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Gaming has evolved a lot since the days of Pong in the '70s where all you could control on your TV screen was a white line on a black screen that was trying to block a moving white ball. It may seem like a silly game now because of the technological leaps we have taken, but at the time, Pong was path-breaking.
It is a far cry from gaming as we know it right now, where we can explore entire worlds and galaxies through our screens using nothing but our fingertips. Game developers have always been at the forefront of adopting new technologies for entertainment. They have access to the latest technological breakthroughs years before we even hear about them. So, what do the gaming gods have in store for us in the future? The answer might blow your mind.
Augmented Reality (AR) has been talked about a lot over the last few years, with both Apple and Microsoft showcasing demos during various keynotes. AR essentially adds virtual objects to the real world, letting you interact with them through your phone or special AR glasses. Although the implementation is limited for now, it is rapidly improving. For example, when Pokemon Go launched in 2016, it could show a Pokemon around your house. It did this by superimposing a virtual Pokemon onto the video feed of your phone camera. The current version can detect surfaces and scan the contours of your room, so your placed Pokemon appears to be standing on the floor instead of just floating around. It is a small and perhaps insignificant sounding change, but it is a step to what AR might become in the future.While, for now, most of this happens on the phone, AR glasses could be a game-changer for this tech. Users will be able to wear one of these glasses and interact with virtual objects without constantly holding up a phone. You could also interact with the virtual objects with your hands rather than a touchscreen. This tech will have an impact on gaming and in every aspect of life, from tech support to presentations.
Casual gaming could even become a source for earning in the future with play-to-earn games thanks to blockchain technology. The simplest way to understand a blockchain is that it is a ledger of transactions that is publicly stored, shared and verified at multiple points. So, when something is on a blockchain, its ownership is almost impossible to fudge as it can be publicly verified. These games, most of which are still in the developmental stage, will have players compete for objects like in-game weapons, outfits and rarities. The entire set-up will use blockchain tech, the same thing that drives Bitcoin and Ethereum. In the past, most Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) have had an underground black market where players could buy rare virtual objects from other players who earned them. This now has a legitimate marketplace where things can be bought, sold and transferred without doubt of ownership or authenticity.
A few games are already experimenting with this, like Blankos Block Party, where you can purchase Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) based on uniquely designed characters for actual money. Often created by famous artists, the characters get valuable over time since they are limited, and their authenticity is tracked forever on the blockchain. Most Crypto/NFT based games are very rudimentary right now compared to the kind of games that have recently launched. You will have to wait for a bit for more modern games that utilise this tech with a solid economy.
The first interactive Virtual Reality (VR) gaming machine was made in 1991. It was still massive for a home, but users could experience being in a virtual space and playing stereoscopic 3D visuals. The first publicly released console was Nintendo's Virtual Boy in 1995. It was a complete failure because it was difficult to use, and the videogames were only in red and black. VR has come a long way since then. It is now possible to have VR set-ups at home, but you have to have a massive room to truly play a game. The room has to be mapped by the system, so users don't run into any walls or objects while playing. It is not the easiest thing to set up.
However, if you want to experience a full-body virtual reality, there are places like Zero Latency where you can try it for a nominal price. This experience will soon come home thanks to devices like VR treadmills and advanced VR headsets that don't need a computer to be directly connected. Most of these devices are prohibitively expensive and still in the nascent stages of development. There is also buzz about full-immersion virtual reality thanks to Japanese anime series like Sword Art Online. The devices in those animations use an external link to the brain to beam a virtual world directly to the mind.
The next big PC gaming revolution won't happen on your desk or your lap. Instead, PC gaming will soon move to handheld consoles. If you think these handheld PCs will be underpowered, know that both current-gen consoles Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 run on modified PC processors. These new handhelds have already started to arrive. It first started with Chinese handhelds whose IndieGogo campaigns went viral like Aya Neo and GPD. However, it has entered the mainstream as Valve's popular PC gaming platform, Steam, has jumped in with its own handheld PC, Steam Deck. It will be available for pre-order from December 2021, but the device will be sent out only in the second quarter of 2022. Early hands-on reviews have been pretty positive.