After watching a number of PS4 trailers on Youtube recently, I came to reflect how far video games have advanced over the past three or four decades. Not only in its significance in mainstream media, but also in its visual presentation. We've really come a long way from the 8-bit and even 4-bit era of video games. Video games today offer absolutely stunning visuals, character emotion and animation - but how far will they go?
It's no secret that many developers strive to achieve unique visuals for the games they create. More than anything, the way a game looks is what will attract newcomers the most. Not to say that graphics alone can sell games. In fact it usually comes after other aspects such as a good story and/or addictive/fun gameplay. Graphics, however, do play a role in what we call immersion.
That feeling of being so into a game, that you almost feel like you are living it is immersion. It is that sort of escapism you can only find in video games and the reason why we are so drawn to them. It's no wonder the industry has been spending the last twenty years or so making games increasingly realistic to deliver experiences easy to immerse yourself into.
That feeling of being so into a game, that you almost feel like you are living it is immersion. It is that sort of escapism you can only find in video games and the reason why we are so drawn to them. It's no wonder the industry has been spending the last twenty years or so making games increasingly realistic to deliver experiences easy to immerse yourself into.
The question is though, how far will video game graphics reach? The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are launching in just a few months and with them will come new, powerful graphics processors. Already though, we are seeing screenshots of gorgeously rendered environments for the next gen games.
It would seem that we've reached our peak. With games now looking as realistic as movies, is there any room for improvement? My answer would be - probably.
The games industry is one that evolves alongside technology. The more powerful our graphics engines become, the better our games look. This means all around amazing looking games, from their realism to the frame rate stability. All aspects of the visual side of games will benefit, becoming more and more sophisticated over time.
Let's say though, that we've plateau'd with visuals. That the upcoming generation of games will be the last with significant improvements to a game's graphics. There are still ways of increasing the immersive capabilities of video games and the Oculus Rift is one of those ways. Oculus Rift is a virtual reality gaming headset currently being manufactured by the company Oculus VR. It does exactly what it says and almost puts you in the game. It gives you a first person, real-time perspective of the digital environment and lets you move around in real life to interact with the game. Furthermore, it's compatible with almost all current gen consoles as well as the next gen's. Advances like these are a testament to the innovative capabilities of this industry.
The games industry is one that evolves alongside technology. The more powerful our graphics engines become, the better our games look. This means all around amazing looking games, from their realism to the frame rate stability. All aspects of the visual side of games will benefit, becoming more and more sophisticated over time.
Let's say though, that we've plateau'd with visuals. That the upcoming generation of games will be the last with significant improvements to a game's graphics. There are still ways of increasing the immersive capabilities of video games and the Oculus Rift is one of those ways. Oculus Rift is a virtual reality gaming headset currently being manufactured by the company Oculus VR. It does exactly what it says and almost puts you in the game. It gives you a first person, real-time perspective of the digital environment and lets you move around in real life to interact with the game. Furthermore, it's compatible with almost all current gen consoles as well as the next gen's. Advances like these are a testament to the innovative capabilities of this industry.
Whether or not video game graphics will improve as significantly as they did in the next ten years is still uncertain. What we can be certain of at this point is that video games as well as the industry in general will strongly continue to innovate and offer progressively enchanting worlds. That's good news for us.
- Silver
- Silver