The first video game is thought to be a very simple tennis game which was invented in October 1958 by Physicist William Higinbotham. As technology grew, gaming industry also grew. Now, we can term it “a torrent” for what has happened in the entertainment world.
When the phases are filmed on a celluloid- the 1958 black and white simple 2D video game to the 3D Monster Maze in 1981, then to the first-person shooters like Wolfenstein 3D in 1992 to complex, realistic shooters like Battlefield 3D in 2011, and now in 2016, multifarious video games such as Hover Junkers, Fantastic Contraption, Chronos etc. (all in VR) tickle both the hard-core and moderate gamers. Not to stop there! Yet another wowing technology is here to take the die-hard gamers to a greater level of enthusiasm and raise the spirit of gaming- Augmented Reality.
Bill Gates once said, “We’re changing the world with technology.” But now, technology is changing our world. Both Augmented and Virtual Reality have established its foothold in the gaming arena, by showcasing its irresistible appeal to get addicted to the modes. Geeks are much enthusiastic to select games from both high-end and mobile games, that too, with the arrival of HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. The soon launch of PlayStation VR fire up the spirit of diehard gamers.
Augmented Reality over Virtual Reality….
Augmented Reality is the technology which shoots up the essence of games by taking it one step ahead than VR games by capturing the real world of the present and projects the digital imagery and adds sound effects to it. It usually refers to a more sophisticated, interactive, and spatially aware implementation of the idea. AR projects the digital objects like 3D models onto our view, to bring a false perception of reality so that we feel the objects are really right in front of us. Without describing more, we can clarify the concept- the technology behind “Pokémon Go.”
Although everyone is after the VR games now, the massive hit of Pokémon Go by Niantic, Inc. predicts that the future of video gaming is AR. VR is capable of immersing the gamers into the game by strap a screen to face approach, but the gaming controls remain the same. The indoor VR games still require a motion control, which means VR has not replaced any peripheral input devices that already existed, and the gamer needs to be indoors or at a safe place to play the VR games. These explanations are not intended to say that VR gaming is not exciting or engaging instead, it is not a standalone platform. This technology is particularly developed upon prior input tactics and has long term limitations.
The Augmented Reality is novel and innovative in its approach on how the gamers can interact with the world around them, playing games of their choice out of the four walls. This technology brings multiple benefits along with jovial experiences for an enthusiastic gamer.
From Ingress To….
Ingress website welcomes us with these words, “The world around you is not what it seems.” Ingress is developed by Niantic, Inc. and Google, and introduced in the market on November 15, 2012. The location-based, AR, Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) was a great hit of the time, although it was only available for Android devices at the outset. Afterward, in 2014 Ingress was made available for Apple’s iOS too. The science fiction back story attracts players to get engaged with it.
The newly arrived AR game, Clandestine: Anomaly is a location based AR game that turns the gamer’s surroundings into ground zero for an alien crash landing. The game starts with a warning- “Your phone has been hacked!” The amusing game developed by Zenfri, Inc. immerses the player cent per cent into the gaming milieu. The game throws players into the middle of an inter-galactic conflict. They have to fight the aliens and using the clues found in the immediate area, move forward the levels.
Reality is Future….
Facebook is also contemplating on Augmented Reality. CEO Mark Zuckerberg asserts at Facebook F8 conference keynote about the plan,
“Over the next 10 years, the form factors just going to keep on getting smaller and smaller, and eventually we’re going to have what looks like normal-looking glasses that can do both virtual and augmented reality. And augmented reality gives you the ability to see the world but also to be able to overlay digital objects on top of that.
So that means that today, if I want to show my friends a photo, I pull out my phone and I have a small version of the photo. In the future, you’ll be able to snap your fingers and pull out a photo and make it as big as you want, and with your AR glasses you’ll be able to show it to people and they’ll be able to see it.
As a matter of act, when we get to this world, a lot of things that we think about as physical objects today, like a TV for displaying an image, will actually just be $1 apps in an AR app store. So it’s going to take a long time to make this work. But this is the vision, and this is what we’re trying to get to over the next 10 years.”
This move is a leap in the technology that adds more features to the upcoming games. With more tech giants being interested in VR and AR gaming, players can expect a dramatic twist in the dome during the upcoming decades. Let us wait patiently and monitor the actions that change the things around us.
The Promising Future of Gaming Arena- Augmented Reality
