Gulf News ReportThe rise of the gaming industry has been mostly due to the astonishing advances and improvements in the field of technology. In this article, we attempt to predict what the future of the gaming industry will be in a year or two by looking at the factors that influence it.
New technology
The future of gaming depends on new technologies that give new experiences to gamers. One of the most promising inventions that might revolutionise the gaming industry is the illusion transmitter.
Invented and patented by Valerie Thomas in the US in the 1980s, this device takes 2D images and projects them as 3D images into your room. For instance, when we play a game on the computer using this technology, we will get the illusion that the characters, the tools, the background and all the images are in the room.
Add to this sound and music from speakers, it will make a great experience. This not only makes it more interactive but also gives you the experience of actually being one of the characters, especially in role-playing games.
You can walk into your gaming world and interact with characters. In multi-player games, this becomes more interesting as you can interact with other ‘real humans' by talking with them in real time, and you can even get your family to play.
Something as simple as arcade games becomes more attention-grabbing while action and adventure games become live-action packed and out of this world. Can you imagine playing The Mummy in your living room, fighting off the zombies and villains, or building wonders, training armies and fighting mythical monsters like those in the Age of Mythology or the Rise of Nations?
The illusion transmitter promises to change the face of gaming as it brings virtual worlds into our living room. What's more, you do not need to go online for them. It makes it more physical and you are not glued to the monitor.
It is similar to the scenarios shown in the Hollywood movies such as Spy Kids or The Matrix, except we are not plugged in. In short, the distinction between games and real world will vanish with this technology, and you can play the game as if you are living in that world.
However, this is just one technology and there are several other technologies such as sensors that add senses of smell and touch to the gaming experience. With so many revolutionary technologies available, you may ask why it isn't already here.
This is due to various factors.
Compatible hardware
While platforms have come a long way from the Atari game, we need to get hardware on computers and gaming consoles that will be able to support new technologies such as the illusion transmitter to enhance the gaming experience.
We need to develop hardware that supports and is compatible with the illusion transmitter. It is expected to happen in a year or two.
High cost
The gaming industry has seen high prices to offset development costs in the initial stages after which the price of games usually drops.
Similarly, in the future, games are bound to get expensive when they are launched as companies spent lots of money to create the content and develop platforms that can support new technologies. But the mass demand is expected to pull down the prices after a while.
However, if companies that produce the hardware decide to go for exclusive platforms and special consoles instead of upgrading existing platforms such as the computer, then it is bound to fail.
People prefer to invest in platforms such as computers as they have multiple functionalities and are not just limited to games. Catering to existing platforms increases the ability of gaming companies to sell their products to the mass market.
Censorship issues
With the older generation blaming most of the behavioural problems of the current generation on gaming and new technologies, it would be tough to get them to accept illusion transmitters and other new technologies. Look at the way many try to link violent acts of youth to their playing violent or action games.
Social activists and criminal lawyers blame games for the evils in society. Listening to them, you would think before games such as Mortal Kombat or SWAT, earth was a peace haven and the various wars and mass killings never took place.
Even though there is no proof to show a direct connection between violent acts and games, many blindly advocate censorship and banning games.
Gaming has become an easy scapegoat for negligent parenting and irresponsible adults. They need to understand that although their generation watched violent movies, it didn't make them all go on killing sprees.
Since the adult population comprises the bulk of the vote bank in several developed countries, when the vote bank demands censorship, the politicians oblige, as most of them don't understand new technologies, especially virtual worlds.
With technologies such as illusion transmitter blurring the boundary between the real and the virtual worlds, most people condemn it.
Political opposition is more likely as it is easier to blame an increase in crime rate or any other social problem on gaming rather than exploring the root causes, which takes effort and money.
The future of gaming is promising and will be as exciting as the obstacle race it has been in the past. However, one thing is for sure - the next level will be more exhilarating than the current one.
