so what do you guys think is the future of the games industry? what direction do you gusy think it is heading towards in terms of graphically and gameplay wise too!
Personaly I think it's kind of unpredictable because of the consumer. EA and Atari (ok and others) keep thrusting a deluge of dud's into the market to which the ever expanding consumer base is getting wise to. Not to say that they aren't releasing top games, but the market is unpridictable when millions are spent on games that don't make it back.
Also casual gaming is very much expanding, as has been seen with the success of Nintendogs and Animal Crossing. Also the advent of new Games magazines that appear to be for casual readers who aren't particularly fixated with graphics, the new target market of over 30's.
Awesome graphics appear to drive game technology, this must be reflected through sales as I don't remember ever reading that we the consumer actually have voiced the need for faster and better looking games. Technology companies seem to be making this drive anyway, it must be a natual progression.
So with that in mind, I think the face value nature of games will be graphically better with each turn (this includes programming of AI/physics etc).
However the userbase might change over time, as gaming becomes more of a personal persuit for the common man. DS wifi games appear to sell to one audience and titles such as FFx12 sell to another, more hardcore audience. This is a prime example of graphics play VS gameplay.
This question would well be realised in a few months when the Revolution and PS3 hit the market. It will be interesting to see how the companies shift, who backs who and who goes under.
As far as the industry goes, it's anyones guess. Big name houses can now come tumbling down on the back of one canned title. Film and game talents are merging, as they always have been, so the jobs are still out there, if not more than ever.
I guess your question could be better answered by a good read of Edge magazine or Gamasutra.com But as artists, we have nothing to fear except moving on a changing as technology changes with us.
Once games reach a point where it's difficult to tell realtime rendered graphics from pre-rendered cinematics (close and getting closer with each iteration), the drive for technology will possibly slow down.
Games like Ookami and the artistic expanses of Shadow of the Colossus show there's a vast gulf of graphical "looks" that don't neccessarily require a new iteration of graphical technology, that have yet to even be considered. Whether or not Ookami proves to be a success may open the door for game designers coming up with new 'looks'.
I'd LIKE to think the future development of the Game Industry might paralell the development of the Movie industry, but that just means we'll have ten incredible duds for every blockbuster...
This may be sacrilege on an art forum but are graphics the end all and be all Holy Grail of gaming? What about Ai, environment interaction, interface technology and physics simulation?
i'd love to see an mmo that lets you choose where and what you play. like if the game has different worlds where each world has it's own style, but you aren't limited to what you can do. and once you reach a certain level you can travel back to the world hub and head off to a new world, keeping all your characters equipment, stats and appearance intact.
say you chose to go the wow world first, once you hit 30, you travel back to the hub, and jump on to a contemporary themed world, where your gnome gets run over by a guild who roleplay as firefighters on their truck.
I sure hope that as we see what the 360 and PS3 can do we come to the understanding that customers are not as dumb as marketing keeps telling us. I hope we use this new found knowelege to make game stories and characters deeper and more emerse.
Sadly since we have new hardware to push the limits of and the graphics bounds seem near limitless (now) I doubt we will see this happen. It's always about who can make the systems cry the most while still passing QA.
I shall be slain by the corrupt, the avaricious, the greedy. I shall be bound to a tree outside the city, where passers-by laugh and jeer, throwing offal at my body, poking at it with knives and spears. After three days, a bolt of lightning from a cloudless sky shall split the tree and loose my bonds, and from the burning ruin I shall emerge, live and whole, the living spirit of vengeance. I shall stride into the town center, driving mobs of terror-maddened peasants and merchants before me, until I'm met by the Duke himself, accompanied by his personal guard. Without a grunt of exertion, I shall destroy his guards like the rabble they are, crush the Duke's head between my palms, and leave much of the army's loyalists bleeding in the dust besides. Then I shall ascend to the Over-Realm, where I take my place upon the great dias and watch the world rebuild itself in my absence, until it is time for me to return.
More crossover genres, and gameplay types that are hard to classify. An unholy breed like: "FPS-platformer-action-sports game with RTS elements and a built in paint program".
if timeshift is an example of a flagship franchise, i suspect gaming will continue to fail miserably, but everyone will still buy in anyway.
we need new input systems, new display types or more audio based games for anything to be fun anymore. speaking of, someone should make an audio only game, like a version of clue in a dark mansion where all you have is communication and sound clues/clues. huzzah.
My guess. I think in the future, schools systems will begin to provide suitable education to young people who will soon lead the world to better days. Possibly through games designed to replace current high school curriculums. These bright and eager young minds will become immune to the corrupt game marketing scemes targeting their demographic. The excitement of games will die down and become a common media such as movies and music. Lots of crap will be made, and people will still throw cash at it. Some breakthroughs will be made. Sometimes slowly through word of mouth as the product passes the test of time. New concepts for input devices will refresh old game types. Some games will be so realistic and politically correct, they will no longer be called games. But rather, boring simulations in shiny boxes.
ideas are more important than realism in my opinion, you can have unlimited resources and still make a game thats all eye candy but fun is .... i really hope that in the future new genres are implemented, new AI interface ( like a city full of people and they all interact, instead of standing and await us to beat the crap out of them ).
i personally think that the future lies in interaction with the player to the game in terms of AI , physics, etc...
i only slept 2 hours so i ask pardon if what i say sounds kaka...
Replies
Also casual gaming is very much expanding, as has been seen with the success of Nintendogs and Animal Crossing. Also the advent of new Games magazines that appear to be for casual readers who aren't particularly fixated with graphics, the new target market of over 30's.
Awesome graphics appear to drive game technology, this must be reflected through sales as I don't remember ever reading that we the consumer actually have voiced the need for faster and better looking games. Technology companies seem to be making this drive anyway, it must be a natual progression.
So with that in mind, I think the face value nature of games will be graphically better with each turn (this includes programming of AI/physics etc).
However the userbase might change over time, as gaming becomes more of a personal persuit for the common man. DS wifi games appear to sell to one audience and titles such as FFx12 sell to another, more hardcore audience. This is a prime example of graphics play VS gameplay.
This question would well be realised in a few months when the Revolution and PS3 hit the market. It will be interesting to see how the companies shift, who backs who and who goes under.
As far as the industry goes, it's anyones guess. Big name houses can now come tumbling down on the back of one canned title. Film and game talents are merging, as they always have been, so the jobs are still out there, if not more than ever.
I guess your question could be better answered by a good read of Edge magazine or Gamasutra.com But as artists, we have nothing to fear except moving on a changing as technology changes with us.
giggity
Games like Ookami and the artistic expanses of Shadow of the Colossus show there's a vast gulf of graphical "looks" that don't neccessarily require a new iteration of graphical technology, that have yet to even be considered. Whether or not Ookami proves to be a success may open the door for game designers coming up with new 'looks'.
I'd LIKE to think the future development of the Game Industry might paralell the development of the Movie industry, but that just means we'll have ten incredible duds for every blockbuster...
say you chose to go the wow world first, once you hit 30, you travel back to the hub, and jump on to a contemporary themed world, where your gnome gets run over by a guild who roleplay as firefighters on their truck.
expansion and freedom are the way forward
Sadly since we have new hardware to push the limits of and the graphics bounds seem near limitless (now) I doubt we will see this happen. It's always about who can make the systems cry the most while still passing QA.
I sure hope ... we come to the understanding that customers are not as dumb as marketing keeps telling us...
[/ QUOTE ]
Trust me, they ARE that dumb.
we need new input systems, new display types or more audio based games for anything to be fun anymore. speaking of, someone should make an audio only game, like a version of clue in a dark mansion where all you have is communication and sound clues/clues. huzzah.
i personally think that the future lies in interaction with the player to the game in terms of AI , physics, etc...
i only slept 2 hours so i ask pardon if what i say sounds kaka...