Are you game fit? A stroll down memory lane and into the future of Computer Games
Filed under: entertainment, technology, trends, video games
One of the reasons I chose Digital Media for my Masters was the focus on Computer Games. A booming industry with top titles toppling Hollywood films in revenue generation these days. When I started programming in BASIC in the early 80s the Tandy TRS-80 was the bees knees in computing. But with the size, speed and memory, and hence power of computing doubling every two years (Moore’s law), those days are long gone.
Arcadia
Pacman was a revolution in arcade games in the late 70s/early 80s and eventually appeared on multiple platforms, but I bet you have never seen him like this before.
But even non-gamers will know the home consoles of today leaves that technology for dead.
Games Consoles
Motion control was released by Nintendo for the Wii (1) in 2005 and included a new one handed controller that measures tilt, position and movement input. Nintendo captured the market with the Wii owning almost half of the games console market share in 2007 (2).
Sony fought back with the recently released Sony Move – the ‘next gen’ of motion control gaming with the kind of High Definition super realistic graphics you are used to on your PS3;
Take a peek at this amazing looking street fighter game to get a sense of the kind of workout this will offer (may contain inappropriate content for children)
While Nintendo may have the trophy for the simplistic look of their Mii characters and all round champion Mario, but I think many gamers are interested in the next level of realistic graphics tied with motion controlled games – and it seems Sony agree.
The Future
Still not had enough? Well and good because it doesn’t stop there. It seems we are poised to take gaming to a new level again in early November with the launch of Microsoft Kinect.
A “controller-free gaming and entertainment experience” video game platform that sounds every bit as exciting as it does unusual.
Amazing yes, but sounds weird right? Looks even weirder in action:
And the gaming community seems divided right now with limited releases and examples of actual game play available, will this new device peripheral be a hit or a miss? Only the quality of the games and immersion of the game play will eventually decide.
Maybe once we adjust to that initial weirdness of bopping around in front of our tv and start to think nothing of it, the same way that we have adopted mobile phone technology, this type of interactive social gaming has potential to be simply amazing. However it goes it has potential for one wild ride.
Just around the corner…
Who doesn’t want to romp around with lions and tigers, tickling their ears balancing on high beams and pulling their tongues out?
So how do you like your games? Pacman legend or wild about Wii? Does motion controlled gaming excite you as much as it does this early adopter?
References
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wii
2. http://news.vgchartz.com/news.php?id=508
Not that interested in Console level gaming, it’s generally dumbed down for the general public, unfortunately this way of thinking is starting to make it’s way into PC gaming….
Sounds like the response of a passionate WOW gamer Daniel?
What about from the developmental side of that argument? Could this tech be influential in the progression of PC gaming? Will 3D or motion control gaming become a focus for PC evolution?
I used to love a good networked game of ‘Worms’ back in the early 90s – I think my best tower PC then was a 486 DX2 which was considered all poweful. Hilarious now in hindsight.
I think for console games, this stuff looks great.
But As a PC-based RTS player, I’m struggling to see how any of this waving your arms around stuff is going really help me out. On the other hand, I’d love to see RTS games that incorporated the ability to give commands via voice and also incorporate touch-screens. Trying to rember the fifty different shortcut keys for an RTS is painful…but if one could give some verbal commands it might make things a bit easier.
Now now Heath – can’t you picture standing in front of your PC and with grand sweeping arm gestures instructing your Terran marines to lay waste to the nearest Zerg hive?
Actually it’d look fairly silly – but you’d at least feel like a commanding general.
I think motion sensor games are a great thing, but I’m not a fan of the simplicity of the Wii and how it’s targetted at casual gamers. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy the Wii we’ve got at home – it’s just not something I play outside of having friends round as it isn’t geared at the serious gamer market.
Where their future lays (“Your future lies with me young Skywalker”) is being able to do things with titles like Star Wars. They’ve tried this with The Force Unleashed, but all the Wii reviews suggested it was done very poorly. But imagine the fun of (if done properly) being able to wave motion sensor controls around to activate force powers, have a lightsaber fight – the possibilities quickly become endless.
@Gwynn: I can see certain genres where motion based controllers have a lot of potential. First person shooters come to mind for example. Sure we have assorted ‘gun’ controllers available already, but a motion based system would let you better incorporate things like ducking/taking cover, throwing grenades, operating vehicles, kicking in doors etc.
But as someone whose first love is RTS games, I’m still thinking it will be hard to make the motion controls accurate enough to let me send my Terran marines at the right Zerg hive. “No No No, I meant attack their towers first.. then attack the.. oh wait, too late you;re all defeated”.
As per my previous post, voice commands would really open up some possibilities in RTS I think.
How simplistic do we really want to take gaming where someone point a controller at the screen and try and shoot their targets, or how could you possibly think of organizing a proper multi pronged attack in an RTS with voice or gestures.
Motion games are there purely for the casual gamer and as the casual gamers cause the industry to make more money the fundamentals of gaming are going down the drain no matter what genre you play.
The only time I can forsee this actually being useful is they day when we have true virtual reality gaming comes in, where you are hooked into the matrix at this point you will not have any weird controller to hold but your whole body motions will be captured and placed into the game as you look through a set of goggles in the game world.
Lets push to Virtual reality gaming rather than a cut down hybrid piece of junk.
And yes Dan I’m a wow player, but I originally started playing MMO’s back during EQ days and my gaming days started long before that, and all I have seen over the recent years is a de-evolution (is that even a word) of gaming.
Some great thoughts/ideas/rebuttals guys.
Motion control may be aimed just at casual gamers now, but casual gamers become serious gamers sometimes too and it doesn’t matter if they don’t. It is about expanding and creating new landscapes where everyone has choice and do/use/interact in ways that interest them.
I personally don’t do much gaming at home on the Wii (ok maybe I had to conquer Super Mario Galaxy in my own time) except when friends are around, to Gwyn’s point, but that is the beauty of it and exactly why it is great. Hard to get my mates excited about sitting around the Pacman machine these days.
It won’t change the face of RTS or FPS or MMORPG because the technology just doesn’t lend itself to that genre, but that doesn’t mean it is a bad thing.
Again to Gwyn’s point, if there is only one reason to be excited by Kinect or Motion Control it is simply to use the Force!
I can barely contain my excitement at the thought of being able to use the Force using only my mind and body to lift an X wing fighter out of a mud pit. Sounds too good to be true!
The kinect looks interesting – particularly if it allows me to physically smite my enemies – but the gaming tech I’d really love to see go main-stream is the Microsoft surface:
http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en/us/default.aspx
For RTS (of which, I too am a fan), this provides some really exciting possibilities:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1xZGynE3Mc
Dan. Great blog thanks. Love the games on my Wii – and still have absolutely no acceptance of my lack of skill!
When I was at CES this year, the guys from Dell showed me their new Alienware range of laptops and PCs. (http://www1.ap.dell.com/content/topics/topic.aspx/global/products/alienware/topics/en/ap/au/laptops?c=au&cs=audhs1&l=en&s=dhs)
That much power really blew me away. The purist gamers (a whole ecosystem on its own!) were off-road racing with four large screens in front of them. The sound, the power, the everything was amazing. (Still working on a justification model to get that into the house – but dont let the family know – its a surprise).
Imagine some of those monster machines with motion control?