The world of gaming has taken massive strides forward over the past few years. Considering we are at the stage of virtual and augmented reality, yet it only feels like yesterday we were playing super pixelated Mario on our TV’s.
The technology is also moving at a faster rate than ever before, whether it be on various different platforms, the games themselves, or the accessories you use while you play. This post will dive into 10 things that have changed the face of gaming, or that will change gaming forever.
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality has had rapid growth over the past few years, and the technology is only getting better. You are already able to enter VR worlds and play games or hang out with friends, but developers are wanting to take the technology further.
Bigger, more immersive games are being developed as we speak, allowing you to be fully consumed by the gaming world around you, see, and maybe even feel the environment. This technology will not only allow you to play the game but be a fully immersed character in the game itself.
Augmented Reality
We already have a lot of experience with augmented reality since Pokemon Go came out, but much like VR, developers want to take the experience even further, by letting you use the world around you as the backdrop for your game.
You won’t be confined to a TV or computer monitor, but rather, the game uses real-life objects, everything from buildings, to roads, cars, and trees, to influence and change your experience, basically allowing for a completely different game and adventure depending on where you are and what surrounds you in the real world.
Mobile Gaming
Mobile gaming has become a major part of the gaming world since the advent of smartphones. The days of playing Snake are long gone, with players being able to enjoy games such as PUBG and Call of Duty right on their device.
As phones become faster, better, and more powerful, bigger and better games will be able to be played right in your hands, allowing players the chance to take their favorite games with them wherever they go.
Cloud Gaming
Game streaming is already on its way to being a literal game-changer. No need for a console or even a TV or monitor, developers are making the gaming version of Netflix, which will allow players to stream full games to their smartphone, tablet, or laptop.
All you will need is a solid internet connection and a controller, you don’t even have to download the game. There are already services like this available, but they are only set to become better in the months and years to come. Very soon, you might not even need a console or PC.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is already being used to help develop games, and the technology is expected to take that even further. With developers using it to automatically create worlds (No Man’s Sky for example) obviously it can be used to do much more.
Developers are hoping to reach a point where your choices change the game completely, with AI making a brand new adventure, world, or outcomes depending on how you play, what you enjoy, etc. Allowing you to play a game completely tailored to you, and different every time.
Facial and Voice Recognition
Facial and voice recognition are definitely going to be implemented more into gaming. Imagine being able to talk to characters in a game? With what you say affecting your story. Or, a few pained grimaces and the computer turns the difficulty down.
This technology is already in use, but like most things, it is moving forward, and will definitely become bigger parts of the gaming experience in years to come.
Gesture Control
Everyone should remember the PlayStation camera that recognized your hand movements and allowed you to chop fruit or swat away enemies. Even though that was many years ago now, the technology is still moving forward.
Once again, imagine playing Call of Duty or your favorite shooter without a controller and just a 3D camera, with just your hands, and movements needed to move your character around and shoot. These types of setups already exist, but they are quickly making their way into the mainstream, and soon, into your home.
HD Displays
With gaming worlds becoming more detailed and expansive, how we view them is changing. Standard box TV’s aren’t close to good enough to fully enjoy the visuals of a game, and HD and 4K displays are needed.
Right now, 4K displays, whether that be a TV or computer monitor, are still relatively expensive, their price is declining, making them more accessible to more people, and therefore encouraging developers to go down the 4K route for their games.
More Powerful Consoles
With gaming consoles and PC’s becoming more and more powerful, it is allowing developers to make bigger worlds, more characters, bigger games, giving players an all-round more detailed and expansive experience.
Developers are being held back less and less by lack of technology to run their ideas, and as consoles and PC’s become even more powerful, the doors to more possibilities open, ideas that were once impossible become doable.
Technology is most definitely pushing gaming forward at a rapid pace, and as the days, months, and years go by, the whole face of gaming is changing, and it’s hard to even guess where we will be in the next, cause right now, not even the sky’s the limit.
