The future of games

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The future of games

Ian Pearson, August 2005

We live in an age of convergence. Computing has converged pretty comprehensively with telecoms over the last 15 year, and now we have a wide range of devices that do all kinds of things, making good use of every type of IT. Games too are now converging with lots of different areas. We are now seeing convergence of games with films. Every new blockbuster has a coordinating computer game as well as the usual merchandising. Sometimes games include real video clips from the films. Similarly, the DVDs of the films often include some games based on the film. Gradually, as computer graphics improves, we will see interactive films, where viewers can decided how the story progresses, choose characters, or even take part in the film in some way.

Computer games are moving into the city now, with positioning systems being used to allow real life versions of PacMan, treasure hunts and other wide games. Augmented reality will obviously make these much more visually interesting. People walking down the high street could be fighting off monsters that only they can see. While we are now used to people walking along apparently just talking into space (on their phones), we will soon be used to seeing one half of virtual battles, which might be quite dangerous for passers by if the players are waving their arms around too frantically.

But it is the convergence of games with shopping that might be the most interesting over the next decade. Shops and malls have already introduced a lot more leisure into shopping in the form of coffee bars and restaurants. Soon, smart environments, indoor positioning systems and augmented reality will allow them to introduce games into the shopping experience. Kids need no longer be bored while mum is shopping, but could play games with each other in fantasy environments. These games may only exists in the confines of the shop to encourage people to go and spend time there, but they might link to other affiliated shops too, or in all the shops in a mall.

The reverse convergence is likely too. Players of on-line games are often already familiar with being able to spend real money on virtual goods. When their here is hungry, they might visit a virtual MacDonald’s to buy a virtual Big Mac. E-bay is often used for people to trade virtual goods for real dollars. Lucrative product placement opportunities obviously exist in popular games too. We will soon see product labels carrying special codes that give you something free when you type the code into the game, making yet another link between real and cyber life.

Games and communication are also converging. As people spend so much time in on-line games, they are discovering that virtual locations are really good places top meet their frieds. They can often design their own virtual locations. This has been arounf for years, but broadband technology is making people use the net much more, so it is becoming a more regular meeting opportunity for many people. They can meet new friends there too as well as existing ones. So this is really a convergence of chat rooms and games. But we think video-conferencing technology is likely to finally take off on the back of such on-line gaming. When you kill someone in a game, the joy of winning may be very strong, but is diminished if you can’t see your opponent’s face when you finally beat him. We expect that seeing your opponent while you play will become routine, dragging video communications into the home via the back door. In fact, with a broadband feed to a large display on a kid’s bedroom wall, we will see the dawn of the virtual sleepover.

And why should games only be for people. Since most young kids play with dolls, and older kids play with computer games like The Sims (which is truly excellent!), why not bring the two together. Why shouldn’t dolls play games too when they have enough AI? Kids could set up communities of dolls that interact with each other via the net, and could treat their dolls’ games as a spectator sport.

There are a few flies in the ointment though. We must be wary of games becoming so good that addiction or social withdrawal become big problems. That is probably only really a potential problem for the far future. In the shorter term however, the processing power and connectivity of new games consoles is actually becoming a potential; security problem. The consoles coming out later this year will have power levels that only supercomputers had until a few years ago. With peer top peer technology commonplace now, and sadly also the technology to convert PCs into zombies under a central control, we must consider the potential for millions of networked games machines working flat out to decrypt coded communications such as home banking sessions. Or they may be used for very powerful denial of service attacks. In fact, although it sounds like science fiction, these new consoles are almost 1% as powerful as the human brain in raw processing terms, so a network of millions of them might well be capable of emulating many aspects of the human brain. Although no-one knows how to do so yet, who could guarantee that some clever neuroscientist and a clever hacker couldn’t together produce some sort of consciousness virus?

Finally, to finish on a more constructive note, a standard initiation for games writers in the early 80s was the game called Lemonade Stand, where the programmer implemented a simple simulation of a lemonade business in a simulated weather environment. Today with e-commerce integrated so well into everyday life, and converging so quickly with games technology, future entrepreneurs may well be able to get successful virtual businesses started as part of an on-line game, and when they have enough customers, migrate their business into the real world. In just the same way as Paypal has already migrated from e-bay onto much of the net, virtual shops selling virtual products and services may survive in the real world just as well, but the start-up costs and risks would be very much less.