Future of Gaming

I think we have hit a wall with gaming at this point in time. Our graphical technology is advancing at an ever increasing pace and even our AI programming is taking steps forward in the next generation of games, however, it's all the same thing we have seen before.

I've been expecting games to become more and more difficult as I aged. I started in run-and-gun-blow-everything-up Doom and Duke Nukem, moved on to Half-Life, became obsessed with online gaming with CS and TFC, played Battlefield 1942 and was amazed with the vehicles but now I feel like I've done it all. I see an enemy I shoot an enemy, I drive a vehicle, I fly a plane , and as always, I fight people, aliens, animals, dinosaurs, genetic mutations, and what not until my fingers bleed.

What needs to change? The interface needs a drastic and mind-boggling upgrade before I get arthritis and need adult diapers.

I've been using the keyboard, mouse, joystick and same basic controller forever! Before I can even begin to get worked up about games on the horizon I need a massive change in how I interact with the game not how my character interacts with the game.

I'm not asking for electrodes on my skull that control an entire army over a whole planet (though that would be pretty sweet) just something I can look at and say "Wow, I've never used that before". Something like the Wii but for computers because I can't bring myself to spend money on such a hi-tech and specialized piece of machinery.

Do I have ideas? Of course I do, I have no idea how many are feasible but that isn't for me to figure out!

-Some kind of glove/hand attachment. Move fingers to do specific tasks even something as simple as pointing and moving to scroll up and down on a webpage.

-Eye tracking. Move/manipulate/whatever your PC by moving your eyes, mouth, ears, whatever!

-More versatile touchpad which you can use to switch from keyboard, touchpad, drawing tablet, self-partition into specific zones, customize keystrokes with personal toolbars, a bajillion other things.

-Jam a huge electronic doohickey into your skull which attaches to your brain stem and gives you psychic control over the computer (assuming you survive having something jammed into your skull)

Ok, that last one was a bit fictitious but I got into the mood and started going wild but you get the idea. We need a new way to control the computer not enhanced water graphics.

 

Get a nintendo wii lol

 

With the advent of the Wii, many people will start taking that approach. Nintendo is bold, and always has been, and sometimes it takes one person with alot of guts to do something before someone else will step out and try it to. Seeing how big of a success the Wii is, other companies will quickly follow suit.

There are already devices out there that let you control things with your body via a reactive dot placed on you. However, most games just don't take advantage of this yet. Soon enough.

 

Virtual Reality.

 

I'm excited by the Wii concept I just don't usually get involved in consoles. There are occasions when I break from my normal PC-obsession but generally I just find consoles boring and one-sided.

I'd consider getting back into the game now with online play and new technology like the Wii but as much as it seems like a step forward is a tentative step forward and there just aren't any games that catch my eye.

At this rate the technology will gradually evolve as our graphics systems get more and more sophisticated. Eventually a flat screen just won't be enough and new means of control will be necessary, I'd just like to see it begin now because that's the main draw for me not real clouds in the sky and realistic water effects.

 

There is the TrackIR out now. It tracks your head movements and translates that into where you look in game. I'm glad new innovations like this are coming along.

 

There was a very compelling argument made on this subject a couple of months ago in EGM. In an interview with Tomonobu Itagaki, head of game developer Team Ninja, Itagaki says:

I finally got the chance to play a Wii a few weeks ago and it is definitely fun in a novel way, but I certainly didn't feel spectacular in the same way I do while playing games sitting front of a keyboard. Don't be too quick to assume that a more extravagant control scheme equates to a more satisfying experience. There are certainly other ways to diversify your gaming portfolio; try branching out from FPS, for instance (although Team Fortress was mind blowing at the time, wasn't it?).

P.S. - There's always an exception, and in this case the exception is Dance Dance Revolution.

 

Actually wii is nice on FPS, just that they havent really figure out the code to perfect the movement...

 

Wii?

Have you considered, maybe, playing *different* games? The world is bigger than FPS'es...
Anyway, HL2 and the gravity gun didn't add anything new?

Wii?

Uh, why? Doesn't it matter more what you *do* in the games? That's, you know, the gameplay and all.

So your problem isn' that there's nothing new, just that you're not willing to pay for it?

But right now you're complaining about PC's being boring and one-sided. So maybe adding something different would be a solution? Like a Wii. If that's where the innovations you want are, then that's where you should go.

Maybe. What I think we need is more diverse gameplay. You're right, we've been shooting aliens and foreigners for the last 20 years. When do we get a bit of depth in the games? When do we get more interesting objectives? When do we get actual storylines? When do we get goals that do not include mindlessly shooting everything that moves?

Lumberbunny is right. The Wii's control scheme is clever and fun, but it's not a magic bullet. It doesn't by itself magically transform the tired old gameplay we've had for 20 years into something exciting and new.

If there's one thing that's holding us back, it's the idea that "it's not gameplay if it doesn't have guns"

 

Who says it's all bout guns.... a sword will do the same job XD