Despite the immense appeal of first-person shooter games, Game Guy doubts any gamer really wants to trade places with their digitized targets.

He suspects this because nobody he knows or interviewed who has been shot said a word about liking the experience. No, it’s the feeling of power on the other side of the trigger that derives such pleasure.

That’s why first-person shooters sell so well — better than any other game genre — and new titles in this vein hit shelves faster than Game Guy can count.

There are those shooter-lovers out there who, nevertheless, want the full gaming experience, save for their blood and intestines actually spilling onto the carpet. For these folks, there’s the 3rd Space Vest, a garment that resembles the protective body armor police officers and soldiers wear.

3rd Space Vest, developed by TN Games, simulates the feeling of being shot. A built-in system of eight pneumatic microcompressors permits simulated blows of about 30 pounds per square inch, so gamers feel a punch but don’t sustain injury (though there’s plenty of room for debate whether this stimulus compares to reality).

Bullet impacts and explosions that happen in front of the gamer’s digital alter ego are felt in front; shots from behind are felt in the back. The vest also simulates shoulder taps by villains lurking in the shadows. Later models will deliver blows closer to 45 pounds per square inch — for people who think the lighter pressure is too wimpy.

Interestingly, the vest stems from another similar garment developed for medical use to assist with physical examinations conducted remotely via closed-circuit “tele-medicine” TV channels. TN Games is a subsidiary of TouchNetworks Inc., and its founder, Mark Ombrellaro, is a vascular surgeon. He said in an interview last year that the gaming version of the vest was devised in part to help bring attention to his company’s technology.

3rd Space Vest works with just PCs now but could become an accessory for console games soon. It costs $169 and includes an air compressor, USB cable for PC connectivity and power supply.