Where do you think games will be in the future?

[Sash]

So, I am assuming we have all seen films and games which portray the 2000++ with flying cars, robots doing our laundry etc.

We have seen games developers using motion control, vibration and even trying virtual reality to push the limits and bring us gamers new things!

What I want to know is where do you see the gaming industry in say 10 years time? What kind of gaming devices and new ways to interact with games do you think there will be?

 

[gamerk316]

The only thing i see as being diffremt would be better physics effects in games.

I'm actually expecting a video game crash soon, due to only a small majority of people willing to keep their PC's updated, and the amount of games that are exactly the same chocking the market, so I could see games being worse in 10 years as well...

 

[Sash]

I know what you mean. We have already got to the point in time that World War 2 games are just laughed at a la the new CoD game.

I dont want to see a video game crash, and I will continue to buy games anyway. But we have to ask what are developers going to do to keep things original?

 

[rtfm]

I think things will go the way of movies, how often do you see a movie with an original, well thought out and engrossing plot? Sure there are loads of movies with great effects, big stars and exciting action, but very few that leave a lasting impression (most of the ones I can think of that really caught my imagination recentely weren't from Hollywood either).

So, I see a future with lots of shallow games with great graphics (and an absolute sh** load of rubbish sequels and bad movie tie ins) and every now and then, a real gem will come along which absorbs the player for much longer than the cheap thrills of most others.

I also think the casual free (i.e. online sites like miniclip) gaming market will take off in a very big way and damage the traditional games market badly (a bit like youtube is bitch slapping tv audiences). There are huge numbers of people with a bit of time to kill and no real interest in playing an epic game, they just want something to distract for ten minutes.

 

[spuddyt]

much as I would like to be playing a photorealistic virtual reality nigh on completely accurate physics MMO game where I could fly..... I still reckon we will be just like what we are now, with better graphics due to the fact that the graphics are the easiest thing to upgrade....

 

[Ananan]

A long time ago someone posted about the possibilty of an "AI accelerator" card - Something that pushes AI capablities the same way GPUs have advanced the past 10 years.

I think the idea of offloading AI onto a seprate processor is a great idea. It would allow for incredible advances in gameplay in virtually every genre, from RPG to FPS to sports games.

 

[falcodakrzz]

Obviously the graphics will get better. But also I'm pretty sure more and more new ideas will develop for games, as the industry grows. Every year we see great games come out different to any before them, such as Spore and Portal. Expect more of these, but I doubt the way in which we play games will change much; at lease I hope not, the Wii was a two week lifespan gimmick.

 

[spuddyt]

I reckon the next version of the wii, which actually has 1:1 controls from the beginning, would lend itself better to other games, eg things like sword fighting where instead of just having gestures start generic animations, it actually follows, I mean, how fun would that be, just to be integrated in general to games?

 

[infornography42]

A long time ago someone posted about the possibilty of an "AI accelerator" card - Something that pushes AI capablities the same way GPUs have advanced the past 10 years.

I think the idea of offloading AI onto a seprate processor is a great idea. It would allow for incredible advances in gameplay in virtually every genre, from RPG to FPS to sports games.

If you offload AI, then what will your CPU be left with? That is pretty much the core function of the CPU in gaming anymore. Sound chips offload almost all the sound processing, GPUs offload most of the video and physics processing, hell even network cards offload a lot of their burden. There is no reason to do this with AI for which a CPU is perfectly well suited to handle.


As for the future of gaming, there are constantly new innovations in just about every genre that is still profitable. Try going back and playing a game from 10 years ago and you will see what has been added since then. RTSs got better squad control and new mechanics. FPSs got better story direction and each one brings new mechanics to the table as well, but those seem to be more and more setting specific. RPGs are going more first and third person for the most part and utilizing more fluid motion and more voice acting as well.

There is constant adaptation. Once again I have to say the doom sayers have it all wrong and really just like saying doom.

 

[Lurf]

I think alot of things can be improved leading to increased "immersion" into the games. I think the game industry will see alot of specialization in the coming years. You can see it already happening now. Some developers for instance focus mostly on the development of a game engine. I think all sorts of aspects can be done by specialized companies. Besides what we already see (engine / physics) there can be specialized software for weather effects / water effects / facial animation / avatar animation (a lot of character movement is kind of unrealistic nowadays, you can clearly see avatars execute very scripted and rusty animations. also going from one animation to another is usually not very fluid). There can be more area's ofcourse I just named a few here. Thats as far as graphics go. Controlls will also develop I think. I don't exactly have examples here except perhaps something like the Wii controller. Then there will be display changes aswell. I saw a short video of a "bend" / "round" monitor. I think ultimately u would want like a dome where all around you stuff is displayed (kinda like a flightsim they have at the airforce only then a retail version). Also stories can use some improvement. This is kinda like the expanded free roaming idea. Far cry 2 has this a little bit. Like an interactive and dynamic story. For instance if u kill one guy who could have become a main character, this means another will take his place. AI is very important in this respect, and judging from the crappy AI in most games there is alot of ground to cover imo.
All in all I think there is more than enough to whish for in increased complexity to cover at least 10 years of game development. I don't think the game will die out at all. Already the game industry is larger than the movie industry. I think the game industry will always remain a huge part of the entertainment industry. Specially with all the boring jobs these days (specialization is very efficient but not always fun).
Sry if this was "too long didn't read" but I guess I had alot to say -_-

 

[mothhive]

Games will all be on PC in the future, that's where! Humanity will evolve to the point where the mere though of using a console would seem barbaric. An era of peace and prosperity will begin.

 

[Ananan]

If you offload AI, then what will your CPU be left with?

Cpu would still handle basic AI and movement.

An independent AI processor would handle complex AI decisions such as:

1) the ability for NPCs or enemies to think much further ahead than they currently are able to.

2) NPC's ability to improvise on the fly. This would be great for sports games.

3) long term AI, such as the inhabitants of a village in a RPG evolving in real time even though you be away from it for months.


I think the possibilites would be endless.

 

[razor512]

graphics will be much better and games will be so short that people will compare them to game demos of the past

the more graphics a game has, the more work it takes to make it and the harder it is to make

better hardware is useless is the developers cant keep up

game become harder to code every year, this makes them shorter as they still have to meet a deadline

I personally think tat graphics should be the last thing the developers worry about,

I rather have a great game with xbox1 graphics then a game with ps3 graphics and crappy gameplay


most game developers seem to be compensating for their short crappy gameplay by making certain levels unfair so you play them multiple times in order to win, this makes the game seem longer than it really is