Innovations in Next Gen. Video Games

I was reading an article about the next gen of video games and found it interesting of what the video games of the future will be like. Here are the five big ideas that was stated in the article I read. 

Seeing is believing

While the virtual reality headset seemed to go the way of the beeper in 1990s, updated takes on that technology have emerged that could make a big impact on the way players view virtual worlds in the future. Google Glass, Oculus Rift and CastAR are already giving early adopters a peek at images in 3-D or projected in real life — all without a TV screen.

Time warp

Games have long explored what’s physically impossible in the real world, like instantly teleporting across space in the first-person puzzler “Portal” or effortlessly bending time in the 2-D platformer “Braid.” With higher definition graphics, new controllers and increased fidelity, expect game designers to continue to push the limits of make-believe reality.

If you build it

The success of “Skylanders” and “Disney Infinity” has proven gamers want to merge physical and virtual worlds. The next evolution for players might be to create their very own toys or accessories utilizing at-home 3-D printing technology. Imagine scanning an old-school “Star Wars” figure, printing a new version then sending it to a virtual galaxy far, far away.

Touchy subjects

Touchscreens have revolutionized the way users interact with devices, but their slick surfaces don’t always make for the best game controllers. Advancements in technology that physically respond to touch — called “haptic touch” — combined with motion detection and augmented reality could bring interfaces imagined in “Iron Man” and “Minority Report” to life.

Reality check

As hand-held devices become more pervasive and projection technology is more accessible, interactivity will likely continue to leap off TV screens, as illustrated earlier this year by Microsoft’s IllumiRoom project, a conceptual system that combined a projector and Kinect sensor to augment areas surrounding a TV screen with dazzling projected visualizations.

I have begun to see a lot of these innovations in the video releasing now. I have experienced many of these ideas, like the Oculus Rift. The Oculus Rift was a interesting idea in which I was able to interact with the game environment by viewing the game through a headset and was able to view different points in the game just by turning my head in any direction.  I have also experience some of the other big ideas like time warp through the games mentioned above. I have not been in contact with other ideas mention above to fully experience them for myself though. I can not wait to see what the future of video games will bring to us.