{"data":{"id":"a9053e56-acac-44ad-a0c5-0ce2502962bd","originKind":"SYNDICATED","title":"Ramin Access Memory: COG studios uses eye tracking to replicate the fear of the unseen","summary":"If you’ve ever put your hands in front of your eyes during a particularly scary part of a horror movie, then you’ll understand the feeling that Edmonton’s COG Studios wants to evoke with their upcoming game, Our Eyes See No Evil.\n\nThis past August, COG was one of five local independent video game studios flown out by Edmonton Screen to Cologne, Germany, to demo their game at Gamescom 2026. The trip was part of the non-profit’s Summit Push program, designed to increase the visibility and investment potential of local video game companies by showcasing their work at international events.\n\nTo paraphrase its Steam page, it’s a first-person survival horror game that tracks a player’s eye movements through a webcam to determine whether their eyelids are open or closed. Unlike most genre entries that terrorize players with the fear of unseen danger lurking around every corner, this game asks players to “hide and listen for what you can no longer see, or open your eyes to the horrors.”\n\n“There is an eye-tracking game that came out five or six years ago called Before Your Eyes, which was this cutesy narrative game where every time you blinked, the narrative moved forward,” said COG Studios producer David Goel. “I played that, and I thought, what if we do that in a horror context?”\n\nGoel said he and his team were particularly inspired by the Dr. Who villains, the Weeping Angels, that only attack when someone blinks.\n\n“The problem with the Weeping Angels approach is, you have to look at the monster at all times. Theoretically that’s really cool, but practically that means that you have to just keep your eyes open for a really, really long time, which can be really, really straining for the player.”\n\nGoel and his team decided instead to invert the concept, where the player could only hide from danger with their eyes closed, using audio from their headphones to guide them to safety.\n\n“If you’re closing your eyes at all times, you don’t really see the monster or all that. So the fear of the unknown kind of builds. It’s also just an instinct that, you know, kids have that when they’re scared, they close their eyes. So we wanted to tap into that.”\n\nFrom capstone to Gamescom Before they were COG Studios, the four-person team was formed in 2024 to create a capstone project for the University of Alberta’s Game Development certificate program. The program partners with Edmonton Screen’s Trailhead program, which provides “ hands-on experience, mentorship, and portfolio development,” according to their website.\n\nGeol’s team was one of three capstone projects selected by Trailhead to receive a $5,000 grant and present their games at Games Con Canada that same year. The team then used the grant money to apply for the Canada Media Fund.\n\n“Fr om there, it just snowballed,” Goel said. “We got funding, we got incorporated, and we’ve been going strong since.”\n\nAlthough they feel blessed to have the opportunity to show their game off at a venue with the scale and reach of Gamescom, Goel says the team works hard to keep a cool head and stick to their vision.\n\nGiven that, for most of them, game development is still a side gig, Goel says they relish the chance to make experimental games with their friends.\n\n“ Our main priority is to make wei rd, experimental, cool games,” Goel said. “ We have discussed our values and our mission, and we do want to make like cool, unique games, and as a result, we have the game that we’re working on. Obviously, we want to be sustainable…we are still doing this part-time”\n\nRelated Fragapalooza 4-day LAN party celebrates 30 years of gaming\n\nGame Con Canada looks to bring gaming world to Edmonton\n\nBookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.\n\nYou can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.","url":"https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/local-arts/ramin-access-memory-cog-studios-uses-eye-tracking-to-replicate-the-fear-of-the-unseen","imageUrl":"https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/edmontonjournal/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/0810b647-5db5-4401-b3cd-4b78a2a21dae_305396883.jpeg","publishedAt":"2026-10-07T20:30:53.000Z","sourceLabel":"Edmonton Journal Music","tags":["Entertainment","Local Arts"],"authorName":"Ramin Ostad","contentHtml":"\"COG

If you’ve ever put your hands in front of your eyes during a particularly scary part of a horror movie, then you’ll understand the feeling that Edmonton’s COG Studios wants to evoke with their upcoming game, Our Eyes See No Evil.

This past August, COG was one of five local independent video game studios flown out by Edmonton Screen to Cologne, Germany, to demo their game at Gamescom 2026. The trip was part of the non-profit’s Summit Push program, designed to increase the visibility and investment potential of local video game companies by showcasing their work at international events.

To paraphrase its Steam page , it’s a first-person survival horror game that tracks a player’s eye movements through a webcam to determine whether their eyelids are open or closed. Unlike most genre entries that terrorize players with the fear of unseen danger lurking around every corner, this game asks players to “hide and listen for what you can no longer see, or open your eyes to the horrors.”

“There is an eye-tracking game that came out five or six years ago called Before Your Eyes, which was this cutesy narrative game where every time you blinked, the narrative moved forward,” said COG Studios producer David Goel. “I played that, and I thought, what if we do that in a horror context?”

Goel said he and his team were particularly inspired by the Dr. Who villains, the Weeping Angels, that only attack when someone blinks.

“The problem with the Weeping Angels approach is, you have to look at the monster at all times. Theoretically that’s really cool, but practically that means that you have to just keep your eyes open for a really, really long time, which can be really, really straining for the player.”

Goel and his team decided instead to invert the concept, where the player could only hide from danger with their eyes closed, using audio from their headphones to guide them to safety.

“If you’re closing your eyes at all times, you don’t really see the monster or all that. So the fear of the unknown kind of builds. It’s also just an instinct that, you know, kids have that when they’re scared, they close their eyes. So we wanted to tap into that.”

From capstone to Gamescom

Before they were COG Studios, the four-person team was formed in 2024 to create a capstone project for the University of Alberta’s Game Development certificate program. The program partners with Edmonton Screen’s Trailhead program, which provides “ hands-on experience, mentorship, and portfolio development,” according to their website.

Geol’s team was one of three capstone projects selected by Trailhead to receive a $5,000 grant and present their games at Games Con Canada that same year. The team then used the grant money to apply for the Canada Media Fund .

“Fr om there, it just snowballed,” Goel said. “We got funding, we got incorporated, and we’ve been going strong since.”

Although they feel blessed to have the opportunity to show their game off at a venue with the scale and reach of Gamescom, Goel says the team works hard to keep a cool head and stick to their vision.

Given that, for most of them, game development is still a side gig, Goel says they relish the chance to make experimental games with their friends.

“ Our main priority is to make weird, experimental, cool games,” Goel said. “We have discussed our values and our mission, and we do want to make like cool, unique games, and as a result, we have the game that we’re working on. Obviously, we want to be sustainable…we are still doing this part-time”

Related

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You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.

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