2014 Predictions for the Game Industry
Monkey Archive Forums/Digital Discussion/2014 Predictions for the Game Industry
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| Kindof an obvious list, but worth thinking about: http://kraigwalker.com/articles/9-predictions-for-the-games-industry-in-2014/ Cross-platform as expectation is where Monkey shines, but is also something that from using BlitzMax, I've come to expect for a few years now. Any others? |
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| I predict a lot more AAA development teams of 40+ people will ditch their publisher so they can use the label Indie. |
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| I predict a lot more AAA development teams of 40+ people will ditch their publisher so they can use the label Indie. or go Kickstart something... |
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| Oculus Rift is going to be massive... (I hope!) |
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| @therevills: Re Oculus Rift: Do you have a developer's kit? If so, what are your thoughts on it? My experiences, after the initial awe wore off, reduced to the following issues: Low resolution – “Distanced” objects and scenery appear very “blocky”. Unless the consumer version features a significant resolution upgrade, this will be problematic for those of us used to high resolution gaming experiences. Will 1080p be enough? Not sure. 4k would be better, but you'll require a decent computer to deliver that amount of pixels at 60fps. “Motion” sickness – This is killer for me. I can endure only 10 minutes of immersion before I have to stop. I'm not ordinarily susceptible to motion sickness, in cars or in FPS games played on a screen, but the Rift really affects me. Some people adjust over time through subsequent sessions, unfortunately not yet for me. I'm hoping the consumer version's lower latency and other technological improvements will negate the problem. Complete immersion – When the rift is strapped to your head, you're completely cut off from your real world surroundings. This is fantastic, yet at the same time actually bad, for several reasons. Ever tried typing on a keyboard while blind? It's difficult, even for experienced touch typists. Use a game controller? Yes, that solves issues of movement and basic interaction, and is suitable for certain game types, but not all, as I'm sure you can imagine. Another reason - it's nice to know what's going on around you in the real world, even on a subconscious level, lest you trip or fall or knock something or someone over, or get tangled in cords, etc. LOL. Ergonomics – The Rift's ergonomics are actually fine unless you want to share the unit with multiple users. Swapping lenses in and out, diopter adjustment, head strap adjustments, wiping sweat and condensation from lenses, etc. Probably easier and more fun just to play the Xbox or PS in a family or party gathering. IMO. In summary, I guess I'm not yet convinced the Oculus Rift will be the revolutionary gaming device some think it will be. It will depend on how improved the consumer version will be, but I am sceptical they can solve all the issues as I see them. |
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| An arcade chip in your brain. So when your bored sitting behind your desk you can flick a switch and play good old invaders.:) |
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| @impixi No I haven't had change to play with it yet, I am waiting for the consumer version - but this is the first time in years where something in the industry has got me excited. I know it will have teething issues but I cant wait to jump in :) |
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| More to do with the programming industry, but a fun conversational read anyways: http://www.javaworld.com/article/2084582/scripting-jvm-languages/15-hot-programming-trends-and-15-going-cold.html |
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| Oculus seems to be burying itself :( , it requires a resolution boost to solve blockiness, but the new solution to reduce smear requires much higher than 60fps update. I'd hate to see the hardware required to run a 4k res at 120fps. |
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| Some gaming Tech that will take off in 2014 IMHO: Steam Machines, probably more of a hope than a realistic prediction but I'd love to see Linux finally have mass market gaming appeal. 4K Monitors are about to get real cheap this year and therefore more popular. G-Sync Monitors could free up a tonne of processing power (by rendering slower but smoother frame rates) in your CPU & GFX card, this will go down a storm this year. AMD Mantle API, finally proper access to the graphics hardware, something consoles devs have been enjoying since the PS1. The NVidia K1, a SOC purported to be as powerful as last gen consoles, when it comes to rendering power for tablets & phones. |
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| here's an anecdotal article about small two-person groups: http://www.fastcolabs.com/3025280/where-is-indie-gaming-going ...my take on the article is that it doesn't answer the question "Where is indie gaming going?". To me, seeing the history of the older game makers on this forum and blitzbasic says more to me where gaming was and where it is going. in other words, it's not going anywhere, it's only going to mutate like any other industry, with boom times and down times. perhaps those that do well understand the mechanics and balance of coding and marketing. also, to shoot for angry birds is a little over-reaching in my perspective. that was a one-in-million shot, and yet there are many far greater examples of indie developers living on a sustainable budget rather than those like mojang or rovio or new star soccer. |
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| Here we go, from Gamasutra: http://gamasutra.com/blogs/RobWeber/20140124/209204/2014_Predictions_for_the_Mobile_Gaming_Market.php 6) Micro-Consoles Will Become Extinct interesting! i'm actually finding my Ouya MORE entertaining than previously. ....another: http://mobiledevmemo.com/2014-predictions-mobile-gaming/ but M&A in 2014 will continue to increase, spurred on by the growth and importance of Asian markets ....and the slideshow for Digi-Capital investments 2014: http://www.slideshare.net/timmerel/digicapital-global-video-games-investment-review |
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| Low resolution – “Distanced” objects and scenery appear very “blocky”. Unless the consumer version features a significant resolution upgrade, this will be problematic for those of us used to high resolution gaming experiences. Will 1080p be enough? Not sure. 4k would be better, but you'll require a decent computer to deliver that amount of pixels at 60fps. “Motion” sickness – This is killer for me. I can endure only 10 minutes of immersion before I have to stop. I'm not ordinarily susceptible to motion sickness, in cars or in FPS games played on a screen, but the Rift really affects me. Some people adjust over time through subsequent sessions, unfortunately not yet for me. I'm hoping the consumer version's lower latency and other technological improvements will negate the problem. Complete immersion – When the rift is strapped to your head, you're completely cut off from your real world surroundings. This is fantastic, yet at the same time actually bad, for several reasons. Ever tried typing on a keyboard while blind? It's difficult, even for experienced touch typists. Use a game controller? Yes, that solves issues of movement and basic interaction, and is suitable for certain game types, but not all, as I'm sure you can imagine. Another reason - it's nice to know what's going on around you in the real world, even on a subconscious level, lest you trip or fall or knock something or someone over, or get tangled in cords, etc. LOL. Ergonomics – The Rift's ergonomics are actually fine unless you want to share the unit with multiple users. Swapping lenses in and out, diopter adjustment, head strap adjustments, wiping sweat and condensation from lenses, etc. Probably easier and more fun just to play the Xbox or PS in a family or party gathering. IMO. Everything that was mention is pretty much on point - for the very first dev kit that a lot of us have. Oculus has already stated many times that the current dev kit is no where near what they are planning for the consumer product. They're also very aware of these issues are already many steps ahead in solving issues that we haven't yet brought up yet. Their latest "Crystal Cove" dev kit their next release thats moving closer to the direction of consumer ready product, which makes progress in alleviating the blurriness and motion sickness issue. Not to mention positional tracking now!! But even with this version they've stated its not yet close to what they are targeting for either. As far as controls...thats up the developers on how they want to implement that. I have no issues the 360 control pad, and looking forward to that Omni Treadmill also. Never had the need to look at the keyboard unless i wanted to quit one of those Unity3d demos doing alt-f4 :p. I mentioned last week that i loaded up the Oculus again and went for a spin on Euro Truck Simulator 2 and it was definitely one of the most immersive experience i've tried yet on the Rift. Last night i tried out this new demo called "The Cave" and this just takes the cake on the coolest demo ever and shows what good quality design and effort can produce visually even with the current dev kit's low resolution. My faith has been restored in VR. |
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| My faith in the Oculus Rift will only be restored when they solve the motion sickness issue. Supposedly they have, but we'll see... :) Another thing that would be nice is a Monkey-X 3d engine with built-in VR headset support. Mark? Adam? Anyone? ;) |
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