The future of interactive games
Gaming has always relied on some form of interaction. Otherwise, they would be called movies and not games. Even the earliest computer and arcade games were special because they required some form of human input to be played. But it’s all relative. Netflix’s “Bandersnatch” is considered an interactive film just because viewers get to make suggestions as the story progresses and Pong was once thought of as highly interactive. No more.
Technology has morphed the idea of interaction into complete immersion. Where games once sought to test a player’s basic motor skills and decision making, designers now have tools at their disposal to tickle more of your senses and make you give your entire attention to victory.
So, what is interactive today? And what will interactive mean tomorrow? Well, interactive gaming is most often used to refer to education games. “Interactive” in this case is meant to highlight the fact that this method isn’t a dry textbook read — it’s a more immersive, engaging experience that motivates players and helps them focus on learning a certain skill or set of information. But all games are interactive on one level or another, and they’re only getting more immersive with time and technological development.
Take virtual reality, for example. It used to be that screens and controllers or a keyboard engaged mostly your visual senses. Virtual reality makes transfers that experience into 3 dimensions, much like we experience the real world. No, you can’t actually feel the weapon in your hands, but you do have to lean forward, reach out and pick it up. This is interactivity as we’ve never seen it before.
Games are even being planned that would quite literally shock players when making a mistake or poor decision. The potential uses of these technologies, both as tools of education and exciting entertainment, mean they won’t be going anywhere any time soon. In fact, it appears that they will only grow and get better from here. Computers are constantly getting smaller and more powerful, while innovators invent new devices like the Oculus Rift to bring more of these technologies to a wider audience.
Mobile gaming also has a role to play in these developments, simply for the fact that we can play on the go. While they have a ways to go before they catch up to the power of a proper virtual reality headset, mobile games are branching off in the direction of augmented reality, laying virtual images over real-world scenes like Pokemon Go.
Are you excited for the future? It looks like it’s going to be more interactive and more immersive than ever!
