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Since the beginning of the game industry developers have tried to make gaming experiences as interactive as possible as well as being enjoyable and entertaining at the same time, since none of the gaming content is real, game makers have tried to make it as real as possible with the use of cutting edge technology. What they have achieved has really sucked gamers into the game worlds. Games have managed to create a form of entertainment which takes interaction to a whole new level.
Graphics
Graphics were the initial tools of programmers to make games more and more realistic, firstly by making the characters move more like real human beings, initially game characters were blocky 2d animations which looked ugly but somehow managed to resemble whatever they were suppose to resemble e.g. Aliens, Cars but as technology improved the graphics became more cartoonish, thus being attractive to children, developers wanted a more realistic look so as technological advancements progressed so did graphics soon the graphics became 3d models but were again ugly to start with but recently newer multi million polygon processing hardware such as that of the (ps2, xbox and gamecube) have made graphics look almost like lifelike images but even till this day the process of better graphics is moving forward at an unbelievable rate. Graphic are probably the most important aspect of making games believable.
Sound
Sound is also an important feature to make games more realistic. Graphic characters beating the living daylights out of each other weren’t really convincing without sound, as we can see nowadays games have numerous different sound effects to make the experience much more realistic, such as the sound of foot steps, baddies screaming when getting beaten, gun fire, etc. This all leads to making the game very real when combined with the right graphics. As new sound technology has come out like surround sound, Dolby 5.1 etc the use of sound has just increases making the gaming environments even more real such as you can hear enemies coming, or even know which direction they are coming from, in such games as “Quake”.
Music
Initially music wasn’t really used much but as game makers have realised that music makes the game experience much more enjoyable (enjoyable games sell better), you see many games with music in it. I’ve noticed that music not only make the game more fun but also really help create the mood of the game or the game world, such as you feel sad when an important character dies (in final fantasy for example) or excited when something happy happens depending on the mood the music creates.
Special effects
Although most special effects you see in games don’t actually happen in real life such as if you flying kick some one in the face you don’t really see a shockwave fly out but this is done in gaming to show the impact force which is hard to tell by just look at the game, other games have used numerous techniques either because its hard to do a certain thing with the current technology or the special effects look better in the game then a real life effect.
FMV’s (full motion video)
Although FMV’s are not actual parts of the game you interact with or part of the game play they really do help the system perform things it should not be able to do or is unable to do due to hardware limitations, such as produce full motion life like video with the game engine, other uses for fmv’s are as in new games such as Onimusha 2, I’ve heard some of the backgrounds are full motion video like water effects this make the game less processor intense then it would if you created the same effect using graphics. My first contact with fmv’s was in a game called Command and Conquer where a full fmv actor would talk to you and brief you on your mission, this actually made you feel as you were part of the war, so fmv’s also help the mood of the game.
Story lines
Stories in games are getting better nowadays as you can see from the many game to movie conversions, some games which even have flawed game play get away as being good games just because the story is good and it keeps the player hooked because they want to find out what happens next. Stories also really help suck players into the game, as they not only tell the story, keep the player entertained also some build up and play on the players imagination, recent examples are in such games as Silent Hill which is very scary but most of the scary stuff is not in the game but just the players own imagination.
Vibration feed back (or other wise known as rumble packs or dual shock)
Vibration feed back has just come into play since the release of the Sony playstation 1 and now with the second generation of vibration feature available on all the top 3 consoles, although in my opinion the vibration functions does’nt have a big enhancement on some games like RPG’s, Strategy and some other type of games but it does have a significant effect, in racing, shooting, action, adventure type of games. You can feel it when your car crashes or goes onto a rough road surface or in first person games when firing a machine gun, or getting hit in the back. It’s a nice touch to utilise those touch senses.
Pressure sensitive buttons
This technology has just been implemented in the top 3 consoles and it is yet to be see what path it takes although I’ve already noticed considerable advantages in racing games if you press harder you go faster or if you press lightly you move slower, same rule apples in games were you run around, other good examples I’ve seen with this technology are in games such as metal gear solid 2 where you creep behind an enemy and if you press the button slow the main character raises the gun slows behind the enemy and silently or if you press the button faster he raises the gun fast and making a noise which alerts the enemy.
What the future holds
so far current technologies have utilised 3 of the 5 sense, (sight, hearing and touch) the only ones left are smell and taste, Its still a mystery to me what the future holds and how much further game developers can push in making games more realistic, but you never know these game developers are always coming up with weird and wonderful ideas.
Graphics
Graphics were the initial tools of programmers to make games more and more realistic, firstly by making the characters move more like real human beings, initially game characters were blocky 2d animations which looked ugly but somehow managed to resemble whatever they were suppose to resemble e.g. Aliens, Cars but as technology improved the graphics became more cartoonish, thus being attractive to children, developers wanted a more realistic look so as technological advancements progressed so did graphics soon the graphics became 3d models but were again ugly to start with but recently newer multi million polygon processing hardware such as that of the (ps2, xbox and gamecube) have made graphics look almost like lifelike images but even till this day the process of better graphics is moving forward at an unbelievable rate. Graphic are probably the most important aspect of making games believable.
Sound
Sound is also an important feature to make games more realistic. Graphic characters beating the living daylights out of each other weren’t really convincing without sound, as we can see nowadays games have numerous different sound effects to make the experience much more realistic, such as the sound of foot steps, baddies screaming when getting beaten, gun fire, etc. This all leads to making the game very real when combined with the right graphics. As new sound technology has come out like surround sound, Dolby 5.1 etc the use of sound has just increases making the gaming environments even more real such as you can hear enemies coming, or even know which direction they are coming from, in such games as “Quake”.
Music
Initially music wasn’t really used much but as game makers have realised that music makes the game experience much more enjoyable (enjoyable games sell better), you see many games with music in it. I’ve noticed that music not only make the game more fun but also really help create the mood of the game or the game world, such as you feel sad when an important character dies (in final fantasy for example) or excited when something happy happens depending on the mood the music creates.
Special effects
Although most special effects you see in games don’t actually happen in real life such as if you flying kick some one in the face you don’t really see a shockwave fly out but this is done in gaming to show the impact force which is hard to tell by just look at the game, other games have used numerous techniques either because its hard to do a certain thing with the current technology or the special effects look better in the game then a real life effect.
FMV’s (full motion video)
Although FMV’s are not actual parts of the game you interact with or part of the game play they really do help the system perform things it should not be able to do or is unable to do due to hardware limitations, such as produce full motion life like video with the game engine, other uses for fmv’s are as in new games such as Onimusha 2, I’ve heard some of the backgrounds are full motion video like water effects this make the game less processor intense then it would if you created the same effect using graphics. My first contact with fmv’s was in a game called Command and Conquer where a full fmv actor would talk to you and brief you on your mission, this actually made you feel as you were part of the war, so fmv’s also help the mood of the game.
Story lines
Stories in games are getting better nowadays as you can see from the many game to movie conversions, some games which even have flawed game play get away as being good games just because the story is good and it keeps the player hooked because they want to find out what happens next. Stories also really help suck players into the game, as they not only tell the story, keep the player entertained also some build up and play on the players imagination, recent examples are in such games as Silent Hill which is very scary but most of the scary stuff is not in the game but just the players own imagination.
Vibration feed back (or other wise known as rumble packs or dual shock)
Vibration feed back has just come into play since the release of the Sony playstation 1 and now with the second generation of vibration feature available on all the top 3 consoles, although in my opinion the vibration functions does’nt have a big enhancement on some games like RPG’s, Strategy and some other type of games but it does have a significant effect, in racing, shooting, action, adventure type of games. You can feel it when your car crashes or goes onto a rough road surface or in first person games when firing a machine gun, or getting hit in the back. It’s a nice touch to utilise those touch senses.
Pressure sensitive buttons
This technology has just been implemented in the top 3 consoles and it is yet to be see what path it takes although I’ve already noticed considerable advantages in racing games if you press harder you go faster or if you press lightly you move slower, same rule apples in games were you run around, other good examples I’ve seen with this technology are in games such as metal gear solid 2 where you creep behind an enemy and if you press the button slow the main character raises the gun slows behind the enemy and silently or if you press the button faster he raises the gun fast and making a noise which alerts the enemy.
What the future holds
so far current technologies have utilised 3 of the 5 sense, (sight, hearing and touch) the only ones left are smell and taste, Its still a mystery to me what the future holds and how much further game developers can push in making games more realistic, but you never know these game developers are always coming up with weird and wonderful ideas.
feedback please?
Since the beginning of the game industry developers have tried to make gaming experiences as interactive as possible as well as being enjoyable and entertaining at the same time, since none of the gaming content is real, game makers have tried to make it as real as possible with the use of cutting edge technology. What they have achieved has really sucked gamers into the game worlds. Games have managed to create a form of entertainment which takes interaction to a whole new level.
Graphics
Graphics were the initial tools of programmers to make games more and more realistic, firstly by making the characters move more like real human beings, initially game characters were blocky 2d animations which looked ugly but somehow managed to resemble whatever they were suppose to resemble e.g. Aliens, Cars but as technology improved the graphics became more cartoonish, thus being attractive to children, developers wanted a more realistic look so as technological advancements progressed so did graphics soon the graphics became 3d models but were again ugly to start with but recently newer multi million polygon processing hardware such as that of the (ps2, xbox and gamecube) have made graphics look almost like lifelike images but even till this day the process of better graphics is moving forward at an unbelievable rate. Graphic are probably the most important aspect of making games believable.
Sound
Sound is also an important feature to make games more realistic. Graphic characters beating the living daylights out of each other weren’t really convincing without sound, as we can see nowadays games have numerous different sound effects to make the experience much more realistic, such as the sound of foot steps, baddies screaming when getting beaten, gun fire, etc. This all leads to making the game very real when combined with the right graphics. As new sound technology has come out like surround sound, Dolby 5.1 etc the use of sound has just increases making the gaming environments even more real such as you can hear enemies coming, or even know which direction they are coming from, in such games as “Quake”.
Music
Initially music wasn’t really used much but as game makers have realised that music makes the game experience much more enjoyable (enjoyable games sell better), you see many games with music in it. I’ve noticed that music not only make the game more fun but also really help create the mood of the game or the game world, such as you feel sad when an important character dies (in final fantasy for example) or excited when something happy happens depending on the mood the music creates.
Special effects
Although most special effects you see in games don’t actually happen in real life such as if you flying kick some one in the face you don’t really see a shockwave fly out but this is done in gaming to show the impact force which is hard to tell by just look at the game, other games have used numerous techniques either because its hard to do a certain thing with the current technology or the special effects look better in the game then a real life effect.
FMV’s (full motion video)
Although FMV’s are not actual parts of the game you interact with or part of the game play they really do help the system perform things it should not be able to do or is unable to do due to hardware limitations, such as produce full motion life like video with the game engine, other uses for fmv’s are as in new games such as Onimusha 2, I’ve heard some of the backgrounds are full motion video like water effects this make the game less processor intense then it would if you created the same effect using graphics. My first contact with fmv’s was in a game called Command and Conquer where a full fmv actor would talk to you and brief you on your mission, this actually made you feel as you were part of the war, so fmv’s also help the mood of the game.
Story lines
Stories in games are getting better nowadays as you can see from the many game to movie conversions, some games which even have flawed game play get away as being good games just because the story is good and it keeps the player hooked because they want to find out what happens next. Stories also really help suck players into the game, as they not only tell the story, keep the player entertained also some build up and play on the players imagination, recent examples are in such games as Silent Hill which is very scary but most of the scary stuff is not in the game but just the players own imagination.
Vibration feed back (or other wise known as rumble packs or dual shock)
Vibration feed back has just come into play since the release of the Sony playstation 1 and now with the second generation of vibration feature available on all the top 3 consoles, although in my opinion the vibration functions does’nt have a big enhancement on some games like RPG’s, Strategy and some other type of games but it does have a significant effect, in racing, shooting, action, adventure type of games. You can feel it when your car crashes or goes onto a rough road surface or in first person games when firing a machine gun, or getting hit in the back. It’s a nice touch to utilise those touch senses.
Pressure sensitive buttons
This technology has just been implemented in the top 3 consoles and it is yet to be see what path it takes although I’ve already noticed considerable advantages in racing games if you press harder you go faster or if you press lightly you move slower, same rule apples in games were you run around, other good examples I’ve seen with this technology are in games such as metal gear solid 2 where you creep behind an enemy and if you press the button slow the main character raises the gun slows behind the enemy and silently or if you press the button faster he raises the gun fast and making a noise which alerts the enemy.
What the future holds
so far current technologies have utilised 3 of the 5 sense, (sight, hearing and touch) the only ones left are smell and taste, Its still a mystery to me what the future holds and how much further game developers can push in making games more realistic, but you never know these game developers are always coming up with weird and wonderful ideas.
Graphics
Graphics were the initial tools of programmers to make games more and more realistic, firstly by making the characters move more like real human beings, initially game characters were blocky 2d animations which looked ugly but somehow managed to resemble whatever they were suppose to resemble e.g. Aliens, Cars but as technology improved the graphics became more cartoonish, thus being attractive to children, developers wanted a more realistic look so as technological advancements progressed so did graphics soon the graphics became 3d models but were again ugly to start with but recently newer multi million polygon processing hardware such as that of the (ps2, xbox and gamecube) have made graphics look almost like lifelike images but even till this day the process of better graphics is moving forward at an unbelievable rate. Graphic are probably the most important aspect of making games believable.
Sound
Sound is also an important feature to make games more realistic. Graphic characters beating the living daylights out of each other weren’t really convincing without sound, as we can see nowadays games have numerous different sound effects to make the experience much more realistic, such as the sound of foot steps, baddies screaming when getting beaten, gun fire, etc. This all leads to making the game very real when combined with the right graphics. As new sound technology has come out like surround sound, Dolby 5.1 etc the use of sound has just increases making the gaming environments even more real such as you can hear enemies coming, or even know which direction they are coming from, in such games as “Quake”.
Music
Initially music wasn’t really used much but as game makers have realised that music makes the game experience much more enjoyable (enjoyable games sell better), you see many games with music in it. I’ve noticed that music not only make the game more fun but also really help create the mood of the game or the game world, such as you feel sad when an important character dies (in final fantasy for example) or excited when something happy happens depending on the mood the music creates.
Special effects
Although most special effects you see in games don’t actually happen in real life such as if you flying kick some one in the face you don’t really see a shockwave fly out but this is done in gaming to show the impact force which is hard to tell by just look at the game, other games have used numerous techniques either because its hard to do a certain thing with the current technology or the special effects look better in the game then a real life effect.
FMV’s (full motion video)
Although FMV’s are not actual parts of the game you interact with or part of the game play they really do help the system perform things it should not be able to do or is unable to do due to hardware limitations, such as produce full motion life like video with the game engine, other uses for fmv’s are as in new games such as Onimusha 2, I’ve heard some of the backgrounds are full motion video like water effects this make the game less processor intense then it would if you created the same effect using graphics. My first contact with fmv’s was in a game called Command and Conquer where a full fmv actor would talk to you and brief you on your mission, this actually made you feel as you were part of the war, so fmv’s also help the mood of the game.
Story lines
Stories in games are getting better nowadays as you can see from the many game to movie conversions, some games which even have flawed game play get away as being good games just because the story is good and it keeps the player hooked because they want to find out what happens next. Stories also really help suck players into the game, as they not only tell the story, keep the player entertained also some build up and play on the players imagination, recent examples are in such games as Silent Hill which is very scary but most of the scary stuff is not in the game but just the players own imagination.
Vibration feed back (or other wise known as rumble packs or dual shock)
Vibration feed back has just come into play since the release of the Sony playstation 1 and now with the second generation of vibration feature available on all the top 3 consoles, although in my opinion the vibration functions does’nt have a big enhancement on some games like RPG’s, Strategy and some other type of games but it does have a significant effect, in racing, shooting, action, adventure type of games. You can feel it when your car crashes or goes onto a rough road surface or in first person games when firing a machine gun, or getting hit in the back. It’s a nice touch to utilise those touch senses.
Pressure sensitive buttons
This technology has just been implemented in the top 3 consoles and it is yet to be see what path it takes although I’ve already noticed considerable advantages in racing games if you press harder you go faster or if you press lightly you move slower, same rule apples in games were you run around, other good examples I’ve seen with this technology are in games such as metal gear solid 2 where you creep behind an enemy and if you press the button slow the main character raises the gun slows behind the enemy and silently or if you press the button faster he raises the gun fast and making a noise which alerts the enemy.
What the future holds
so far current technologies have utilised 3 of the 5 sense, (sight, hearing and touch) the only ones left are smell and taste, Its still a mystery to me what the future holds and how much further game developers can push in making games more realistic, but you never know these game developers are always coming up with weird and wonderful ideas.