Computer Glasses (ROM Hacking & Game Development Related)

[RetroRain]

I'm making this topic because I care, to put it simply.  I was going to put this in the General Discussion forum, but I'm putting it in here because it is aimed at those who do ROM hacking and/or game development of any kind.  So moderators, please read this and consider before deciding to move my topic.

For the past 2-3 years, I have developed some really bad eye-strain.  I have been ROM hacking since 1999, but it has been the last few years where the eye-strain has been really bad, and I have gotten major discomfort because of it.

It has gotten so bad that I honestly thought I would never be able to do anything computer-related anymore.  That I'd have to live a computer-free life.

I bought polarized glasses a few years ago, and have been using them the last several months, but they really aren't meant for computer use.  The reason I wasn't using them all this time is because they make everything too dark.  I honestly had no idea that they made glasses specifically for the computer.  I only recently just found out about them, and I ordered a pair.

I purchased Pixel Eyewear.

Their website is here: http://www.pixeleyewear.com

The ones I purchased were $70, but there's that old saying "You get what you pay for," and $70 is a small price to pay for glasses that would filter out blue light and greatly reduce eye-strain from computer use.

What I have for my laptop, is a privacy screen (a thin piece of plastic which filters out some of the glare, and only allows you to see the screen by looking directly at it), the brightness turned down to zero, and now I'm using the computer glasses.  So now, with all three things, I hope to greatly reduce my eye-strain, and be able to continue doing the computer projects I very much love to do, without destroying my health in the process.

And it is for that reason I am making this post.  I don't want anyone to have to go through what I went through.  It got really bad the last couple of years.  Where I had weird pain sensations, that I thought I was going to have some kind of stroke.  And this happened on more than one occassion.  It's really scary.  It felt like the brain itself, was trembling.  Literally.  I honestly wanted to check myself into a hospital because I was afraid something would happen to me.  That is why I took long breaks from ROM hacking, and tried to distance myself from the computer.

But it is really hard to give up something completely, that is a life passion.  It is like telling a painter who LOVES to paint, that he can never paint ever again.

All I have to say, is that I am thankful that there are companies out there that make glasses designed specifically for computer use.  Protection from the computer screen is EXTEMELY IMPORTANT.  I can't emphasize that enough.  Your health is very important.

If you love ROM hacking and Game Development, or just doing computer projects in general, please take care of your health, through your eyes.  Get yourself a pair of computer glasses.

Granted tonight is my first night using them, and I still have to give it some time to tell if they are really working for me, but I am confident that they will, especially in conjuction with the other two things, the privacy screen and the brightness turned all the way down.

The comptuer screens give off artificial blue light, that is not only bad for your eyes, but it messes with your internal body settings.  It releases serotonin which can keep you up at night.  I came across this while doing a little bit of research.

I'm merely strongly recommending that if you love ROM hacking, love making computer games, that if you are going to sit for hours in front of the computer screen, that you protect your eyes and your health, and get a pair of glasses that will protect you.

Another site that has computer glasses is Gunnar: https://gunnar.com

You can also obviously do some research yourself on Google.

But that is all I wanted to say.

I love ROM hacking and game development as I hobby, and now with these glasses, I hope to be able to continue to do what I love to do, without all of the pain and suffering that comes with the computer usage.

Thanks for reading, and happy ROM hacking!

~RetroRain

EDIT:

As an added thought, anyone who uses the the computer long-term should wear computer glasses, so I suppose I should have posted this in the General Discussion forum afterall, but my intent was to support people who do ROM hacking and game development, because both of those things require long-term computer usage.  I didn't want to come off as a jerk who only cared about ROM hackers and game developers.  It's just that I'm making this post on a ROM hacking forum.

[tvtoon]

I am puzzled, wouldn't that count as SPAM?

Anyway, I am also hitting that point in life where the vision is going down, and the PC time is ticking its clock. Freshening yourself from the online life, dropping cellphones and stuff, walking trough the neighborhood helps a lot the issue.

[FAST6191]

Never heard screens being bad for your eyes since the old wives tale about sitting too close to the TV. I know about the light thing, it is why we have https://justgetflux.com/ , but the rest sounds like some earth mother bollocks not far out of line with don't vaccinate your kids. Polarised glasses might well change how your screen plays out in front of your eyes (others if you don't have a polarising sheet then if you have those 3d glasses for the cinema they are a type of polarised lens), if nothing else get an old school calculator or LCD device and spin it round in front of it), and you might well benefit from having a set for the screen like some people have driving glasses. By all means get your eyes sorted as I imagine having bad ones is no fun but try to steer clear of the psuedo science.

There are health effects related to computer use, I have certainly seen my share of carpal tunnel and RSI in people and it is crippling (don't know if anybody here has broken some part of their dominant arm and thus struggled to wipe their arse, same deal but there for the rest of your life and I have seen it happen to people in their early-mid 20s), but this just seems like entirely the wrong focus.

[zstandig]

I'm guessing you've tried this already, but have you tried messing around with contrast, fonts, etc.

I remember hearing about CRT flickering causing issues with lots of people; but that went away after switching to LCDs... but now everybody uses LCDs... Maybe the type of LCD monitor (IPS, VA) and screen refresh may have something to do with it?

I tried some cheapo glasses once, but all it did was tint everything tang-orange.  Now my only adaptation is f.lux/redshift and using black stylish plugins for websites.

[RyanfaeScotland]

Given that this is Romhacking.net I've always thought that the entire forum was geared towards rom hackers and the categories were then for organising the topics?

Interesting topic anyway, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss first hand experience either, even if it could be many other things causing the issue.

Really not looking forward to my eyes going so much I struggle to use the computer. Hopefully got many years before that though.

Now cracking my knuckles, that's my real old wives tale vice! Will I get arthritis as a result? Will keep you posted (if my eye sight holds out long enough!)

[dougeff]

Take a mandatory 5 minute break every hour, and rest your eyes. Do not look at a screen or book or anything close by.

Take a 1/2 hour break every 4 hours.

If your eyes hurt. Stop. You're done for the day.

[SleepyFist]

I've been gaming for about 22 years, before I could read even, and for the last few years the eyestrain has been horrible, Its mostly with either really sharp old stuff from NES era or stuff from the PS3 era with blurry tiny font that gets me, I've taken to wearing sunglasses while playing sometimes, helps a little but not much.

[BlackDog61]

Given the number of people wearing glasses has vastly increased in the population, I wouldn't dismiss computers being part of the problem (with phones and tablets getting their own share, too, and books to some extent).
Thanks for the advice, RetriRain.I honestly don't mind wasting 70 bucks if it has a chance of helping my eyes.

[Synnae]

Do they ship internationally? I'm not sure if I'd be able to get it since I live outside the United States.

[BlackDog61]

Do they ship internationally? I'm not sure if I'd be able to get it since I live outside the United States.

Looks like Gunnar does: http://www.gunnars.com/international/ (including Brazil, yep)
I don't know for Pixel but their top banner says free shipping & return "for US orders", which might imply they take non-US orders too?

Any other brand / product to recommend on this topic?

[RetroRain]

Yeah I've tried many things, from changing the brightness, screen resolution, to even using my TV screen as a monitor and sitting on the other side of the room, using the computer from a distance.

The reality is, that you need to protect your eyes, and hence, your brain, and the only way to do that is through the use of computer glasses, because of the artificial blue light that the screen gives off.

With my laptop, I use a resolution of 1024 x 600, which gives me the biggest icons on the screen I can get, so I can see easily. I have the brightness set to zero (I can see perfectly with it at 0).  I use a privacy screen, which I bought not really for the privacy, but to filter out some of the glare that comes from the screen, and now I'm using the computer glasses.

So, with all four things, I am able to enjoy doing my computer activities, and not have anymore bad eye-strain and the head pain that comes with it.

It's been a few days already, and so far the glasses have worked like a charm!

I still need to give it a few more weeks to give a final review, but so far so good.

I will always wear these glasses when doing anything on the computer from now on.

And by the way, I did think that some people might consider this topic as "spam", but if it helps even just one person, then I am glad that I was able to help.

Because I made this thread out of seriousness.  It has been really bad for me, and if I can help someone not go through what I've been going through, then I've done my job.

$70 is a small price to pay for this convenience of using a computer and not being harmed by it.

And if you have a laptop, you can do the other things I mentioned to really help you.  I'll list them once more:

For the laptop

1. Use a lower resolution which allows the icons to be bigger, so you see things without having to focus so much.  I use 1024 x 600 on my Windows 7 laptop.

2. Set brightness to 0.

3. Get a privacy screen that filters glare (mine is double-sized, one of the sides is meant to filter glare)

4. The most important part - wear the computer glasses.

The ones I bought from pixel so far have worked like a charm.