{"id":4225,"date":"2009-08-04T14:31:00","date_gmt":"2009-08-04T12:31:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T22:00:00","slug":"headshot-a-view-of-the-future-of-video-gaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/business\/4225-headshot-a-view-of-the-future-of-video-gaming","title":{"rendered":"Headshot: A View of the Future of Video Gaming"},"content":{"rendered":"

‘Headshot’ is a feature which MyGaming runs intermittently allowing community members to have their thoughts on gaming published on the main page of the site. 
<\/em>
Video Gaming is constantly evolving. From the likes of Pong and Pac-man to AAA titles of today such as Bioshock and Metal Gear Solid 4, it is an industry and a culture that does not stop moving. <\/p>\n

Over the years only a few things have remained constant. The format on which games are delivered has evolved from classic 8-bit cartridges to 64-bit cartridges, from CD and DVD and most recently to Blu-ray. <\/p>\n

The basic platforms we play on have changed significantly over the years, from the very first Magnavox Odyssey & IBM 5150 to today’s modem systems such as the PS3, Xbox 360 and High End Gaming PCs. <\/p>\n

The only core element of gaming hardware that has not strayed far from it origins is the humble handheld controller used for all consoles as well as the mouse\/keyboard combination loved by PC Gamers. <\/p>\n

Recently at E3 Microsoft showed us that this age old constant might soon be evolving . With Project Natal now being public knowledge I find myself asking whether the way we thing about gaming controllers will ever be the same again. There have been alternative versions of controllers before; the Nintendo Power Glove and Wii-mote, PS Eye-Toy and 360 Vision-Cam all jump to mind. So if these alternative control forms and camera peripherals have almost always been received so negatively then why should Protect Natal be any different?<\/p>\n

My first impression after seeing the video was that it all looked a bit too rehearsed, too fake to be anything more than a gimmick. I later discovered the Milo video<\/a> which has  a woman interacting with an AI character inside a game in the most extraordinary way. (Check out there Video Here) The concept was developed by Liohead Studio’s and it’s visionary designer Peter Molyneux. <\/p>\n

Now there have been a rumors indicating that  Milo isn’t all it’s said to be, and that it is really just alot of smoke and mirrors . I am not overly concerned about whether or not the video is 100 percent legit,  what is more important  is the conceptual potential shown in the video. <\/p>\n

Cast your Mind Forward 10 years. You are standing in you living room in front of your wall-mounted HD LCD TV. On the table below the TV is your gaming console of choice and it’s Natal like peripheral. You are wearing a pair of black gloves each with 2 small lights on the back. Held firmly between your fingers is a pair of video glasses. You boot up your console and put on the glasses, in front of your eyes you see a clear, crisp picture of the consoles main menu. You look towards the floor and see your hands rendered in photorealistic 3D detail. If you move your arm the virtual arm moves, if you bend and flex your fingers the same happens to the virtual arm. Using your hands you navigate the menu until you find what you have been looking for; the brand new Modern Warfare 7. You press the launch button. A quick loading screen pops up and within seconds you are at the game’s main menu. Again using your hands you select ‘new game’ and begin. Now ingame, you turn your head and the tiny gyroscopes in the video glasses relay to the game where you are looking, be it up or down, left or right. One of the game characters tosses you a rifle, you weren’t expecting this and you fumble the catch letting the rifle drop to the floor. You bend down in your living room,  the Natal like device relays your stance to the game, and you watch as your avatar perfectly reflects your motions. You stand back up, and aim down the sight, as you would a real rifle. <\/p>\n

This is simplly a brief example of what the future may hold. Virtual reality as it was predicted back in the 90’s, but without the 10kg head gear and all the cables. The truly amazing thing is that the technology  is there, and with some refinements the scenario I described may not be far off. Take the Vuzix Wrap 920AV; a pair of Video glasses that doesn’t look like something Geordi Laforge wore on a season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. If Natal can do everything that Microsoft is telling us it can, then we are  one step closer  to this vision.<\/p>\n

Will this be the next evolutionary step in video gaming? Will we all be crouching, dodging and ducking in our living rooms in a few years? I don’t know but I find it an exciting possibility.<\/p>\n

Discuss VR in gaming<\/a> in the forums<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OmegaFenix 22 has paints a picture of the future of motion controlled gaming <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":161,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/161"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4225\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}