When we were younger playing with others involved meeting at a certain place in the neighborhood – a park, someone’s house, etc. Games played might include “cops and robbers” or “cowboys and Indians” or some other variation of tag that our young minds could come up with. As technology progressed and changed so did how we interacted with our friends and the games we played. No longer were we restricted to running around the neighborhood imagining we were in space or fighting monsters, now for the first time, we could do it with video games. Then came the Internet and a whole new play field opened to us. Along with that technological leap the types of games we played matured as well.

Today, we have high speed Internet access. This speed has opened many more doors to developers to offer more expansive and detailed worlds to gamers. Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) are one of the earliest successes with the advent of the Internet. They are still popular, the main thing to have changed is how they monetize the product. Subscription fees are mostly gone now, replaced with In App Purchases for gear, health items, etc. The platform used for MMO’s has also changed, no longer restricted to computers, today MMO’s are available on cell phones and even game consoles.

Virtual Reality (VR) is another category that is taking off with the proliferation of high speed Internet and improved computer power. Early attempts at VR were slow, unresponsive, and not very detailed. Today, we see VR taking off in many ways such as horror games and online casino gaming. Developers are pushing the 3D technology with games like 3D roulette to give an experience that feels real. VR is opening options such as giving players a much fuller experience with these types of games. How long before you can traverse the floor, look at various machines, hear jackpots in the distance? Or sit down and play with real people on either side of you, even giving a virtual high-five as kudos?

The first-person shooter (FPS) had a highly successful leap when high speed Internet became common. While early FPS games used to be limited to smaller maps of tunnels connecting rooms, designed for fast action and quick play – these too have evolved with the power of the Internet. Today FPS games are taking a back seat to another type of shooter, the third-person shooter. Games like Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) and Fortnite are taking the quick online shooter genre by storm. 20 years ago, it would have been impossible to have 100 active players in a single game world playing at the frantic speed of PUBG.

As technology grows so will how games handle it. As you can see, just because we play one type of game today, that doesn’t mean another type may not spring forward progressing the genre to even more players. Where do you see technology taking gaming in the future?

Carl Williams

It is time gaming journalism takes its rightful place as proper sources and not fanboys giving free advertising. If you wish to support writers like Carl please use the links below. https://www.paypal.me/WCW https://www.patreon.com/CarlWilliams