How Technology is Influencing Online Gaming

As the latest craze for online gaming sweeps across the world, we take a brief look at the technology powering the modern-day games.

12:41 19 August 2021

Video games have really come a long way since their modest beginnings back in the day when game titles like Sonic the Hedgehog, Pokemon, Mario and the like were all the rage. The rapidity with which the gaming industry has evolved and boomed, so to speak, to become a vital part of today’s society is simply tremendous. To put things in perspective, , the gaming industry in the UK grew thick and fast in the last two decades and shows no signs of slowing down with industry reports suggesting that the UK market will scale new heights in the first half of this decade.

 

Game developers have been creative in using technology in every aspect of game-making, getting people to swarm over these games. Every single aspect right from design to delivery has undergone a complete transformation in all these years, making games much more compelling and hard to ignore.

 

The mere fact that games these days can be accessed from gaming consoles, PCs, and smartphones indicates how far they have come from their humble beginnings when players were left with no option other than to rig up their console to the TV to be able to play. Modern day gaming technology has given birth to massive multiplayer games online, disrupting the way games are meant to be played.

 

Some titles offer varying levels of immersive gameplay, too. With advanced capabilities, they just don’t fit in the template of a bog standard video game. For instance, Fortnite, a popular title, is more than a game of just guns and battles. It’s more like a social playground where people log in to hang out with their lads in a virtual space to do battle and perhaps spend time shooting the breeze as well as some opponents. Goes to show how game developers are looking at using technology smartly to make games that are just an extension of our social life.

 

It looks like the present gaming technology has a lot more to give to gamers, making for a mouth-watering prospect. From Virtual Reality to Artificial Intelligence, the games of the future are going to be much more engaging and immersive than one can imagine. Let’s take a brief look at what’s in the offing.

 

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Gaining Ground

 

Virtual Reality (VR) is a big step up in the way games are designed and delivered, unlocking an out-and-out virtual world of gaming where immersive experiences await the player. Visually astonishing graphics and impeccable sound design seamlessly combine to present a highly immersive gameplay, making you feel that you really are inhabiting the world where all the action is going down. Augmented Reality, AR for short, is not so different from its cousin.

 

Credit to the makers for deciding to put Augmented Reality (AR) on the map through a much renowned gaming franchise having worldwide acclaim, Pokemon. The launch of Pokemon Go in 2016 sent ripples in the waters of online gaming with advanced capabilities. It set the bar so high and made a niche for itself, and a lot of upcoming AR game makers are beginning to think they would do well to try to emulate its success.

 

Although this year marks the fifth anniversary of the latest version of the classic game which brought AR into mainstream gaming, Pokefans young and old say they still can’t get enough of capturing Pokémons in the wild. No wonder the game has still got people hooked to it, five years on. The creator also received praises for how they have been able to reorient a game primarily designed to get people outside and meet with each other, in the middle of a pandemic. A lot of people have appreciated how the recent changes in the game have made it easier for them to do things from home.

 

With titles like Microsoft Flight Simulator (PC) and Falcon Age showing us what’s possible with VR gaming and Pokemon Go setting the pace in the field of AR, we think we’re only getting started and there is a long road ahead of us where many breath-taking virtual experiences with enhanced gaming capabilities lie waiting.

 

5G Paving Way for a New Generation of mobile gaming

 

Experiencing full-blown immersive gaming experiences with seamless VR and AR capabilities on mobile devices is not a distant dream anymore. 5G enabled networks are ready to take the gaming world by storm, promising high throughput with blazing fast speeds going up to 10Gbps, and ultra-low latency as low as 5 milliseconds. All this translates to smoother in-game action without any significant lag whatsoever, whether it’s for a single player or a massive esports community. A disruption of this scale in the world of networking has opened up a host of possibilities in certain areas apart from game development, such as launching brand-new gaming interfaces, VR and AR gadgets etc. Not just that, a lot of gaming providers offering cloud gaming are also itching to make use of this revolutionary technology. Online slots and other casino games, which saw a significant spurt in uptake during the pandemic, are also supposed to receive a big boost from the quick rollout of 5G powered gaming infrastructure.

 

Hordes of people the world over sought digital refuge in games last year with nowhere to go and nothing to do all thanks to the pandemic-induced lockdown which kept us confined to our homes. With an excess of spare time on disposal, many people resorted to playing games. For some it was an opportunity to escape into a completely new world and for the rest an avenue to rekindle the social connection that the pandemic had cut off: hang out with friends and engage in some casual warfare and banter. Regardless, the gaming industry got a shot in the arm, and is looking to carry the momentum into the future by building on experimenting with new-age technologies that are guaranteed to bring an immersive playing experience. And that bodes well for all kinds of gamers, whether you took to gaming recently during lockdown or have been an avid gamer for years.