The future of video games – part 2

This is the sequel to my previous post about the future of video games, where I wrote about story-driven or interactive movie games that can overcome linear ones. You can read the first part here.

Yes, it's a video game, not a real-life photo
Source: http://imgur.com/gallery/SM5em

CryEngine? Come on!

The graphic engines of modern games are able to portrait artifically created worlds almost as if they were real. But can it go even further than that? Naturally. Just look at what happened to old black and white movies. Colorful pictures had a great influence on cinematography and television, and everyone thought that this was the peak of movies, that this could not be superseded. Then HD-quality movies appeared, also improving the factor of enjoyability a lot. Around the time of the technique's development, 3D movies appeared. As it is with films, video games' graphics will never achieve their maximum, no matter how detailed they are. However, with regard to the 3D technology, it can be expected that instead of the limited form of entertainment that the current flat panel displays provide, it shows real stereoscopic images, visible to the naked eye. Graphic engines and 3D graphics programs will be able to do more and more, their use will become more economical, and it will be easier for developers to create objects, places, characters, effects and all other elements that can only increase the realisticness. In the end, we will be able to see drifting powder, tiny insects and other things which appear or disappear in virtual rooms' constantly and dynamically changing light.

Source: https://www.glozine.com/games/see-how-video-game-graphics-have-developed-over-the-years.html

Beyond VR

But what's the situation with virtual reality? Video games have their own artificially constructed worlds with their own law of nature. Everything seems alive and moving, players can use prefabricated main characters, or characters of their own choice to establish a connection with this virtual world. This environment will also become more sophisticated, and developers will seek to engage players more. VR goggles, for example, were invented not to have fun in an inclosed area, but rather to make players feel as if they were surrounded by the game.

The next milestone in the development will be quite revolutionary. Players will be able fully give in – their souls, so to say – to the virtual universe, almost indulging themselves in it, but only as long as they want to, of course. To better illustrate this phenomenon, imagine what would happen if we could live in the worlds of Matrix or Avatar. We could just lie down somewhere, pick up a helmet, which then would contact our brain, we could close our eyes, and be already falling into the games' world, where we can control our avatars – that is ourselves, actually – only with the help of our brain. If we took action in the environment, for example, we touched something, we would receive some kind of a virtual impulse, provoking a reaction. If we were fully indulged in the simulated world, we could really be the protagonists of the story, and we could also do firsthand actions, without any intermediary wire control devices. At last, people's dreams about becoming superheroes and saving the world could come true.

My blog post will be continued soon with the topic of AI and MMORPG. Be patient.