A look at what video games may look like in ten years.

Every generation of video game consoles have brought forth their own set of innovations. In a relatively short span of time, our industry has transitioned from primitive 8-bit graphics to the beauty that was last week’s Final Fantasy XV’s TGS trailer. As a result, some people have been left wondering what the next “big thing” in our industry is. Last generation introduced motion controls, high definition graphics, and consistent online connectivity. Is all that is left now it to improve graphical fidelity? What will the future of video games look like?

As a computer science major, I spend a lot of time thinking about these questions. Technology, particularly that of the short term and long term future, intrigues me – which is probably why I chose to study it in the first place. Perhaps no other industry is more directly affected by future technologies than video games. Its interactive nature allows for the adaptation of new technologies outside of the hardware itself, i.e. the way we play. Play has always been a part of human nature; it is thus only natural that it evolves with us.

This post will look at a number of different innovations that may see the light of day in the coming years. Keep in mind that most of these technologies are still under development, and it may take at least another hardware generation to see them utilized to their full potential. Nevertheless, I think it would be fun to take a look at what the future of video games may look like a few years from now.

RealVision ENB and Current Graphics Modification

First, take a look at this video.

This is what The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim looks like if you run over 100 mods at the same time. Skyrim has a thriving modification community that constantly looks for new tricks to make the game, now almost three years old, look even better. There are a few neat things to point out here, though I will make the final analysis up to you. Look at the colors and how it closely resembles those of reality. Look at how the lighting plays a major role in bringing the game world to life. Pay attention to all of the moving parts in the video – the foliage, the water, even the particles flowing in the wind. It looks pretty great, right? And the awesome part is that you can play this right now, given that you have the right hardware (which you probably do not, so never mind).

This is where our industry is likely headed in the coming years in terms of graphics. As developers become more and more attuned to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, they will learn how to optimize visuals to higher and higher detail. If you do not believe me, take a look again at the Final Fantasy XV trailer that I have embedded at the top of this post. Of course, even the graphics in that trailer do not compare to the Realvision ENB video above – a closer analysis of the FFXV trailer will reveal some pretty obvious graphical patterns and shortcuts – but if this game is running on some of the earlier development kits of this generation, things can only get better from here. Needless to say, I am excited to see where these graphics can take us for the next seven or eight years; graphics may not be everything, but they do add plenty of immersion if done well.

Euclideon and Atom-Based Graphics

You might have heard of Euclideon and their controversial “Unlimited Detail” graphics engine that ditches polygons and instead makes use of floating atoms to build in-game models. You have probably seen their pretentious little video (posted above) about how they have found “the largest breakthrough since 3D graphics began” and how much attention to detail they have put into dirt. Yes, dirt. It should be clear from looking at the video today that such technology does not really exist, at least not in the modern gaming landscape, and even if it did the preview itself looks pretty ugly by today’s standard. Regardless, this could be where the industry is heading in terms of graphics into the next several generations... unless this technology is, in fact available now?

Below is a video of what Euclideon is up to now, which happened to be uploaded just a few days ago.

I apologize for anyone who could not get past the first thirty seconds of the video, so I will briefly summarize Euclideon’s claims here. The technology is now called “Solidscan Unlimited Detail,” because it allows game artists to scan real-world objects, convert them into little atom-based graphics, and put them in any game. Euclideon is also opening a new games-focused division in 2015, though they were unclear as to whether they would be making games themselves, or simply providing the middleware required for other developers to use their new technology. There is still no obvious sign that Unlimited Detail will be have any widespread use in the games industry, at least not in the short term, but we could be seeing more and more of this, as well as the similar Atomontage Engine, sooner than we think.

IllumiRoom and Peripheral Projection

But enough about graphics. Last generation, one the biggest innovations in the gaming industry dealt with not how games looked, but how games played. Obviously, I am talking about motion controls, and all three of the industry’s console makers still have such technology built into their consoles. Now the question is: what is next?

Here is a video.

This is IllumiRoom from Microsoft Research, the same branch that brought you the Kinect. The basic premise behind this technology is extending the game beyond just the television and into your living room. It works by mounting a projector on the opposite of the room from your television and, through analyzing the geometry of the room and its furniture, projecting images onto the walls and floor that can alter the gaming experience. There is a wide range of different uses for this in games, from changing the lighting of the room to match the mood of a particular game area to seeing particles fly out of your television screen and into the room itself.

Of all the technologies mentioned in this blog post, this is easily one of my favorites. It just seems like a natural evolution of what we have come to expect from new gaming technologies, and as a big fan of both 3D and playing video games in the dark (I know, that is a weird combination of things to like), this seems right up my alley. The best thing is, of course, that this technology technically already exists, but Microsoft says that it is far too expensive for the average consumer. It is then only a matter of time before IllumiRoom becomes a part of the Xbox family alongside the Kinect.

Oculus Rift and Virtual Reality

Meanwhile, another company is trying a different approach to extending the gameplay experience to the play. Surely by now you have heard of the Oculus Rift, a wonky piece of headgear that you can wear over your eyes in order to virtually transport the player into another world. I have personally yet to try out the technology myself (though I do know a few people who own development kits… maybe I should get onto that), it is easy to see how the Oculus Rift and similar products can have a profound impact on the video games industry. At least one of the major gaming platform makers (Sony) is creating a virtual reality headset of their own, and with the acquisition of Oculus by Facebook earlier this year, things can only get bigger and bigger.

Now, the downside of something like the Oculus Rift is that you look like an idiot using it. It also undermines some of the things gamers love the most like couch multiplayer. Another issue that is blatantly obvious is that not every type of game benefits from this technology. That did not stop a bunch of old people from gawking at how cool it is though…

I honestly do not know what place Oculus Rift has in the future or whether it will ever become a mass-market product like the Wii Fit Balance Board or the Kinect. Of course, there is much more use for virtual reality outside of the gaming landscape though, so perhaps Oculus has a future there.

Outerra and Fractal Processing

I am sorry if you expected some grand finale to this blog post because Outerra is not necessarily the most impressive thing out there, but boy does it look cool. Watch this video and prepare to be mesmerized.

Outerra is a planetary rendering engine, which according to the website allows for “seamless planet rendering from space down to the surface.” It uses fractal algorithms to procedurally refine planetary details like biomes and vegetation without the need for high processing power. Even though procedural generation is already a thing that exists (the main example being Minecraft) and it may not look particularly impressive, with games like Destiny out now and others like No Man’s Sky and Mass Effect 4 in the works, the idea of rendering large planets in a matter of seconds is suddenly very appealing. The coolest thing is that you can try the technology out right now with a Windows PC.

Is it not amazing how far we have progressed in the world of gaming technologies? We are in need of engines that render entire planets now, for goodness sake! It really makes me excited to see what the future holds for us as gamers, and especially for game creators around the world. To imagine what games could look like in ten years! Of course, there are many new gaming technologies created every day, and there is no way for me to go through all of them in one day, but if you are interested in this sort of stuff (and this may be the computer scientist in me speaking), I implore you to check some more of this awesome stuff out. The future is bright people, and I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Which one of these technologies is your favorite? What do you think video games will look like in ten years? Discuss in the comments below!