The clever shoot-em-up fans over at Shoot The Core! managed to spot Uplift, an academic project created by a student at the Georgia Tech Experimental Gaming Lab, Nathanael Ng.

Ng explains in his abstract: "It has been found that individuals engaging in challenging activity such as athletics, coding, or playing video games sometimes enter a state of cognition known as 'flow' or 'the zone'. This is, I believe, a fundamental human capability, yet it has not been formally studied to any significant degree." What better way to study it (utilizing "a biofeedback/neurofeedback interface") than with a frantic abstract 2D shooter, too? Unfortunately, the game isn't online just yet, but the screenshots look like Vectrex-esque fun, and the more degrees we grant through Ikaruga clones, the better shape America will be in.