The modes of entertainment in a digitalized world are also electronically planned and processed. Although gaming may sound like a mere recreation to the majority, it is far from being limited to just a hobby. Video game enthusiasts polish their skills to a whole new level and choose gaming as an option of earning their bread and butter. Professional gamers can take part in competitions or just open a channel to stream their content, which gives them the opportunity to earn an enormous amount of money. Others, who are interested in the technical side, resort to developing video games.
According to a 2021 report by Newzoo, there are around 3 billion gamers in the world. It is no wonder that gaming holds the prospect of being a highly rewarding career option in the future. In this article, we’re going to take a glance at the changes that took place in the gaming industry over the years and what the future has in store for us.
The Switch in Video Games
The origin of video games can be dated back to the 60s when a computer scientist named Steve Russell developed a game called ‘Spacewar!’ for the PDP-1 minicomputer in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Video games were mostly limited to home and arcade gaming. With the introduction of 3D Graphics and optical media in the 90s, the gaming industry went through a revolutionary transition. Microsoft introduced PC Gaming to millions while Sony released its PlayStation in the market. Online gambling platforms and review sites like betting-sider.net also started to come up in the 90s.
The 21st century is experiencing a boom in mobile gaming with the advent of smartphones. High-definition graphics and cross-platform play were followed by the introduction of Augmented Reality in mobile games, which was popularized by ‘Pokémon GO’. We can conclude that the present is highly modernized, and the future looks more so.
What Can We Expect from the Future?
Although futuristic technologies are getting implemented in the gaming industry, it is difficult to estimate their extent. We can focus on a few aspects that bear the potential for a turnaround.
Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality is supposed to provide a first-person immersive experience to gamers. VR headsets are designed to alter your 2D gaming experience to a more realistic, real-world gaming experience, so much so that you start to feel like the main character and become a part of the game. It can be accompanied by machines that are designed to improve your sensations in real-time to add to our experience. For example, gaming vests that serve similar purposes are being designed.
The slow and steady progress in the implementation of VR is yet to live up to the hype. However, we can expect something massive in the future. VR headsets, at the present, are inconveniently bulky and expensive, which hinders their acceptance by the mainstream audience.
Cloud Gaming
Cloud gaming basically involves streaming video games on a remote server. It follows the same method by which movies and TV shows are streamed on Netflix. The company’s powerful server spares you from the need of installing the game in your own device. This solves the problem of constantly upgrading your device according to the demands of a game. All you need is a streaming device of some sort and an internet connection.
In cloud gaming, your inputs are sent to the server where it gets processed and reaches you in real life. However, cloud gaming may lag without a powerful internet connection. The advent of 5G networks is expected to boost the advancement of cloud gaming and its popularity among the gamers.
Artificial Intelligence
The prospects of Artificial Intelligence in gaming are immense. The introduction of NPCs or non-playable characters governed by AI and activities like pathfinding, data mining, or player experience modelling have an immediate future in the online gaming industry. AI can be implemented to reduce human labour, curb unprofessional behaviours like cheating and create complex modelling systems that make online gaming more realistic for the players.
It can be presumed that online gaming and AI would work hand in hand in the future. AI is not only important for generating behavioural models with respect to the players but would also help the developers to generate games that suit their businesses the best.
High Fidelity Graphics
High-fidelity graphics is an umbrella term to describe the incorporation of advanced 3D graphics, high vertex counts, fragment shaders, and high GPU demands in video games. Gaming companies are already experimenting with the incorporation of ray tracing techniques in the future. The future advancement of high-fidelity graphics in gaming corresponds to the advancement of 5G, AI, and VR.
Metaverse and Blockchain Technology
The metaverse is the ultimate amalgamation of a virtual world with reality. Metaverse would provide a social media-like virtual space for multiplayer gaming. When accompanied by Virtual Reality, it would create a 3D world that can be ‘felt’ in 360 degrees through a realistic perceptivity. This virtual world of gaming won’t be restricted just to the tech giants, but players would be allowed to create and own games as well.
Digital currencies governed by blockchain technology would let players earn money via Metaverse gaming. Games are being developed that pay their players via NFTs or Non-Fungible Tokens. Thus, players can gain some capital besides engaging in developing social relationships that can be transcended beyond the virtual world. Metaverse gaming would essentially bring a mixed-reality experience of fantasy worlds into our everyday lives.
The Bottomline: A Gaming Revolution Calls for Responsible Actions
The companies are investing heavily in these futuristic technologies that have the potential to revolutionize the world of gaming. One can expect the tech giants to compete against each other which would make these services cheaper in the future.
However, just like everything else, technological advancement in the gaming industry has its own downsides. The players lie under the risk of getting addicted and drifting away from reality, which should be taken special care of by the game developers. Responsible business models and behavioural actions, when coupled with this progress, can take gaming to a whole new level, which is not too far ahead in the future.