…I close my eyes and see cave men playing with sticks and rocks. I’ve seen on TV that the kids of yesteryears played with coins and marbles. But within the last 30 years of the computing growth, no other consumer industry has really benefited from the computing growth, besides the actual computing devices themselves. This is one industry that’s truly
led by enthusiasts and supported by the same.
Welcome to the Gaming industry. Are your gloves on?
Before we were made aware that the only way to be social was to be on Facebook, gaming 
was isolated. You could pick up an Atari or a Nintendo, buy a cassette and blow the hell out of computer generated bots in Contra. Unless you found a willing partner, you would be celebrating all success alone.
Today gaming has forayed into 2 spheres – immersive + hardware dependent gaming and social + software dependent gaming. Of course, the ideal would be immersive+software dependent gaming, but that’s difficult to achieve without disrupting the interface to the game.
Let me explain.
Immersive gaming is a situation where you wife/girlfriend/mother is screaming at the top of her voice but you are focused on the German soldier hiding behind the pillar. He’s not a computer mind you. He’s an unknown Mexican you found on XBOX Live – the multiplayer online gaming ecosystem that boasts of over 23 million community members.
This situation even today is dependent on hardware. That’s simply because this nature of processing and computing is still nascent on the web. Though the software a.k.a the game is still super – the porting to a cloud is still a business challenge more than a technology challenge. Sure there are OnLive and Acclaim is already claiming to have a better solution, but they’re still untested with the real gamer.
Social gaming is new. Its relevant. It’s powerful. It’s Farmville. This format of the game is dependent on software. It’s all about ease of use, successful connections, no time-outs, etc. Most of the existing hardware and infrastructure capabilities of the new world are geared for this. And that’s why this is dependent on software.
There’s quite many theories on where gaming is going. Companies like EA are investing on online social games like SIMS. Free and multiplayer game sites like Armor Games and Miniclip are beating the hell out of internet traffic. But at the same time, XBOX is betting on console gaming and their new project Natal is touted to be the best gaming experience ever. (So what if its only Microsoft that’s saying it)
For those who are in the business, on one hand is the opportunity to sell $1 to 10 million people. On the other hand is the opportunity sell a $500 experience to 1 million people. Don’t do the math just yet. These numbers can change rapidly. Besides the social and mobile aspect of gaming, here are some areas where I see lots of news in the next 40-60
months:
Changed interfaces
Gaming companies are already getting there. The idea is to step away from a 37 button controller and move to a more natural extension. Guitar Hero tried with an instrument add-on. But next in line will be controller-less gaming. (Yeah sure – even next would be mindgaming, giving way to search for a new word for ‘mindgames’.)
Family gets involved
This is pretty much an extension of new interfaces. Project Natal from Microsoft has forayed into this already and this new format of gaming will pave the road for a completely new dimension in entertainment. Family entertainment. Advertisers should gear up for a
fantastically gripping new WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE. Now interactive.
Continuous Gaming
Everyone’s busy. There are 2 ways to look at gaming for a busy person. Short 2 min games that help relax. And long 40 hour games that need time. The problem with most 40 hour games is that you cannot let go after a few hours. You gotta finish what you start – that’s how they are designed. I see a massive space for game architects in constructing strategic games that require time, planning, and effort. There are some versions already on facebook like Farmville. But they will move to more ’serious’ professions. Sometimes ones that high flying corporate executives dreamed about when they were kids.
Co-op Games
This is probably the single biggest space for game developers. There are isolated groups of individuals who are using the FlightGear framework to ring up their own aerodromes and flight plans to carry out detailed flights. There are air traffic controllers, there are ground crew, the whole setup is there ! Microsoft tried this with the Simulator-X, but it meant all the 30 individuals needed to procure the license. Now with the open-source (read free) platform, everyone can play. Though the communities are restricted and
you have to apply to be accepted as a member pilot. Talk about exclusivity !
