A Glimpse of Video Games in the Future | Kiwi Commons

Last week, I attended the Montreal International Games Summit (MIGS) courtesy of?VillageGamer.net, an online media outlet for Canadian digital media news. ?If you?re in the video game industry and want to know more about the actual sessions, you can read my recaps for day?one?and day?two. ?If you?re a parent and consumer, for whom I?m really writing this for here, just keep reading.

Video games, especially in Canada, are a booming industry. ?According to the Canada Media Fund, 60% of Canadians are playing video games, and according to the ESRB, there?s $10.5 billion in revenue that the video game industry pulls in.

To give you a glimpse of where video games are headed in the future, here are some key points:

You may not even need a console, but it depends on how you want to experience your video game. ?Developers are moving toward cloud gaming, which means that with any game, you should be able to play the same game on multiple devices like your video game console, computer, tablet or phone. ?Just like you get video on demand services, you?ll be getting game on demand services (streamed online).

Free-to-play is taking over. ?Also known as F2P or the now-lesser used ?freemium?, this is the name for the type of games that can be downloaded for free, but require in-app purchases for things like coins, energy, special powers or extra content. ?With so many games in the marketplace, this is one of the ways to grab users? attention. ?F2P games work on the business model of gathering as many fans as possible, finding ways to keep them coming back, and then paying money to make the experience even better.

For small, independent game developers (the ones usually not on Facebook), you?re helping a lot when you share stuff with your friends to get them aware of the game and make an in-app purchase. ?With F2P games, the game developer usually only makes money off 1% of its audience, so it?s all about amassing a giant fan base.

Gaming experiences could be even more personalized than ever before. ?Although much more research is required, the way of the future could include games using devices with biofeedback sensors to complement traditional controllers. ?Currently, biofeedback sensors can measure things like eye movements, the sweat on your skin, cardiovascular measures and muscle tension. ?In future, what we might get are game experiences that take these factors into account. ?Incorporating players? feelings (using biofeedback) into a game?s storyline might take a while, but a game?s level of challenge depending on how players react seems not to be too far off.

Game developers really are trying harder these days to make games more meaningful. ?All I can say on this is that game developers, more so independent than big companies, want to improve story, character interaction, and the characters themselves in order to give players a better experience. ?Consumers should still take ESRB ratings into account when buying for kids, but if parents think that their kids are mature enough to handle something with a heavy storyline, give it a chance and play together.

With smartphones and tablets becoming more widely used than ever before, everyone who has a device with an Internet connection can be playing games, whether they?re something like Solitaire or a really complicated first-person shooter (FPS). ?In the future, games might be the most preferred form of entertainment, so here?s just a glimpse at where the industry is heading.

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image from thatgamecompany?s Journey

Source: http://kiwicommons.com/index.php?p=14005&tag=a-glimpse-of-video-games-in-the-future

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