Technology and the Bitcoin SV are areas that have seen a lot of advancements and fast-paced growth in recent times, especially during and after the COVID-19 period in the year 2020. In recent times, significant progress has been recorded in technology in various sectors of the world, and the gaming industry has also not been left out. It is no longer news that the gaming industry, as one of the most lucrative industries, is growing massively and has therefore seen many technological improvements that have helped enhance its growth. Millions of individuals daily log into and engage in their video games globally. We see these numbers increasing and gaining new interest for many reasons, one of which is the upgrades. This expansion has paved the way for several exciting trends and innovations to make gaming easier to access, more enjoyable, and even more enticing to new and prospective gamers. In just the last three years, the gaming industry has seen an increase of around half a billion people and an increase of about 171% in 2020. As of 2022, research estimates the global gaming industry to be currently worth over 300 billion dollars, exceeding all expectations. In this article, we will examine the latest technology trends that led to the skyrocketing of active users and, consequently, the gaming industry’s revenue.
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
Virtual reality games are 3D games that run on virtual reality hardware, giving users a truly immersive first-person POV. Gamers experience and control the games through various VR devices, including head-mounted headsets with stereoscopic displays, controllers, sensor-equipped gloves, and many more devices. These put the player in a simulated environment where the events of the game happen and allow them to control the character with their body gestures like hand movements, head and shoulder movements, etc. Augmented reality, also known as mixed reality, is an interactive experience that operates by placing virtual audio and visual elements of the game into the player’s real world, as viewed through a headset. It integrates the virtual contents of the game with the gamer’s environment in real-time. It is simply reality enhanced with digital components.
The gaming sector fully featured and exploited this aspect of technology before it became popular among other sectors of the world, seeing games like Grand Theft Auto, Pokémon Go, Minecraft, Zombies Run, etc., get featured as VR and AR games. This development sees the gaming sector as one of the first to explore the possibilities of the Metaverse. Now, they have an even better chance of scaling the revenue of the gaming sector with the advent of 5G, the new generation network with higher speed and bandwidth. The introduction of AR and VR is one of the major things that led to a boom in the gaming sector as it indulges people’s craving for an immersive gaming experience.
Face Recognition
Face recognition software is most popular among security companies, which could make one think they are only helpful for security-related purposes. However, in recent times, the gaming sector has proven that they have more to offer users regarding that. One major and most creative way gaming companies use facial recognition software is to create characters that mimic the players. This face recognition feature allows for more relatability as the game uses 3D scanning software that scans the gamer and uses the collected data to create a game character that looks like them. The 3D camera can scan up to 78 different points on a face to gather more data about the user’s looks, facial structure, expressions, and emotions. Face recognition software has also been integrated into the gaming sector in other forms; for example, in 2021, a tech giant, Tencent, introduced 99 percent accurate face recognition software into their popular games, Honor of Kings and Peacekeeper Elite, to prevent minors from binging video games past their bedtime. This time-sensitive digital patrol was launched to curb excessive playtime for minors.
Game Rewards
Different games offer different types of rewards to their gamers according to their playtime or achievements in the game. There are two main types of game rewards, explained below:
In-game Tokens
These game rewards are usually mined or farmed from the games or discovered as bounties, and they can only be spent in-game to purchase weapons, armor and to make trades. However, gamers can purchase many of these tokens from third-party apps if they user doesn’t have the patience or skill to mine them from the game. The tokens are usually named after the game; for example, Undecember has its token named Undecember Ruby, and FFXIV has its FFXIV Gil etc.
Crypto Tokens
This type of game reward serves as a bridge that connects cryptocurrency and gaming. Players can earn non-fungible tokens or cryptocurrency by playing and winning games. One of the most popular in the GameFi sector is Axie Infinity, which allows users to earn its cryptocurrency, Axie (AXS). Others are Decentraland (MANA), Sandbox (SAND), etc. Play to Earn, or P2E, is one of the many opportunities blockchains have added to games by letting developers integrate real-life economics and finance into games. Another aspect is online casino games that allow gamers to stake and win real money that they can withdraw to their bank accounts.
Graphics Design
A graphics designer is as essential to the development of a game as the person who writes the codes, as their contribution can not be undervalued. Besides designing catchy advertisements for the games, they create in-game supplementary visuals that make them more attractive and captivating to gamers. A game is a very immersive experience; most gamers care so much about a game’s graphics because of their realistic effect on the gameplay. Recently, games have seen the introduction of 3D graphics, which gives them an even more realistic appearance and experience. People value art a lot, and a game with outstanding graphics proves to the gamers that the developers put their heart and soul into the game, making it more worthy of play.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence is another excellent technological experience that has improved interactions among gamers. AI in gaming entails gamers playing against artificial intelligence bots without giving them the impression that they are playing against bots. It is done by generating responsive and adaptive behaviors in human-like engagements. Gamers would hardly notice that they are playing against bots; this is considered a breakthrough in gaming. AI makes it easier for gamers who like to game at any time of the day that they feel like it, without having to wait for someone to connect with them in multiplayer. This feature is popular among sports and other games requiring multiple users.
Wrapping Up
Aside from the ones explained in this article, there are many other technology trends that the gaming sector has recently seen. Some of them are cross-platform gaming, which sees gamers playing a game across several platforms, mobile gaming, Esports, etc. Technology has evolved fast, especially over the past decade, and the gaming sector has exploited it the most. Thanks to new inventions, gaming features that developers could not achieve in the past because of a lack of adequate technology and expense are now being achieved. The introduction of blockchain and the metaverse into gaming has opened the gate to many opportunities in the gaming sector.