SoundSelf: A Technodelic Review

SoundSelf is an interactive guided meditation. Using the microphone, and optionally enhanced by VR, the game leads you through a landscape that responds to the sounds of your breath. This encourages you to make the Ujjayi Pranayama sound on your out-breath. This is a "soft, whispering breath which you'll also hear called victorious breath, or perhaps ocean breath. It's compared to the sound of the wind through the trees or the waves coming to shore."

This combination of centuries-old mindfulness wisdom with videogame technology may seem like an unusual fit, but is simply foregrounding the meditative nature a video game sometimes offers to players.

As you use your Ujjayi breath sound to interact with what you are seeing, the visuals move from a dark forest or landscape to a hypnotic world of sounds that feel like they are coming directly from your body. You hear your voice amplified by the game which, in turn, adds to the experience.