Gaming And Technology: Where Does It End?

Posted in Games, Technology

The technology that powers computers, such as PCs and consoles (they’re basically computers), has skyrocketed in power in the past few decades. We went from Pong to Crysis in just 35 years, while it took thousands of years of human ingenuity to get the ball rolling.

Just 35 years, from this:

To this:

I don’t know about you, but I think that’s incredible.

But that brings me onto the question - when will it end? All the game consoles released - ever - seem to have the sole goal of improving on graphics, with the exception of the Wii. The N64 existed to improve on the SNES’s graphics, which in turn existed to improve on the NES’s graphics. We’re constantly working towards one thing, though we maybe didn’t know it at first - realism. Some games are pretty close, like the aforementioned Crysis, but they are missing a few things - try pumping it out onto a 150″ screen, and it won’t look so awesome. Plus, the image is completely flat on the monitor or TV, which is not realistic.

Even games that are not meant to be realistic, like ones based on cartoons and anime, are trying to be realistic to the cartoon or anime show they’re based off. And cartoon-ish games that aren’t really based off anything cartoon-ish (like Zelda: The Wind Waker) are still trying to be realistic to the artist’s original ideas.

And it’s not just graphics realism we’re trying to achieve. The Wii, which I said before was not trying to achieve realism, actually is. The Wiimote is a controller designed to improve on realism - compare Virtua Tennis 3 to Wii Sports and tell me - which one is most like real tennis to play?

Obviously, the plateau we’re trying to reach is utter realism. It took us just 35 years to go from a dumbed-down, monochrome, blocky version of table tennis (or something) to a war simulator with near photo-realistic graphics, computer controlled enemies, and graphics rendering on-the-fly. Many of the boundaries have not just been crossed, but trampled - the leap from 2D to 3D, for example.

So all that’s left is holographic graphics (or pseudo-holographic, which has already been achieved - see here), realistic control methods and completely realistic graphics, and then we’ve reached the plateau. Considering what’s already been done, all that should take 15-20 years, at most, then another 5 for portable consoles to catch up. Once it’s indistinguishable from reality, what comes next? All similar games will look the same. Nobody will complain about games having blocky graphics, or praise games for near-photorealism.

Consoles and gaming PCs alike will come to a standstill.

Then, game makers will forget about graphics. They’ll forget about control methods. They’ll concentrate on what was most important all along - ideas and gameplay. That will mark the true beginning of the golden age of video games. Forget about the 16-bit battle between Sega and Nintendo, forget about Shigeru Miyamoto - the only way for a company to survive in this era will be to provide things that are more fun than anything before.

But what will happen, in a few hundred years, when all the ideas we humans can think of have been used? When all storylines are somehow similar to that ancient game released in the 2100s?

What do you think?

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GTA IV To Have “Hot Coffee”?

Posted in Games, Internet

I’m not one to spawn rumors around the masses of the Internet for self-glorification and e-penis enlargement. But I did come accross some interesting (yet, based) rumor the other day: that Grand Theft Auto IV (for 360 and PS3) could possibly have the infamous “Hot Coffee” mod built-into it. And might not be so hidden, per say.

“Hot Coffee”, for those who don’t know, was a mini-game built into GTA: San Andreas, by the developers themselves. Originally created as an easter egg of sorts, “Hot Coffee” was never meant to be accessible by the public. The mini-game basically consisted of you [the player] controlling CJ [main character] while performing sexual activities with various female individuals in the game. A mod was released in 2005 that enabled the mini-game for public use on the PC, and eventually, on consoles.

Rumor has it that GTA IV will have various adult-themed scenes, or missions, in which you seduce prostitutes to perform various acts of sexual nature. Yes, more of the dirty virtual big pimpin’ that we’ve all grown to love!

To the left is a scene from the GTA IV trailer. To the right is the San Andreas “Hot Coffee” mod in action.

Even if this rumor is being interpreted out of proportion, it would be interesting in and of itself to see how Rockstar Games would depict sexual conduct, as per the likes of the “Hot Coffee” mini-game. in the next-generation of consoles. With tremendously improved graphics in the 360/PS3, we’re talking about a hell of a lot of more attention to detail. Better lighting, better textures, better everything.

Which brings me to another point: ESRB ratings are completely and entirely horse-dung . I don’t understand how a game like San Andreas, with the crappy, pixelated textures of prostitutes that it has, could possibly be rated “Mature” (pre-Hot Coffee publicity) when GTA IV, with its near-perfect representation of the nude female body, could be rated “Mature” as well. The idea of ratings are to establish guidelines for parents to prevent children from getting their dirty paws on games which might influence them in a bad way: in a way which stirs poor morals upon their young, innocent minds.

But GTA IV essentially is an entire game of “Hot Coffee”. The difference in the portrayal of nudity between San Andreas and GTA IV is like night and day. I’ll be damned if a bunch of flat, pixelated textures would have an effect on any teenager’s mind. As technology continues to improve and graphics in games consistently advance in quality, our perception of right and wrong continues to become ever-skewed.

If GTA IV were released five years ago, it’d definitely be worth the notorious AO (”Adults Only”) ESRB rating. Leisure Suit Larry, with it’s sub-quality graphics, was initially awarded the AO rating for “soft-core nudity”, why is GTA IV let off so easy, when it offers a 10x more realistic experience? Then again, I’m also not a proponent of stricter ESRB ratings (ala Jack Thompson), so who am I to complain?

My coffee’s getting cold, until next time…

Digg: http://digg.com/gaming_news/GTA_IV_To_Have_Hot_Coffee 

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