Future of video and computer gaming...

[Harald]

If there is one thing I disagree with, it's that games are now dumbed down and all about graphics. That's simply not true. For some reason people have that "Golden Age of video games" myth in their heads, but the stories were not significantly better - or worse - 5, 10, 15 or 20 years ago.

Trouble is, people only remember the good games of an era and quickly forget about the 95% other crappy games.
<snip>

I can see what you are saying, there is definitely some nostalgia when it comes to what one remember. When it comes to RPG:s I can't even think of a decent one since Baldurs Gate II and even the last of expansions to that one was a bit on the edge.

As for Fallout, I really liked the first two, the third one I'm not so sure about. I'm not really a fan of RPG:s in first person view and from what I've read it seems to suffer some of the same problems as Oblivion. Although not as severely.

 

[Love]

It will just get worser (more and more)

 

[Joker123]

I think we will see the gradual implementation of the downloadable media game, instead of the physical DVD purchase.

And we will see the emergence of new controlers like the Wiimote be the next big thing in FPS games control, etc.

 

[Hundegesicht]

I think much of the change will come with advances in AI. There's an upper limit to how far human programmers can push a game - eventually you run out of millions of dollars, or out of time. Computers being able to create environments on the fly is entirely different.

We can already see a lot of this plot-wise in games that are highly RNG dependent - especially roguelikes. And a lot of games now, with the help of physics engines, let the computer work out how objects move instead of pre-scripting every possible movement.

When the science of mental imaging becomes more advanced, safe, and economically affordable (via implants or scanners), I think we'll see games where a computer can "read" thoughts or ideas from a gamer, and then customize the game world to his tastes.

 

[innonimatu]

If there is one thing I disagree with, it's that games are now dumbed down and all about graphics. That's simply not true. For some reason people have that "Golden Age of video games" myth in their heads, but the stories were not significantly better - or worse - 5, 10, 15 or 20 years ago.

Trouble is, people only remember the good games of an era and quickly forget about the 95% other crappy games.

For the last few years we had what great games? HL2? An unfinished story, but a good one , I'll grant that. Oblivion? Good graphics, good game world, but the game mechanics (automatic leveling) made it a failed RPG without mods.
Hopefully Fallout 3 will at least be worth playing.

Mods, that's the only good new thing we got. As for MMORPGs, I can't see any fun there, but even that is not new: I still recall strange creatures who spent hours in front of old VT220s back in university playing MUDs. Never understood them...

Take a look at Portal. No story (or something said, like the end song from the computer), but a really gorgorious idea and good recreation. Finally, we ended up waiting for Portal 2. And not to forget - this was actually a modification for HL2.

It just used the same engine. And it was boring. What people have said: no story, no depth. Gorgeous graphics? I see far better "graphics" just walking around every day - a thing we call real world. Games should not be about graphics!

PC gaming will never die, But I'm not expecting big changes soon. Still I won't complain - there are lots of old games to discover and enjoy, for those disillusioned with the newer ones. I expect that most of the big commercial games will eventually only be made for consoles.

 

[Masquerouge]

I can see what you are saying, there is definitely some nostalgia when it comes to what one remember. When it comes to RPG:s I can't even think of a decent one since Baldurs Gate II and even the last of expansions to that one was a bit on the edge.

On the top of my head, there was Mass Effect, the Witcher, Oblivion... and that's just for PC RPG

 

[Nylan]

Culturally?

While America has been the slowest to accept gaming as okay, I think to some extent it will eventually become mainstream in the way sports and other activities of that nature are. It will be a staple of everyday culture. We've already seen inroads with things like Halo, but there's still a lot of progress to be made. The Koreans are way ahead of us in that respect.

 

[Harald]

On the top of my head, there was Mass Effect, the Witcher, Oblivion... and that's just for PC RPG

Apparently I have looked in to all of those games(my browser has the web pages marked). Oblivion I have played, albeit briefly, at a friends house and I didn't like it. It felt flat and not especially entertaining.

I probably disregarded Mass Effect due to that seems to made firstly for xbox360(or consoles at least) and then ported to PC. That usually doesn't bode well for a game, the interface usually becomes bad.

The Witcher actually seems like a good game. The only thing I notice that might turn me of is the camera view which is true for all three games. I probably didn't look deeper into it last time I checked it out due to it not being finished.
Producers usually promise all sorts of fantastic features in games and then when the game is released they haven't even implemented half of the things they said. That's why I try to avoid looking in to games during their development process.

 

[Grisu]

If there is one thing I disagree with, it's that games are now dumbed down and all about graphics. That's simply not true. For some reason people have that "Golden Age of video games" myth in their heads, but the stories were not significantly better - or worse - 5, 10, 15 or 20 years ago.

well, I admit, that the my love for older games might have to do with the rose tinted glasses of nostalgia I'm wearing Another reason might be that the type of game I grew up with became less prominent due to technological advancements. For example, I loved games in isometric view, where you guide your party/player through their world. Games like it included Syndicate, Baldur's Gate, fallout etc. But with the more powerful graphics engines, more and more of these games got turned effectively into first person games (see fallout 3, the fact that you could change the view to 3rd preson like in oblivion didn't really change that for me). But I agree that might just be personal preference/nostalgia....

the way I see it, there are still about the same nuber of good games around, but the sheer load of crap that's released today makes it harder now to locate them than back when the marked for computergames was somehow manageable

one trouble today (at least for me) though is that many of the games I theoretically would like come with ridiculously crippling DRM that make me refuse to buy them (Spore for exampe...or pretty much any EA game these days). Apparently Sacred 2 (which I considered buying) has a limited number of activations as well, so I won't get it. Granted that's not really anything to do with new technology, and maybe in time the publishers will realize the futility of these measures...

 

[DNK]

Yes, as games get more and more expensive to develop, they tend to get "dumber" and more mainstream. Of course, there are some brilliant exceptions like Civ 4 and Hearts of Iron 2.

Well, Civ4 isn't known for its graphics or special effects...



I would say physics, of course, will improve.
AI will probably actually start becoming difficult, instead of requiring constant "cheats".
Open-ended play will be key. More sandbox games.

A further blurring of genres, with RTS/builder games with built-in FPS/sims that can be run alongside it. Like the SimCity/Rush Hour package, but perhaps a little bit more... interesting than Rush Hour was.

I don't think it made a huge splash when it came out (and the second one has been a let down), but STALKER looks fairly promising as a future genre mix of RPG and FPS-shooter. I think (hope) the industry will evolve in that direction. It actually has a lot of the AI (modded) aspects I've seen mentioned in this thread: numerous independent, fully-functioning "individuals" interacting in a complex ALife system, trading, gaining experience, weapons, scavenging, etc. Dynamic weather, dynamic AI, events, gameplay, everything almost.

Basically, more dynamism and less scripted gameplay. I think the future games will require a more systemic approach to design in this sense.

And stronger modding communities and a further blurring of the lines between the gaming community and dev teams.

And proper "virtual reality" tech that isn't excessively heavy, clumsy, and expensive. This is already the case with hardcore gamers (full air sim setups with TrackIR, for example), and I expect in a few years it will hit mainstream, or at least a sizable minority thereof. The price just needs to come down first, and then the slow uptake and game support process can begin.



And a new idea would be something akin to mixing gaming with forums. Not quite Second Life, but similar in a sense: basic virtualization packages that can be run on certain widely-shared board scripts, like an MMO type program that runs on local advanced BBCode. All probably open-source. Really, I don't know why it hasn't happened yet...

 

[DNK]

Agree with DRM. I was considering buying Far Cry 2, but after hearing about issues over DRM I'm going to pass. I'll just replay the Splinter Cell and Hitman series this month. The gaming industry really shouldn't try to follow the strict bs of the other media industries, it's going to start alienating its base.

 

[Danielos]

Also, I hope we will get better equipment that enhances the atmosphere of gaming. Take a look at these two for example:

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/novint-falcon-review.ars

http://www.trustedreviews.com/multimedia/review/2008/08/23/Philips-amBX-SGC5103BD-Premium-Kit/p1

 

[Jazzmail]

On the top of my head, there was Mass Effect, the Witcher, Oblivion... and that's just for PC RPG

The better rpgs post BG2 were: Gothic 2, VTM:bloodlines and Deus ex.

The witcher is worth a try. Morrowind was ok.

 

[philippe]

crappy games will still be made and a few gorgous pearls are what we will remember.

But if Valve would ever get taken over by EA, it's game over.

 

[REDY]

Well its interesting how good are todays engines but the problem is that without few exceptions like Civilization there arent good commercial games since 98. I have quite good computer but I still play games on Dosbox. On the other hand, its good because I would have not time to discuss if there were still games like Baldurs Gate, Gabriel Knight or Sensible world of soccer, old NFS...

 

[philippe]

uh, half-life and half-life 2?

 

[Jazzmail]

But if Valve would ever get taken over by EA, it's game over.

PC gaming will survive without HL.

When other publishers start to imitate EA is when PC gaming will go downhill.

Aslong as there's big AA titles that do receive enough beta testing and long lasting support through patches or game servers, the industry will be fine. That and no rootkits and limited reinstalls.

 

[philippe]

quick edit there jazzmail, for a sec there I read halo.

 

[Dr.Mindbender]

If you want to be pessimistic you'd say that graphics and sound effects will continue to improve, while story/depth will continue to evaporate

Not unless you count the recent Grand Theft Auto 4. I say if you want to laugh your ass off, then go try playing that for a week. Better than any movies I've seen in awhile.

Plus the on line version is quite a challenge.

 

[Jazzmail]

quick edit there jazzmail, for a sec there I read halo.

Yes I didn't know what came over me there. For a moment I thought HL - Halo. Nevermind.