Tech Focus
Gamer’s delight
Key trends that will drive innovation in the gaming market in 2010
By Samara Lynn
Gamers—known to be finicky and demanding—are often responsible for the creation of technical advancements in computing, due in part to the aforementioned personality traits. Their demands for better computing power, improved sound and enhanced graphics, as well as other technical components, keep vendors on their toes. Here are six gaming milestones to keep an eye on in 2010.
DirectX 11
DirectX 11 is Microsoft’s next-generation graphics technology. Windows 7 supports it and Nvidia and ATI have developed DirectX 11 graphics cards. This major advancement in graphics should provide more realistic characters and terrain plus superior game performance.
Using DirectX 11, game developers can use a graphics card’s Graphical Processing Unit to act as a second processor, known as parallel processing. That translates into higher frame rates for games because processing becomes more efficient and is off-loaded from the PC’s CPU.
Enhanced multiplayer
Advancements in multiplayer games are imminent in 2010. The fun of games, such as Call of Duty, is the ability to play with friends. Look to 2010 for developers to make it even easier to join and invite comrades to slaughter bad guys. Game developers will continue to hone in-game chat and invites.
3D advancements
We’ll continue to see a 3D revolution. With technology such as Nvidia’s 3D Vision, gamers can experience immersive stereoscopic 3D. High-tech wireless glasses plus advanced software will make for some eye-popping 3D. Microsoft demonstrated 3D capabilities at this year’s Windows 7 launch party in New York that elicited many “wows” from the crowd. PCs aren’t the only systems to benefit from 3D, however.
Apple continues to enhance OpenGL, to give Mac users an unprecedented 3D experience.
More mobile gaming
It’s all about mobility. That sentiment extends to the gaming sphere as well. Smartphones have become a must-have appliance in our lives and consumers want rich, detailed gaming on them.
The ubiquity of mobile devices will mean an entire new segment of gamers, namely women, who traditionally haven’t embraced gaming at the same level as men. Look for richer graphics in mobile gaming and more cross-interaction between games played on the PC and ones on your handheld.
Realistic, bloodier graphics
Improvements in lighting and shading, better performance and more detail can only mean one thing—bloodier, more visceral and more realistic games. Games are going to continue to push the limits of violence and adult themes.
Cloud-based gaming
As the cloud continues to hover over the IT business sector as an alternative to traditional, on-premise computing solutions, it also will make advances into the gaming space. Companies such as OnLive will debut. These types of services will provide video games ondemand that require only a low-end computer and high-speed connection to play the most technologically advanced games at home. Systems, like those developed by Rearden, do all of the number-crunching and heavy-duty processing at remote servers. All a gamer would need is a lightweight computer or a low-cost micro console that would handle the controller input. |