it’s more an experience than a game.”
Leela also provides a reflective element, with self-meditation and guided meditation exercises. The Kinect version is even able to track players’ breathing in order to teach solid breath practices and support proper meditation. A soothing voice instructs players how to breathe as the depth sensor shows oscillating bars onscreen. It’s the first time this technology has been used in a Kinect game.
“I wanted to build in meditative practices and breath awareness because, in a sense, your breath mirrors everything that’s happening in your mind and your emotions,” Chopra said. “Your breath, your emotions and your heart rhythms are all integrated.”
Though not a gamer himself, Chopra had been introduced to games such as flOw, Flower and Child of Eden, all titles known for their elegant simplicity and entrancing audio and visuals. But Chopra hopes Leela can do more than provide just a fun game-playing experience.
“I enjoyed those games, and I actually got a lot of insights by watching and playing them,” said Chopra. “They are great games, but I want to give a much broader experience than they do.”
“Deepak reaches many people, and they read his books and get the ideas, but then afterward, maybe it’s not [sticking] there,” added Lewis Kofsky, Leela producer and partner at developer Curious Pictures. “Video games are a very rich, interactive medium. When you interact with something, you’re able to follow through. So we came together and started brainstorming ideas about how to engage people through video games. And here we are with Leela.”
When asked how involved Chopra was in making this game, Kofsky replied that he was involved “every step of the way.” In fact, Chopra even provided his voice for the game, giving instructions and bestowing his words of wisdom to players. Ultimately, the makers of Leela hope to bring meditation and mind-body awareness to all kinds of people.
“First and foremost, we wanted to create an authentic spiritual experience [for Chopra’s followers], and those seeking that authentic experience are going to come from many different backgrounds,” explained Kofsky. “We feel we’ve made something that has a lot of depth, but we also made the game so that people with very little gaming experience could step in and pick this up. Also, I think it’s going to be great for parents to teach their kids about some of these ideas at a young age ... Meditation is an incredibly powerful tool to lead an enriched life.”
“I think the game will reach a lot of people, and they don’t need to already know about the chakras,” added Chopra. “They’ll learn about meditation and all these ideas, not necessarily immediately and intellectually, but experientially. That is my goal.”
