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What are the next "BIG" steps for the gaming industry? This post may be long but worth a read, you may find out something new.
Well the most obvious big step would have to be on-line gaming, it has been an idea that has been around for a while and at some point all three of the next generation consoles will allow gamers to log on and play against gamers all over the world. It is an idea that is very impressive but also has a few flaws, first one has to be setting up the network and making hardware able to allow the game to play to the best as it can. Next is the fact that it has to be cost effective, if it costs too much then people wont bother using it and the major developers will lose out in a big way.
Bad points aside this could well be the next big thing in the industry and is eagerly awaited by many. This is something that to work will also have to have something extra than the normal multiplayer, there is no point playing something on-line at a cost if you can do the same with friends at home for free (unless you don't have any).
Some of the things that are possible are explained here (there will be others that I have missed).
First up could be multiple players, so instead of just having 2, 4 or 8 players playing we could see a lot more people taking part in the game. So for example we could see future on-line wrestling games where in a royal rumble match all the wrestlers are controlled by a human playing on-line somewhere in the world. This offers gamers something special and unique as it is something which is almost impossible to think of doing at home. It is a new experience and one which I'm sure a lot of people would like.
Also it would be possible to allow updates to be downloaded on to a hard drive and run each time the game loads up. The updates could allow extra features like extra characters, levels, fix little problems. To make sure this works though all games would need to be of a high standard before release so that the updates are not an essential to make the game playable. As long as they don't turn out in the same way as some PC game patches did in that they were needed to fix major bugs and without them the standard of the game was very poor.
In the far future of on-line gaming we could maybe see whole games being available to be downloaded, maybe even more input from gamers to developers would be available and that way more games that appeal to the majority of gamers would be released.
Ok so what would be the next big step after that?
Well there are quite a few which I will try explain.
First one is probably the one that appeals to me the most, the idea of non-linear games. Games in which you don't have to follow a set path to go from the start to the end, instead you are free to roam the whole environment and do things when you want in any order you want. Similar to grand theft auto 3 and in my opinion this is one reason why this game is so popular.
An extra to this idea is the idea of an environment which you can fully explore and interact with, obviously there are restrictions on the storage in most games but in the future this could disappear and allow an environment which can be fully explored in which the character can use a lot of the objects within the environment, so things like having conversions with characters and each time you talk to them under different situations the conversation is different. Or using the environment you are in to your advantage like, being able to use various objects as weapons or instead of hunting for keys just blast through the door. Things like the ability to use nearly everything in the environment. I was playing resident evil Code Veronica X and you enter a room with loads of automatic weapons in a case. Why can't you just shoot the lock or blow the doors of and take the guns? It's things like this that I would like to see improved.
Next up is the idea of making games that have a kind of personal touch by making the character look similar to yourself or a friend or anyone, Developments in facial recognition techniques are improving all the time, Police use a similar technique to identify football hooligans at games as each person has a unique face. So in the future we could see the ability to take a photo or upload one to the console and then have your image created into the main character. Again this is just an idea and unless it works well and people would like it then the chances are developers wouldn't include it as they could use the time and storage space on other aspect of the game. From this basic idea it could start ideas based on the virtual reality way of gaming in which you actually feel part of the game as your physical movements are used in the game. This is an idea that right now is nowhere near possible but with the future nobody really knows what to expect.
It is only a matter of time before the A.I in most games also reaches a new level, maybe even one day soon we will see truly intelligent software in which enemies in games actually behave the same as a normal human would and react differently to the different situations. So if you make a noise then they check it out, also their field of vision and senses would be better. The same goes for driving games, this way each driver would have a unique way of driving, some would be aggressive and try push you off the road while others rely on their driving ability to do well. There are possibilities of being able to have a conversation and for the character to understand fully what you say and reply appropriately. Again this is an area that with time will get better and better and will reach new levels which is good news for any gamer.
Most of these ideas have been thought of before and mentioned in a few ways. But what about possible ideas that could be around in the future that some may not be aware off.
Well the first one could be the idea of making a game unique to the person playing it, so how you decide to play and what decisions you make along the way determine what happens to you as you go on. So if you decide to run away from enemies and work on other skills then your character wont be very good at fighting but could be good at things like negotiations or driving vehicles. That way you would see different areas depending on the missions you take and would need to play the game loads of times making different decisions each time to see everything in the game.
Another thing could be games which constantly update themselves using on-line facilities, so each time you log on new data like squad lists for footy games or wrestling characters for wrestling games are automatically downloaded making the game as up to date as it can be.
Also what about improvements to the characters?
There may soon be a time when there is enough space on a disk to not have to worry about how much to use for graphics, game-play and the rest of the game that we can have as much of each as the developer sees fit. I'm sure most games could benefit from extras like this in them, especially point and click games and adventure/strategy games like MGS2. The main aim of games is to be fun and surely anything which increases the fun must be a good addition.
The ability to use hand-to-hand combat when you don't have any weapons, Take resident evil for another example, you run around shooting zombies and other mutated creatures, it is extremely good fun but when you run out of ammo you are stuck with the knife. Why not use the end of the shotgun to bash their heads in or kick them Buffy the vampire slayer style. You wander about looking for keys when you know that one shot from the grenade launcher would do the trick. Also when you are being chased by a huge monster I think you might run a little faster than a normal jogging pace. I would like to see developers improving details like this and what the character can do and what he has to do.
Similar things could be said for games like GTA3, this game is loads of fun as you can do so much and can use a lot of the environment to your advantage, but there aspects that in the future could be improved to make a great game even better. What about paying other people to assist you in your missions, pay them a little bit of cash for their help. Modifying your vehicle to go faster? Fire various weapons?
Footy games could also benefit from improving characters, they could all behave uniquely and realistically. Also the way the game is played could take a leap towards what it is like in real life which is what most footy games try to do. If they became more realistic we could see players falling over the ball, keepers saving the ball only to see it slip out their hands into the goal, players getting hit in the groin and falling in agony. Each character could have their own good and bad points and make the game feel that little bit more like the real thing. The list of ideas could go on and on but I think you understand what I mean. Whether this would improve the game is another point though as it could just frustrate the gamer and spoil the game for them.
Alongside all the ideas and steps being taken to improve gaming for the future another place which is likely to improve is the way people interact with the game. Peripherals should get better and a variety of new ones will be released making the way we interact with games much better and a lot more fun. A couple that could be possible is the idea of voice recognition and also using smell as an output. There are some games where using your voice as an input could be quite useful, you could shout commands at soldiers in your team of maybe in wrestling games use it to shout abuse at enemies before you battle them in the ring. The idea of smells as output is also quite interesting, burning rubber for car racing games? Smell of Bovril at footy games? Everyday life smells in games like GTA3? It could improve some games as it would make things feel more realistic but in the same way it could also stink out your house for days. Also there is talk of motion sensitive peripherals maybe sometime in the future, which could mean a light sabre peripheral for star wars games in which when you move the light sabre the character on screen copies your actions. Also could be used in some sports games like tennis or golf, when you swing the racquet or club then the computer works out how well to play the shot according to how good your swing is.
With Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony all competing in the industry there is a lot of pressure to do well and using new ideas and having revolutionary ideas could well attract more people to a certain console.
There are other things that are indeed bound to happen and some that probably wont. One thing that I would like to see in the future one day is a game based on the A-Team, it could be the best game ever, EVER! But nobody ever seems to want to turn it into a game. Imagine getting to drive the van, unleashing a can of whoopass on some fool who messes with BA and also making plans come together and escaping from Decker with just minutes to spare. I'm probably not alone here (well I hope I am not) as The A-Team was hugely popular when I was a kid and most people my age and above loved it too bits. So one day when one of us is rich and famous, maybe you or even me then if an A-Team game isn't available then you or I will make one for the good of mankind.
Well I think I have waffled on enough, hope some of you managed to read through it and maybe even enjoy it. It is worth pointing out that overall the standard of games has increased with time and should continue to do so far as long as the industry lasts.
So what ideas interest you? What would you like to see in the future? What do you see as being a big step after on-line gaming?
Well the most obvious big step would have to be on-line gaming, it has been an idea that has been around for a while and at some point all three of the next generation consoles will allow gamers to log on and play against gamers all over the world. It is an idea that is very impressive but also has a few flaws, first one has to be setting up the network and making hardware able to allow the game to play to the best as it can. Next is the fact that it has to be cost effective, if it costs too much then people wont bother using it and the major developers will lose out in a big way.
Bad points aside this could well be the next big thing in the industry and is eagerly awaited by many. This is something that to work will also have to have something extra than the normal multiplayer, there is no point playing something on-line at a cost if you can do the same with friends at home for free (unless you don't have any).
Some of the things that are possible are explained here (there will be others that I have missed).
First up could be multiple players, so instead of just having 2, 4 or 8 players playing we could see a lot more people taking part in the game. So for example we could see future on-line wrestling games where in a royal rumble match all the wrestlers are controlled by a human playing on-line somewhere in the world. This offers gamers something special and unique as it is something which is almost impossible to think of doing at home. It is a new experience and one which I'm sure a lot of people would like.
Also it would be possible to allow updates to be downloaded on to a hard drive and run each time the game loads up. The updates could allow extra features like extra characters, levels, fix little problems. To make sure this works though all games would need to be of a high standard before release so that the updates are not an essential to make the game playable. As long as they don't turn out in the same way as some PC game patches did in that they were needed to fix major bugs and without them the standard of the game was very poor.
In the far future of on-line gaming we could maybe see whole games being available to be downloaded, maybe even more input from gamers to developers would be available and that way more games that appeal to the majority of gamers would be released.
Ok so what would be the next big step after that?
Well there are quite a few which I will try explain.
First one is probably the one that appeals to me the most, the idea of non-linear games. Games in which you don't have to follow a set path to go from the start to the end, instead you are free to roam the whole environment and do things when you want in any order you want. Similar to grand theft auto 3 and in my opinion this is one reason why this game is so popular.
An extra to this idea is the idea of an environment which you can fully explore and interact with, obviously there are restrictions on the storage in most games but in the future this could disappear and allow an environment which can be fully explored in which the character can use a lot of the objects within the environment, so things like having conversions with characters and each time you talk to them under different situations the conversation is different. Or using the environment you are in to your advantage like, being able to use various objects as weapons or instead of hunting for keys just blast through the door. Things like the ability to use nearly everything in the environment. I was playing resident evil Code Veronica X and you enter a room with loads of automatic weapons in a case. Why can't you just shoot the lock or blow the doors of and take the guns? It's things like this that I would like to see improved.
Next up is the idea of making games that have a kind of personal touch by making the character look similar to yourself or a friend or anyone, Developments in facial recognition techniques are improving all the time, Police use a similar technique to identify football hooligans at games as each person has a unique face. So in the future we could see the ability to take a photo or upload one to the console and then have your image created into the main character. Again this is just an idea and unless it works well and people would like it then the chances are developers wouldn't include it as they could use the time and storage space on other aspect of the game. From this basic idea it could start ideas based on the virtual reality way of gaming in which you actually feel part of the game as your physical movements are used in the game. This is an idea that right now is nowhere near possible but with the future nobody really knows what to expect.
It is only a matter of time before the A.I in most games also reaches a new level, maybe even one day soon we will see truly intelligent software in which enemies in games actually behave the same as a normal human would and react differently to the different situations. So if you make a noise then they check it out, also their field of vision and senses would be better. The same goes for driving games, this way each driver would have a unique way of driving, some would be aggressive and try push you off the road while others rely on their driving ability to do well. There are possibilities of being able to have a conversation and for the character to understand fully what you say and reply appropriately. Again this is an area that with time will get better and better and will reach new levels which is good news for any gamer.
Most of these ideas have been thought of before and mentioned in a few ways. But what about possible ideas that could be around in the future that some may not be aware off.
Well the first one could be the idea of making a game unique to the person playing it, so how you decide to play and what decisions you make along the way determine what happens to you as you go on. So if you decide to run away from enemies and work on other skills then your character wont be very good at fighting but could be good at things like negotiations or driving vehicles. That way you would see different areas depending on the missions you take and would need to play the game loads of times making different decisions each time to see everything in the game.
Another thing could be games which constantly update themselves using on-line facilities, so each time you log on new data like squad lists for footy games or wrestling characters for wrestling games are automatically downloaded making the game as up to date as it can be.
Also what about improvements to the characters?
There may soon be a time when there is enough space on a disk to not have to worry about how much to use for graphics, game-play and the rest of the game that we can have as much of each as the developer sees fit. I'm sure most games could benefit from extras like this in them, especially point and click games and adventure/strategy games like MGS2. The main aim of games is to be fun and surely anything which increases the fun must be a good addition.
The ability to use hand-to-hand combat when you don't have any weapons, Take resident evil for another example, you run around shooting zombies and other mutated creatures, it is extremely good fun but when you run out of ammo you are stuck with the knife. Why not use the end of the shotgun to bash their heads in or kick them Buffy the vampire slayer style. You wander about looking for keys when you know that one shot from the grenade launcher would do the trick. Also when you are being chased by a huge monster I think you might run a little faster than a normal jogging pace. I would like to see developers improving details like this and what the character can do and what he has to do.
Similar things could be said for games like GTA3, this game is loads of fun as you can do so much and can use a lot of the environment to your advantage, but there aspects that in the future could be improved to make a great game even better. What about paying other people to assist you in your missions, pay them a little bit of cash for their help. Modifying your vehicle to go faster? Fire various weapons?
Footy games could also benefit from improving characters, they could all behave uniquely and realistically. Also the way the game is played could take a leap towards what it is like in real life which is what most footy games try to do. If they became more realistic we could see players falling over the ball, keepers saving the ball only to see it slip out their hands into the goal, players getting hit in the groin and falling in agony. Each character could have their own good and bad points and make the game feel that little bit more like the real thing. The list of ideas could go on and on but I think you understand what I mean. Whether this would improve the game is another point though as it could just frustrate the gamer and spoil the game for them.
Alongside all the ideas and steps being taken to improve gaming for the future another place which is likely to improve is the way people interact with the game. Peripherals should get better and a variety of new ones will be released making the way we interact with games much better and a lot more fun. A couple that could be possible is the idea of voice recognition and also using smell as an output. There are some games where using your voice as an input could be quite useful, you could shout commands at soldiers in your team of maybe in wrestling games use it to shout abuse at enemies before you battle them in the ring. The idea of smells as output is also quite interesting, burning rubber for car racing games? Smell of Bovril at footy games? Everyday life smells in games like GTA3? It could improve some games as it would make things feel more realistic but in the same way it could also stink out your house for days. Also there is talk of motion sensitive peripherals maybe sometime in the future, which could mean a light sabre peripheral for star wars games in which when you move the light sabre the character on screen copies your actions. Also could be used in some sports games like tennis or golf, when you swing the racquet or club then the computer works out how well to play the shot according to how good your swing is.
With Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony all competing in the industry there is a lot of pressure to do well and using new ideas and having revolutionary ideas could well attract more people to a certain console.
There are other things that are indeed bound to happen and some that probably wont. One thing that I would like to see in the future one day is a game based on the A-Team, it could be the best game ever, EVER! But nobody ever seems to want to turn it into a game. Imagine getting to drive the van, unleashing a can of whoopass on some fool who messes with BA and also making plans come together and escaping from Decker with just minutes to spare. I'm probably not alone here (well I hope I am not) as The A-Team was hugely popular when I was a kid and most people my age and above loved it too bits. So one day when one of us is rich and famous, maybe you or even me then if an A-Team game isn't available then you or I will make one for the good of mankind.
Well I think I have waffled on enough, hope some of you managed to read through it and maybe even enjoy it. It is worth pointing out that overall the standard of games has increased with time and should continue to do so far as long as the industry lasts.
So what ideas interest you? What would you like to see in the future? What do you see as being a big step after on-line gaming?
What are the next "BIG" steps for the gaming industry? This post may be long but worth a read, you may find out something new.
Well the most obvious big step would have to be on-line gaming, it has been an idea that has been around for a while and at some point all three of the next generation consoles will allow gamers to log on and play against gamers all over the world. It is an idea that is very impressive but also has a few flaws, first one has to be setting up the network and making hardware able to allow the game to play to the best as it can. Next is the fact that it has to be cost effective, if it costs too much then people wont bother using it and the major developers will lose out in a big way.
Bad points aside this could well be the next big thing in the industry and is eagerly awaited by many. This is something that to work will also have to have something extra than the normal multiplayer, there is no point playing something on-line at a cost if you can do the same with friends at home for free (unless you don't have any).
Some of the things that are possible are explained here (there will be others that I have missed).
First up could be multiple players, so instead of just having 2, 4 or 8 players playing we could see a lot more people taking part in the game. So for example we could see future on-line wrestling games where in a royal rumble match all the wrestlers are controlled by a human playing on-line somewhere in the world. This offers gamers something special and unique as it is something which is almost impossible to think of doing at home. It is a new experience and one which I'm sure a lot of people would like.
Also it would be possible to allow updates to be downloaded on to a hard drive and run each time the game loads up. The updates could allow extra features like extra characters, levels, fix little problems. To make sure this works though all games would need to be of a high standard before release so that the updates are not an essential to make the game playable. As long as they don't turn out in the same way as some PC game patches did in that they were needed to fix major bugs and without them the standard of the game was very poor.
In the far future of on-line gaming we could maybe see whole games being available to be downloaded, maybe even more input from gamers to developers would be available and that way more games that appeal to the majority of gamers would be released.
Ok so what would be the next big step after that?
Well there are quite a few which I will try explain.
First one is probably the one that appeals to me the most, the idea of non-linear games. Games in which you don't have to follow a set path to go from the start to the end, instead you are free to roam the whole environment and do things when you want in any order you want. Similar to grand theft auto 3 and in my opinion this is one reason why this game is so popular.
An extra to this idea is the idea of an environment which you can fully explore and interact with, obviously there are restrictions on the storage in most games but in the future this could disappear and allow an environment which can be fully explored in which the character can use a lot of the objects within the environment, so things like having conversions with characters and each time you talk to them under different situations the conversation is different. Or using the environment you are in to your advantage like, being able to use various objects as weapons or instead of hunting for keys just blast through the door. Things like the ability to use nearly everything in the environment. I was playing resident evil Code Veronica X and you enter a room with loads of automatic weapons in a case. Why can't you just shoot the lock or blow the doors of and take the guns? It's things like this that I would like to see improved.
Next up is the idea of making games that have a kind of personal touch by making the character look similar to yourself or a friend or anyone, Developments in facial recognition techniques are improving all the time, Police use a similar technique to identify football hooligans at games as each person has a unique face. So in the future we could see the ability to take a photo or upload one to the console and then have your image created into the main character. Again this is just an idea and unless it works well and people would like it then the chances are developers wouldn't include it as they could use the time and storage space on other aspect of the game. From this basic idea it could start ideas based on the virtual reality way of gaming in which you actually feel part of the game as your physical movements are used in the game. This is an idea that right now is nowhere near possible but with the future nobody really knows what to expect.
It is only a matter of time before the A.I in most games also reaches a new level, maybe even one day soon we will see truly intelligent software in which enemies in games actually behave the same as a normal human would and react differently to the different situations. So if you make a noise then they check it out, also their field of vision and senses would be better. The same goes for driving games, this way each driver would have a unique way of driving, some would be aggressive and try push you off the road while others rely on their driving ability to do well. There are possibilities of being able to have a conversation and for the character to understand fully what you say and reply appropriately. Again this is an area that with time will get better and better and will reach new levels which is good news for any gamer.
Most of these ideas have been thought of before and mentioned in a few ways. But what about possible ideas that could be around in the future that some may not be aware off.
Well the first one could be the idea of making a game unique to the person playing it, so how you decide to play and what decisions you make along the way determine what happens to you as you go on. So if you decide to run away from enemies and work on other skills then your character wont be very good at fighting but could be good at things like negotiations or driving vehicles. That way you would see different areas depending on the missions you take and would need to play the game loads of times making different decisions each time to see everything in the game.
Another thing could be games which constantly update themselves using on-line facilities, so each time you log on new data like squad lists for footy games or wrestling characters for wrestling games are automatically downloaded making the game as up to date as it can be.
Also what about improvements to the characters?
There may soon be a time when there is enough space on a disk to not have to worry about how much to use for graphics, game-play and the rest of the game that we can have as much of each as the developer sees fit. I'm sure most games could benefit from extras like this in them, especially point and click games and adventure/strategy games like MGS2. The main aim of games is to be fun and surely anything which increases the fun must be a good addition.
The ability to use hand-to-hand combat when you don't have any weapons, Take resident evil for another example, you run around shooting zombies and other mutated creatures, it is extremely good fun but when you run out of ammo you are stuck with the knife. Why not use the end of the shotgun to bash their heads in or kick them Buffy the vampire slayer style. You wander about looking for keys when you know that one shot from the grenade launcher would do the trick. Also when you are being chased by a huge monster I think you might run a little faster than a normal jogging pace. I would like to see developers improving details like this and what the character can do and what he has to do.
Similar things could be said for games like GTA3, this game is loads of fun as you can do so much and can use a lot of the environment to your advantage, but there aspects that in the future could be improved to make a great game even better. What about paying other people to assist you in your missions, pay them a little bit of cash for their help. Modifying your vehicle to go faster? Fire various weapons?
Footy games could also benefit from improving characters, they could all behave uniquely and realistically. Also the way the game is played could take a leap towards what it is like in real life which is what most footy games try to do. If they became more realistic we could see players falling over the ball, keepers saving the ball only to see it slip out their hands into the goal, players getting hit in the groin and falling in agony. Each character could have their own good and bad points and make the game feel that little bit more like the real thing. The list of ideas could go on and on but I think you understand what I mean. Whether this would improve the game is another point though as it could just frustrate the gamer and spoil the game for them.
Alongside all the ideas and steps being taken to improve gaming for the future another place which is likely to improve is the way people interact with the game. Peripherals should get better and a variety of new ones will be released making the way we interact with games much better and a lot more fun. A couple that could be possible is the idea of voice recognition and also using smell as an output. There are some games where using your voice as an input could be quite useful, you could shout commands at soldiers in your team of maybe in wrestling games use it to shout abuse at enemies before you battle them in the ring. The idea of smells as output is also quite interesting, burning rubber for car racing games? Smell of Bovril at footy games? Everyday life smells in games like GTA3? It could improve some games as it would make things feel more realistic but in the same way it could also stink out your house for days. Also there is talk of motion sensitive peripherals maybe sometime in the future, which could mean a light sabre peripheral for star wars games in which when you move the light sabre the character on screen copies your actions. Also could be used in some sports games like tennis or golf, when you swing the racquet or club then the computer works out how well to play the shot according to how good your swing is.
With Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony all competing in the industry there is a lot of pressure to do well and using new ideas and having revolutionary ideas could well attract more people to a certain console.
There are other things that are indeed bound to happen and some that probably wont. One thing that I would like to see in the future one day is a game based on the A-Team, it could be the best game ever, EVER! But nobody ever seems to want to turn it into a game. Imagine getting to drive the van, unleashing a can of whoopass on some fool who messes with BA and also making plans come together and escaping from Decker with just minutes to spare. I'm probably not alone here (well I hope I am not) as The A-Team was hugely popular when I was a kid and most people my age and above loved it too bits. So one day when one of us is rich and famous, maybe you or even me then if an A-Team game isn't available then you or I will make one for the good of mankind.
Well I think I have waffled on enough, hope some of you managed to read through it and maybe even enjoy it. It is worth pointing out that overall the standard of games has increased with time and should continue to do so far as long as the industry lasts.
So what ideas interest you? What would you like to see in the future? What do you see as being a big step after on-line gaming?
Well the most obvious big step would have to be on-line gaming, it has been an idea that has been around for a while and at some point all three of the next generation consoles will allow gamers to log on and play against gamers all over the world. It is an idea that is very impressive but also has a few flaws, first one has to be setting up the network and making hardware able to allow the game to play to the best as it can. Next is the fact that it has to be cost effective, if it costs too much then people wont bother using it and the major developers will lose out in a big way.
Bad points aside this could well be the next big thing in the industry and is eagerly awaited by many. This is something that to work will also have to have something extra than the normal multiplayer, there is no point playing something on-line at a cost if you can do the same with friends at home for free (unless you don't have any).
Some of the things that are possible are explained here (there will be others that I have missed).
First up could be multiple players, so instead of just having 2, 4 or 8 players playing we could see a lot more people taking part in the game. So for example we could see future on-line wrestling games where in a royal rumble match all the wrestlers are controlled by a human playing on-line somewhere in the world. This offers gamers something special and unique as it is something which is almost impossible to think of doing at home. It is a new experience and one which I'm sure a lot of people would like.
Also it would be possible to allow updates to be downloaded on to a hard drive and run each time the game loads up. The updates could allow extra features like extra characters, levels, fix little problems. To make sure this works though all games would need to be of a high standard before release so that the updates are not an essential to make the game playable. As long as they don't turn out in the same way as some PC game patches did in that they were needed to fix major bugs and without them the standard of the game was very poor.
In the far future of on-line gaming we could maybe see whole games being available to be downloaded, maybe even more input from gamers to developers would be available and that way more games that appeal to the majority of gamers would be released.
Ok so what would be the next big step after that?
Well there are quite a few which I will try explain.
First one is probably the one that appeals to me the most, the idea of non-linear games. Games in which you don't have to follow a set path to go from the start to the end, instead you are free to roam the whole environment and do things when you want in any order you want. Similar to grand theft auto 3 and in my opinion this is one reason why this game is so popular.
An extra to this idea is the idea of an environment which you can fully explore and interact with, obviously there are restrictions on the storage in most games but in the future this could disappear and allow an environment which can be fully explored in which the character can use a lot of the objects within the environment, so things like having conversions with characters and each time you talk to them under different situations the conversation is different. Or using the environment you are in to your advantage like, being able to use various objects as weapons or instead of hunting for keys just blast through the door. Things like the ability to use nearly everything in the environment. I was playing resident evil Code Veronica X and you enter a room with loads of automatic weapons in a case. Why can't you just shoot the lock or blow the doors of and take the guns? It's things like this that I would like to see improved.
Next up is the idea of making games that have a kind of personal touch by making the character look similar to yourself or a friend or anyone, Developments in facial recognition techniques are improving all the time, Police use a similar technique to identify football hooligans at games as each person has a unique face. So in the future we could see the ability to take a photo or upload one to the console and then have your image created into the main character. Again this is just an idea and unless it works well and people would like it then the chances are developers wouldn't include it as they could use the time and storage space on other aspect of the game. From this basic idea it could start ideas based on the virtual reality way of gaming in which you actually feel part of the game as your physical movements are used in the game. This is an idea that right now is nowhere near possible but with the future nobody really knows what to expect.
It is only a matter of time before the A.I in most games also reaches a new level, maybe even one day soon we will see truly intelligent software in which enemies in games actually behave the same as a normal human would and react differently to the different situations. So if you make a noise then they check it out, also their field of vision and senses would be better. The same goes for driving games, this way each driver would have a unique way of driving, some would be aggressive and try push you off the road while others rely on their driving ability to do well. There are possibilities of being able to have a conversation and for the character to understand fully what you say and reply appropriately. Again this is an area that with time will get better and better and will reach new levels which is good news for any gamer.
Most of these ideas have been thought of before and mentioned in a few ways. But what about possible ideas that could be around in the future that some may not be aware off.
Well the first one could be the idea of making a game unique to the person playing it, so how you decide to play and what decisions you make along the way determine what happens to you as you go on. So if you decide to run away from enemies and work on other skills then your character wont be very good at fighting but could be good at things like negotiations or driving vehicles. That way you would see different areas depending on the missions you take and would need to play the game loads of times making different decisions each time to see everything in the game.
Another thing could be games which constantly update themselves using on-line facilities, so each time you log on new data like squad lists for footy games or wrestling characters for wrestling games are automatically downloaded making the game as up to date as it can be.
Also what about improvements to the characters?
There may soon be a time when there is enough space on a disk to not have to worry about how much to use for graphics, game-play and the rest of the game that we can have as much of each as the developer sees fit. I'm sure most games could benefit from extras like this in them, especially point and click games and adventure/strategy games like MGS2. The main aim of games is to be fun and surely anything which increases the fun must be a good addition.
The ability to use hand-to-hand combat when you don't have any weapons, Take resident evil for another example, you run around shooting zombies and other mutated creatures, it is extremely good fun but when you run out of ammo you are stuck with the knife. Why not use the end of the shotgun to bash their heads in or kick them Buffy the vampire slayer style. You wander about looking for keys when you know that one shot from the grenade launcher would do the trick. Also when you are being chased by a huge monster I think you might run a little faster than a normal jogging pace. I would like to see developers improving details like this and what the character can do and what he has to do.
Similar things could be said for games like GTA3, this game is loads of fun as you can do so much and can use a lot of the environment to your advantage, but there aspects that in the future could be improved to make a great game even better. What about paying other people to assist you in your missions, pay them a little bit of cash for their help. Modifying your vehicle to go faster? Fire various weapons?
Footy games could also benefit from improving characters, they could all behave uniquely and realistically. Also the way the game is played could take a leap towards what it is like in real life which is what most footy games try to do. If they became more realistic we could see players falling over the ball, keepers saving the ball only to see it slip out their hands into the goal, players getting hit in the groin and falling in agony. Each character could have their own good and bad points and make the game feel that little bit more like the real thing. The list of ideas could go on and on but I think you understand what I mean. Whether this would improve the game is another point though as it could just frustrate the gamer and spoil the game for them.
Alongside all the ideas and steps being taken to improve gaming for the future another place which is likely to improve is the way people interact with the game. Peripherals should get better and a variety of new ones will be released making the way we interact with games much better and a lot more fun. A couple that could be possible is the idea of voice recognition and also using smell as an output. There are some games where using your voice as an input could be quite useful, you could shout commands at soldiers in your team of maybe in wrestling games use it to shout abuse at enemies before you battle them in the ring. The idea of smells as output is also quite interesting, burning rubber for car racing games? Smell of Bovril at footy games? Everyday life smells in games like GTA3? It could improve some games as it would make things feel more realistic but in the same way it could also stink out your house for days. Also there is talk of motion sensitive peripherals maybe sometime in the future, which could mean a light sabre peripheral for star wars games in which when you move the light sabre the character on screen copies your actions. Also could be used in some sports games like tennis or golf, when you swing the racquet or club then the computer works out how well to play the shot according to how good your swing is.
With Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony all competing in the industry there is a lot of pressure to do well and using new ideas and having revolutionary ideas could well attract more people to a certain console.
There are other things that are indeed bound to happen and some that probably wont. One thing that I would like to see in the future one day is a game based on the A-Team, it could be the best game ever, EVER! But nobody ever seems to want to turn it into a game. Imagine getting to drive the van, unleashing a can of whoopass on some fool who messes with BA and also making plans come together and escaping from Decker with just minutes to spare. I'm probably not alone here (well I hope I am not) as The A-Team was hugely popular when I was a kid and most people my age and above loved it too bits. So one day when one of us is rich and famous, maybe you or even me then if an A-Team game isn't available then you or I will make one for the good of mankind.
Well I think I have waffled on enough, hope some of you managed to read through it and maybe even enjoy it. It is worth pointing out that overall the standard of games has increased with time and should continue to do so far as long as the industry lasts.
So what ideas interest you? What would you like to see in the future? What do you see as being a big step after on-line gaming?
well this was POPular wasn't it. Guess my many words put a few people off. If you are in here please read it and write any views you have.
First of all before I start. I'd just like to say before I read this topic I scrolled down to read the replies seeing what people had said. After seeing Ali’s second post I read the topic through due to respect and I'm glad I did. Well done Ali, looks like it took you a long time to make this excellent topic.
Now getting back to the actual topic. Picture this, you wrote this topic 15 years ago, when Pong was in its prime using such graphics as two lines and a little dot. Remember them days (Well I suppose I don’t as I’m 13 but who gives a monkey? :)), it wasn't that long ago was it? We were all thinking in about 50 years they'd be graphics that look life like.
But now nearly all the Next-Gen consoles have life-like graphics, graphics aren’t the most important part of the game due to the fact these days every game is expected to have good graphics. So therefore gamers look for more life like games than games with the best graphics. I’m sorry if that didn't make sense but it's hard to explain.
What I’m basically trying to say is that this technology you mentioned for games might come sooner than you think...
Good topic Ali, much respect to you...
Now getting back to the actual topic. Picture this, you wrote this topic 15 years ago, when Pong was in its prime using such graphics as two lines and a little dot. Remember them days (Well I suppose I don’t as I’m 13 but who gives a monkey? :)), it wasn't that long ago was it? We were all thinking in about 50 years they'd be graphics that look life like.
But now nearly all the Next-Gen consoles have life-like graphics, graphics aren’t the most important part of the game due to the fact these days every game is expected to have good graphics. So therefore gamers look for more life like games than games with the best graphics. I’m sorry if that didn't make sense but it's hard to explain.
What I’m basically trying to say is that this technology you mentioned for games might come sooner than you think...
Good topic Ali, much respect to you...
Excellent topic by the way, Aliboy - great stuff! The future holds a lot - some good and possibly some bad - who knows? Online gaming should become vastly improved and more widespread among gamers, as the next-generation consoles creept further and further foward. As for graphics, gameplay etc, they should also improve, for better or for worse (if that makes any sense!). Either way, it's going to be interesting to see the outcome.
Firebalt.
Firebalt.
There are games that satisfy some of the ideas mentioned above, and for most, the technology exists. This raises the question "When do games become too realistic?".
The main purpose of videogames is to be surreal, and do things that are impossible in real life. This was certainly the case in the 80's on platforms such as the Commodore and Amstrad, where you had games like dizzy, where you were an egg with boxing gloves and shoes, but no arms and legs (Rayman anyone?), and this was a great series of games, as well as other lesser known games like how to be a complete, where you used to go around a party being as obnixious as possible, urinating everywhere and stabbing people with pens.
However with the advent of better graphics capabilities with consoles and more powerful computers, it became possible to simulate real life, in games such as Shenmue where time was a factor in playing the game, and giving the game a more authentic feel, and licences came into play, making games as realistic as possible, and facts coming into play. Then you have games like operation flashback, its a case of one shot and you're dead. While this is fine for people that want realism in games, but the whole point of games is to be fun.
The AI of humans has already been made, but then if you were to put this into a game, then it would be too difficult for most. The reason that gaming is as popular as it is, at risk of being controversial, is because Sony made games suitable for the majority of people, and so it became necessary for a game to appeal to people of all ages and skills for it to be universally popular. While there are exceptions to this rule, such as MGS and the GT series, most games do have varying skill levels, that have differing features.
Graphics are becoming more of an issue in gaming, but I think that this is more because the capabilty exists, and there are companies that will churn out graphically pleasing games, but forfeiting gameplay. I believe that I speak for the vast majority of gamers that we would prefer to play an original playable game with poor graphics, than an unoriginal, unplayable one with great graphics.
Technological advances have made it possible to recreate real life situations with life-like graphics, however there are many games companies that use it as an excuse to make generic games that claim to be ground-breaking, but only graphically
The main purpose of videogames is to be surreal, and do things that are impossible in real life. This was certainly the case in the 80's on platforms such as the Commodore and Amstrad, where you had games like dizzy, where you were an egg with boxing gloves and shoes, but no arms and legs (Rayman anyone?), and this was a great series of games, as well as other lesser known games like how to be a complete, where you used to go around a party being as obnixious as possible, urinating everywhere and stabbing people with pens.
However with the advent of better graphics capabilities with consoles and more powerful computers, it became possible to simulate real life, in games such as Shenmue where time was a factor in playing the game, and giving the game a more authentic feel, and licences came into play, making games as realistic as possible, and facts coming into play. Then you have games like operation flashback, its a case of one shot and you're dead. While this is fine for people that want realism in games, but the whole point of games is to be fun.
The AI of humans has already been made, but then if you were to put this into a game, then it would be too difficult for most. The reason that gaming is as popular as it is, at risk of being controversial, is because Sony made games suitable for the majority of people, and so it became necessary for a game to appeal to people of all ages and skills for it to be universally popular. While there are exceptions to this rule, such as MGS and the GT series, most games do have varying skill levels, that have differing features.
Graphics are becoming more of an issue in gaming, but I think that this is more because the capabilty exists, and there are companies that will churn out graphically pleasing games, but forfeiting gameplay. I believe that I speak for the vast majority of gamers that we would prefer to play an original playable game with poor graphics, than an unoriginal, unplayable one with great graphics.
Technological advances have made it possible to recreate real life situations with life-like graphics, however there are many games companies that use it as an excuse to make generic games that claim to be ground-breaking, but only graphically
I can't see the future of online gaming being too bright at the moment as games such as Tony Hawks 3 and other online console games will require a broadband connection to the internet. While Microsoft boast about their broadband modem, all 56K modem users will say that the modem doesn't really matter when it comes to gaming if you have a poor phone connection. A lot of these modems would require a digital phone line, and the upgrading and higher line rental costs may outweigh the benefits.
Thanks for the comments guys. Glad to see you read it and enjoyed some parts.