Gaming technology has come a long way from 8-bit and 16-bit graphics or blocky 2D sprites and characters. We have realistic 3D worlds at our disposal where the experience is almost true to life. It is not just the graphics that have immensely changed but the platform and the way we interact with our games as well.

Game worlds that imitate the real world like Saints Row or Grand Theft Auto have become more accurate than ever in terms of physics and various aspects of driving, shooting and melee combat. As humans, our primary concern is always how to get better. How can we derive a better experience from gaming at this point?

Rather than focusing on physics, graphics and other aspects, it is time to make these experiences more immersive through external devices or simply more accessible to users with less powerful hardware. How can we do that? Gamers and game studios across the world have started adopting new gaming technology that can make this possible. 

Also, we must not forget the massive progress we have made in terms of internet speed, bandwidth and the ability to support thousands (if not millions) of online players playing the game at the same time.

Distributed or Cloud Gaming

Whether it is consoles or computers, devices eventually become incapable of supporting the latest games efficiently. Even though the latest games also get released for older systems, we are able to experience the game as the developers have intended for us. Upgrading to newer systems is not just expensive but also hectic as one must also transfer the data, account and settings.

Large companies such as Nvidia, Tencent, Google, Microsoft, Sony and many others have started providing games that are based on distributed computing concepts. With distributed gaming implementations such as cloud gaming, gamers can play the latest games without upgrading their systems. Cloud-based services also help decrease the workload on the end-user’s computer as a lot of the processing is done on the distributed network or the server of the game studios.

Eventually, it will almost be like we are streaming videos, where our devices just project the experience while cloud data centres handle the processing tasks fully. For now, we are relying on hybrid methodologies similar to online flash games that also require computing resources from our computer and also from the game host’s server. In hybrid methodologies, gamers can still get bad performance if their native device is not powerful enough or if there are too many players on the server. However, with better-distributed gaming technologies, this will soon change and we will all be to have a standardised gaming experience regardless of the capabilities of our devices. 

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies have existed since the 20th century, and even though they were initially used a lot for gaming prototypes, these technologies soon were adopted for other purposes such as skills training, defence and flight simulations. In recent times, we are starting to notice AR and VR technologies again getting adopted into mainstream games and platforms. Even a few years back, using VR was limited to a few specific games and devices but we will eventually see flexible VR platforms that support all kinds of games.

For instance, if you like playing GTA 5 but you wish to experience the game in VR, then it is not possible now officially. But, the time will come when you will be able to experience any game in VR through standardised VR formats that fundamentally use optimisation methods to alter the game according to how it should look in VR. VR games will evolve to even larger titles that thousands of players can experience together in massive worlds. Unlike games for Oculus Rift and HTC VIVE, VR games in the future will have longer storylines and will offer players more in-game time.

Similar to games for VR, implementations of AR-based games do not offer great storylines and are still in experimentation phases. AR technology has come a long way and we are able to incorporate various elements from real life into augmented worlds, however, the technology is still not perfect enough to build complete game titles such as Skyrim or Red Dead Redemption. 

NFTs, The Metaverse and Blockchain Technology

Blockchain and Web 3.0 are the future. Large gaming studios are waiting to deploy their own variations of games in the blockchain. There are many platforms such as Sandbox that have already implemented game worlds inside blockchain networks such as Ethereum and Solana, however, large companies are still waiting to perfect their virtual worlds. The metaverse is one such concept where many users can concurrently experience virtual worlds that offer all kinds of entertainment and in-game games. Yes, it sounds confusing but that is the way one can truly define a true metaverse. 

For example, in real life, we used to visit game cafes that allowed us to play various LAN-based games with our friends. Similarly, we will be able to visit various areas in the metaverses that allow us to play specific games with others in the same area. That is how Sandbox operates as well. Facebook (Now Meta) also plans on implementing this once its metaverse is complete and has already started testing while standardising these experiences. 

The blockchain also does not allow manipulation and hacking, thus offering a better and more secure gaming experience for everyone. Many in-game resources are bought with real money and it is absolutely horrible if one gets hacked and has precious in-game assets stolen. Blockchain platforms are based on open-ledger technologies, thus needing other nodes (computers or devices) in the network to also confirm and legitimise any sort of data transaction. Thus, it is almost (for now) impossible to manipulate and hack. The nodes are also randomised and thus hackers also cannot use multiple devices (like in a DDoS attack) to manipulate the blockchain. 

This is also where NFTs come in. You can now purchase characters, assets and even land in the form of NFTs or tokens that cannot be altered. Thus, your NFTs or your in-game assets will always be yours. If the NFTs are based on the same blockchain network, then you will also be able to use them for various worlds (metaverses) that are also based on the same blockchain network. For example, if you have Polygon-based NFTs, then you can use those NFTs in an AR or a VR environment that is also based on Polygon.

Conclusion

There are also many new technologies that we must get accustomed to in 2022, with games becoming more immersive than ever, thus requiring more computing resources and bandwidth. We will also notice that we are required to upgrade to 5G in order to truly experience newer games to their full potential. 

For now, till we are able to get the best game titles on distributed networks, high-performance devices are the next best thing that we can acquire in 2022. However, the blockchain and the metaverse are something that we can immediately start getting used to.

Also Read: Top Favorite Stadia Games of 2022