Game development companies have come a long way from their early days. The innovations of the 1940s might seem ridiculous compared to those of today. But the gaming industry has developed so much that some games are even mixing in with the realities of everyday life.
Most gamers complain when a game has sub-par graphics nowadays, but comparing it to 2D game development, which was unheard of 20-30 years ago, the innovations are visible. The rapid advancement of technology and microprocessing has allowed game development companies to reach unprecedented heights. There is no end in sight for the video game industry, so things will only keep innovating. The point of this article is to brief you on some of the latest innovations adopted by game development companies, so take notes and keep your eyes open for the ones you have already tried and the ones you never heard of.
Augmented Reality
Remember a couple of years back when a couple of smartphones were introduced with augmented reality features? Everyone was scratching their heads with a face that said “ok?” Looking at a dancing dinosaur on your table did get real boring fast. But for game development companies, this was seen as the 1848 California Gold Rush. Those companies that were able to come to the realization and get on the train were the ones that genuinely seized the moment.
Nowadays, designers of smartphones are rushing to pack as much processing power into their phones as possible. They couple the best camera technology on the market alongside microprocessing achievements to fit the duo into the smallest package available. The widespread availability of the technology in mobile devices has sparked an increase in augmented reality games. These games allow players to interact with the world around them with specialized software. Through these innovations, different kinds of content can be added to real-life scenery in real-time.
When the game Pokemon GO came out, it set the bar for what augmented reality can do. Over the years, it has attracted more than 650 million players to the platform. The fame that came with Pokemon GO has made game development companies run to get a piece of the pie. Areas like android game design can all utilize the developments in hand to create games based on augmented reality. Such innovations will surely bridge the gap between virtual reality and real life.
Companies like Apple have even boasted about the possibilities that augmented reality can bring on their website. Apple is pushing creators to broaden the boundaries of IOS game development. Augmented reality is undoubtedly an innovation that will be fully adapted by game development companies.
Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality (VR) is also another innovation that is taking the gaming industry by storm. Game development companies are trying to push out games that are compatible with VR platforms. Through virtual reality game development, game development companies are combining VR headset technologies to create unique game worlds.
Oculus, which was started by raising around 2.5 million dollars through Kickstarter, can be seen as the platform that pushed the VR revolution. After building itself to be a powerhouse, Oculus was bought by Facebook for around 3 billion dollars.
After the Oculus ordeal, it is possible to see other giants in the industry like HTC and Sony all making their contributions to the virtual reality landscape. These companies are creating premium virtual reality experiences, which can create barriers for the development of VR video games. To play VR games, players need to have the necessary gaming equipment at hand. These can come in the form of high-end gaming PCs or consoles that are VR ready.
Due to the high demand, companies like Google with their Cardboard VR, and Samsung, with its Gear VR, are offering more affordable solutions for players. Video game companies are creating VR games that can be played by anyone who has a compatible mobile device. All they have to do is drop their mobile device into an affordable Google Cardboard set, and enter the world of VR.
Cloud Gaming
Cloud gaming is an innovation that is sure to revolutionize the gaming world forever. Although the idea is still in its infancy, game development companies are taking close notice of the concept. Before, quality gaming required players to have expensive high refresh rate monitors, and powerful PC setups. Beast-like GPUs are the norm when it comes to running graphics-intensive games. But, with the rising cost of GPUs due to an increased demand for blockchain and cryptocurrency mining are making things very hard for hardcore gamers. Things are made even harder with next-gen video games, which are hardware-intensive.
But, no need to worry friends, because cloud gaming is here to save everyone! Through these innovations, players can easily stream games online to their preferred devices. Google’s Stadia and Nvidia’s Geforce NOW are all online subscription services that allow players to stream games even on tablets. For those who have not understood by now, cloud gaming does not require gaming oriented hardware to run games. You could be running the latest video games that would require GPUs that cost hundreds of dollars, on your handheld tablet. There is even compatibility for cross-platform gaming, that allows Mac users to play games on their laptops. This brings the opportunity for gaming to virtually anyone.
The only drawback to the innovation is that cloud gaming requires a high speed and stable internet connection. Any hiccups on your internet, could lead to lags and breakups. Also, there is a constant delay that occurs when gaming. No matter the speed of your internet, the inputs, even for a split second, will come across with a delay. The reason for this is, players’ inputs don’t get processed locally, but are being sent to servers. Servers
Conclusion
Game development companies, through the years, have adopted many innovations. These innovations have either boosted the gaming experience of players, or revolutionized them forever. Things are only going to get better for the gaming community due to the significant advancements in technology. Simple Nokia phones of the mid-2000s were only able to run primitive games like Snake. But compare that with the mobile smartphones of today that can run games like Grand Theft Auto San Andreas that even the best PCs had a hard time running several years back.
Each innovation can change the aspects of specific gaming environments, but they do often have significant effects on the video game industry as a whole. As gamers push video game development companies to adopt particular innovations, you are sure to see them becoming the norm. In the near future, you should expect to see the gaming world change ultimately. Seeing how far games have come from a couple of decades ago, this is not at all a far fetched idea.