How far we've come
 

http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/dreamcast/nfl_2k1

Just found this review for NFL 2K1 for the Dreamcast and it never occured to me that it was actually the first console game with internet playability.

So much nostalgia. The thing that gets me is that they were playing lagless football on 56k! All this buzz around internet gaming's beginning and it only happened a mere eight years ago. What do you see the next big gaming breakthrough being?

Hm... That's a tough question. I'd say something like VR, if that weren't such a cliché guess.

Ah, hell. Who cares? I say VR.

How about a Wii that actually works like they show in the commercials. I'm talking one that doesn't freak out if you move your hand more than 2mm in any given direction, or just randomly freak out with your cursor for seemingly no reason.

Or better yet, an improved version of the Virtual Boy and/or Power Glove. We have the technology now to make either of them totally awesome for peanuts. Virtual Boy = successful home VR, Power Glove = the ultimate Wii-mote. I mean seriously, as humans, our most useful tools are our hands. To be able to manipulate virtual objects like we manipulate real ones would be the ultimate of control in a video game system. Make them wireless, give them the ability to sense yaw, pitch, roll, and distance, maybe toss in some force feedback and speakers, and you have yourself a controller that gives a crazily immersive experience that would make current Wii technology cry like a small, small child. Combine with Virtual Boy 2.0 for true home VR.

Edit: Shit, while we're at it, why not add motion sensing to the Virtual Boy so that you can actually tilt your head to tilt the screen and such? Lean forward to walk or something.

That sounds like you need to adjust your Wii's sensitivity settings.

I'd also have to say that I think that the next big things in video games is going to be more direct manipulation. Tactile feedback that is not simply vibration. Most of the things I'm thinking of involve entire rooms, or crazy force feedback suits, or direct neural stimulus, (or combinations thereof) but I think that there has to be some sort of compromise that can be reached between insane/impossible and actually workable.

I think the thing I'm most eager about is portable gaming replacing console gaming, by which I mean all games* being developed for handheld platforms with an optional output to TV for those who prefer that cozy sofa feeling.

*Computer games are exempt from this, natch.

I have a short list of "Milestones" that im waiting to see

1- In-play web conferece. Just imagine, you're playing an FPS and instead of your ally 3d portrai, you see the other guy webcam, and hear him just fine.

2- Self-Sufficient online console: Right of the box, turn the console on, it's already online using it's own devices. no need to hire a net provider. (but ofcourse, you should be allowed to use it if you want to) Also, Full wireless out of the box.

3- Evolutive AI: As in, the more and better you play, the harder the game gets, as if should be able to "read" your tactics and adapt properly (from increased speed, to health to even more enemies on the field, and even things like Fog if the game notices you use the sniper rifle too much). If you dont play for a while the difficulty scales back. Using basic settings of "easy, medium and hard" just to pre-define the High and low points of such evolution.

4- Virtual Space interaction: The same as the "next wii", but instead, as gloves with several sensors on the fingers and palms, and the console would measure your position in 3d space. Combining gestures it the use of the sensors, you would get motion. Add rumble to that and you have interactivity at it's finest.

5- "Theater of war" fight scale: Games that have you play as real war scenarions, online, at real time with more than 2-4-6-8-12 players... im talking about 100-200 players versus Ai or Other team of 100-200 players. All in the same map, on real time, no lag, and using communication channels and a lot more interactivity.

There's only one problem with that idea, and it's called the DS. It's only the biggest handheld system ever, though, so maybe we could just ignore it.

Motion sensors in the Virtual Boy would be necessary, but only as camera control. Walking would naturally be trickier, as you can't move around IRL, and it shouldn't be something that wears the user down.

I wonder if VR would kill off 3rd person gaming, or would those games just take advantage of the new possibilities (and still sell well)?

Handheld Platform of the Forever continues to pwn my expectations!

It was my cousin's. We'd literally just taken it out of the box for her birthday. :sweatdrop

I'd also have to say that I think that the next big things in video games is going to be more direct manipulation. Tactile feedback that is not simply vibration. Most of the things I'm thinking of involve entire rooms, or crazy force feedback suits, or direct neural stimulus, (or combinations thereof) but I think that there has to be some sort of compromise that can be reached between insane/impossible and actually workable.[/QUOTE]

That's what I'm at least partly talking about with Power Glove 2.0. To have the fingers of your glove resist in the shape of the virtual object gives a pretty advanced tactile experience. Partial resistance can be used to simulate how certain objects deform, and could be used to simulate things like keys on a computer console or a light switch. The possibilities are pretty astounding. Vibration would still be there, but you can simply do SO much more when working with the fingers of a glove. The only issue would be adjusting the gloves to each individual hand, but that would be easy enough with a one-size-fits-all cloth knit and sliding bars across the bones of the finger and servos at the joints. Alternatively, rings or spandex could be used to hold the unit to the finger joints.


Edit:

@ Kaneda: The wonderful part is that with force feedback in each finger joint, there's no reason you couldn't program it to hold some sort of default controller if you were using a glove. Otherwise, you could just use the head-positioning system to handle the third-person camera, measuring tilt, rotation, vertical movement, and forwards and backwards leaning to basically put you as God looking down on the character.