6 Minutes of Future Technologies in Gaming

The gaming industry is blowing up and there's dozens of reasons why. On one hand the pandemic has encouraged new users to join the community and on the other, technological advancements give rise to new ways of fun that gamers can experience, proven by rising rates of engagement and satisfaction.

Here is a summary of the trendiest tech-related topics that will certainly influence the gaming industry in the future.

Human Machine Interfaces

Traditionally, Humans have always interacted with the external world through physical means. It is thereby only logical that our interaction with machines has evolved into a format that is as close to physical motor activity as possible: We drag and drop files and move the mousepad as if a 2D or 3D environment exists within our digital machine companions. An increasing variety of technologies improve and diversify our ability to input commands into devices, such as computers, consoles, robots and IoT. More specifically, we are experiencing an increased number of projects with wearable devices.

Virtual Reality (VR) headsets have opened the doors for immersive experiences, projecting the users more directly into the worlds they are playing in than ever before. VR games involve a 3D image that can be explored interactively on a computing device through several types of controllers. Fairly advanced and immersive examples include wrap-around display screens, treadmills, wearable computers, and sensory components, such as scent and haptic devices for tactile feedback

Motion Capture Suits allow us to stream motion data into softwares such as Unity, allowing for a true first-person experience. Currently such suits exist only as luxurious indulgences with a price range upwards of $12k+ but carry with them a silently emerging promise for a revolution, that will uproot various sectors far beyond just Gaming. Examples include sports where performances can be improved thanks to such simulations, tactile feedback, and post-simulation analysis. Games on the other hand can benefit from MoCap suits for increased direct interaction with the digital world, with a unique experience for the VR environment. Even more so, due to physical activity, health conditions are continually improved, as well as motor and cognitive skills.

Innovations like these may synergize with other wearable devices to enable a user to link their conditions with their characters.

The Impulse neuro-controller has proven to boost gamer proficiency by halving the delay time between an intent to act and execution of the actual action. In digital games, accuracy in times and targets are key factors, which is why the timing is measured in thousands of seconds.

With Brain-Machine interfaces, there are two classes; invasive, which requires an implant attached directly to the brain, or non-invasive, which uses other methods to deduct the brain activity. Famous cases among many are Neuralink and NextMind.

Although the primary goal of Neuralink is to treat neurological disorders and to restore sensory and movement function, it cannot be disregarded that there is a potential application for entertainment – specifically gaming. As of today, experiments have been conducted successfully on monkeys, showing that it is indeed possible to replace a joystick with the power of thought.

NextMind uses EEG technology to detect visual focus and machine learning to reduce the gap between thought and action. In combination with a VR headset, it could allow for better accuracy by aiming at a target when the user simply looks at it, as it were an eye-tracking system.

The potential of brain-machine devices is primarily to control objects with thought. In Gaming this would allow players to do multiple actions simultaneously; imagine the experience of playing Call of Duty and controlling a drone to reconnaissance or changing weapons mentally while moving your avatar, the experience never stops.

As of now BMI technology has not reached the readiness for a mass market yet, but interesting applications can be found.

Artificial Intelligence

AI has been employed in gaming for quite some time, especially in NPCs. With the advancement of tech, it becomes increasingly easier to build more human-like characters. In more and more games, enemies coordinate their attacks, and the game becomes more challenging and fun. A lasting debate exists regarding NPCs that can behave with a degree of "free will". Whilst some argue on whether this will enhance an experience or not due to unpredictable consequences, others cannot wait to explore what terms of interaction between player and non-player will become possible. Although the concerns one might have with what a more refined AI algorithm will do to improve user-computer interactions, there is no need to worry as it is already common outside the gaming industry and the industry will soon follow suit.

Different potential uses of AI come from social media and relate to face-swap algorithms and animation effects. Nowadays it has become common to people to use filters in apps such as Snapchat and Instagram to change the aesthetics of their face. Players have long been able to model and customize in-game avatars to their liking, but now developers could extend a wide range of options and individualizations allowing the players to 3D-scan their faces and import them. On top of that, games could be created in a way that adapts the gamer’s emotions with the characters by scanning their facial expressions.

Thousands of other uses of AI in gaming can be found everywhere, from environment creation to animation and the implementation of all the technologies discussed above. Ultimately, it helps developers to create the ultimate player experience with responsive and adaptive mechanics, and voice and movement recognition to commands troops in combat or be hidden from monsters; the possibilities are endless.

Cloud Gaming

Cloud gaming is described as a form of online gaming that provides the processing power through a remote server or cloud while streaming the video on any screen, be it a smartphone, TV, or computer. This technology can be advantageous as it lowers the expenses to buy high-performance hardware or install games directly into the local memory system. However, there is still a need for a high-performance GPU and a particularly good connection. High speeds and low latency are crucial for the successful adoption of cloud gaming, which is why new communication protocols and networks like 5G will be vital.

To satisfy curiosity a brief look into the future of those is needed. 2023 is the expected date of the wireless network protocol Wi-Fi 7. The current version, Wi-Fi 6, has a theoretical speed of 9.6 Gbps, about as fast as the 10 Gigabit Ethernet. However, it is undoubtable that wireless connectivity is far more convenient for our needs. We can expect that Wi-Fi 7 would be a great achievement, marking the overtaking of the wireless tech over the wired world, keeping in mind that the bottleneck is still a cable or fiber connected to the network.

Even though the 5G network is far from being completed, some countries have already started to talk about the sixth generation of the network. In November 2020, China launched the world's first 6G satellite into orbit. Also, Huawei, a Chinese multinational tech corporation, is working on this, and it is being said that 6G could be 50x faster than 5G.

Although it is too early to think about how the world could change with the sixth generation, we can say that 5G will be the biggest enabler of mobile cloud gaming as well as a seamless XR (Virtual or Augmented Reality) experience.

As mentioned before, cloud gaming is a service like streaming, therefore platforms already exist and provide it. The most common streaming platforms are Shadow, Vortex, GeForce Now, and PlayStation Now. Big tech companies have also expressed their interest in gaming and especially in cloud gaming. Companies like Google with its platform Stadia, Amazon with Amazon Luna, and Netflix are showing signs of getting into this sector.

Conclusion

The advancement of tech is going to provide new gaming experiences, new stories, and new interactions. In some cases, the synergies among those will lead to a more blurred border between reality and simulation. However, not all are ready at the same level, and we can expect having to wait a few more years to see a wider adoption of them. A good balance of cautiousness and audaciousness is needed to integrate the right combination of technologies to deliver the best new experiences and create a new branch of the Gaming industry.

If you are interested in exploring what the Metaverse can look like and what to expect from it have a look here!

References

TechTarget (2016, August 19). What is virtual reality gaming (VR gaming)? WhatIs.com. https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/virtual-reality-gaming-VR-gaming

Brinkbionics. Impulse Neurocontroller https://www.brinkbionics.com/ Mental Floss (2015, February 24). 11 Unbelievable Advances in Gaming Technology. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/61764/11-unbelievable-advances-gaming-technology Koss, H. (2021, November 3). What Does the Future of Gaming Look Like? Built In. https://builtin.com/media-gaming/future-of-gaming

Could 5G Be Cloud Gaming’s Great Enabler? (2021, August 25). Arm Blueprint. https://www.arm.com/blogs/blueprint/5g-cloud-gaming