What is the future of video games?

They have improved and also have been getting a little too violent. I hope they start making games like they did in the past but just enhance the graphics. Here's an example.

SuperMarioRPG - Enhance Graphics and its amazing
FF7 - Enhance graphics and put it on PS2 or something amazing

Theres tons of shit you can do but they're all obsessed with run and gun shooting gangsters games its bullshit.

First, graphics get so precise that there are as many pixels as the eye can distinguish. There will be games, I suppose that do that whole virtual reality thing like in several movies and mess with peoples minds, once there is enough demand for them, but I think in terms of genres, games are produced to reflect what is popular, so war games, RPGs, and sex games will obviously prevail over virtual scrabble. Eventually, if people still play games in thousands of years, man may devellop the technology to play games with thought as well. There could also be virtual speech games as well, like one of those bots, except you have voice conversations with them. o_O mans imagination is endless, hence so are the possibilities.

I'm waiting for the graphics capabilities to be so crisp that you're essentially playing as a real person in a real environment. IE:

A) Every strand of hair accounted for.
B) Weather absolutely random, but based on climate of the setting.
C) Clothing that shifts with movement.
D) Any accessories shift with movement (IE: Necklaces would hang down always, not stick to a character as they leaned over (from FFX even... grr))
E) Everything is changeable during gameplay. Grand Theft Auto is trying this out, but not close to real. Animal Crossing was close as well, but no. I mean if you have a sword and want to carve your initials into any tree you want, YOU CAN. Everything would be possible.

That's my ideal situatuon. Hopefully when I get into this field in 4 years, I can actually start progress on this. I'm going to college at the end of this year to begin my study of the mechanics behind video games and programming involved.

~Squeek

eventually graphics will get so good that one cannot distinguish between real life and 3D characters. it's almost got to this point, and wont take long to fully get there. it wont be too long before things like like MrESqueek described. just think about this:

in-game graphics of FF8 and the movie graphics of FF8. then, see how it improved in FF10's in-game and movie graphics. the in-game graphics of FF10 look just a little better than the movie graphics of FF8. now, think about the movie graphics of FF10. almost human in some parts. thus, the FFs on PS3 will look a lil better than that throughout the game, and the movie graphics will be at least on par with those of the FF movie. take this a few generations, and u see that we arent far from nearing graphical perfection

as far as genres, alainbryden hit the nail on the head. whatever is popular will be the main genre. no genre will ever completely die out. they still make some 2D shooters (such as Contra) just like they used to, only with increased graphics. once graphics hit the ceiling, things like environment interaction will be possible to extreme levels. we're already starting to see this with Half Life 2 and others, where pretty much everything in the world can be shoved around (if any of u have ever played HL2, or whats available so far, u know how cool this can be). eventually, u'll not only have to look out for bullets that hit u, but also bullets that hit rocks on the cliff above you, or any explosions that may cause an avalanche or blast a bit of dirt into your eyes and blind you.

ultimately, there's no real way to know how things will progress. all we know is that things we become more and more realistic looking and feeling. how that realism will be used is yet to be seen

A few words: Virtual Reality - you are put in the game.

Now that.. that would be incredible. It'd be interesting.. there would have to be some intricate set of rollers so you could walk without actually moving distance.

Oh, but it is coming.

I like to look at games like models of things in the real world (even if the game has a fantasy setting.) Old, simple games don't have much to model. Look at Pong. All that has to be modeled are the boundary walls, the ball, the motion of the ball, the paddles, and the motion of the paddles. Now look at a complicated game like Warcraft 3. Think how much has to be modeled...units, buildings, terrain, projectiles, damage, spells, different weapon and armor types, unit speed, projectile speed...

But the more complex the model is, the more options you have. I bet in 20 years, RPGs will be so incredibly different. I'm imagining worlds where you can do anything - literally, anything to anyone and anything - and everyone in the world will react based on the consequences. I'm imagining realistic, human conversations you can have with the NPCs. I'm imagining dynamic storylines that change depending on what you've done - like life itself, i'm imagining games with an infinite number of possibilities and outcomes.

Now, I'm also hoping neuroscience will make The Matrix possible within our lifetimes. Completely lifelike game + completely lifelike simulation = a second life. Not a virtual reality, an actual reality. It will happen. The question is when.

But this is kind of the point where I feel that video games stop, well, being games. They instead become a simulator of life. Why the hell would I want to play a simulation of life when I can go and live out my own?

I always did like the simpler games from the years of the Super Nintendo. Why is it that greater complexity = greater fun? Whatever happened to dinosaurs throwing eggs and spitting watermellon seeds at monkeys?

Yoshi Story? Pah. Too easy of a game

It does make sense that eventually games are just going to be a second reality, and that's essentially where .hack comes in. If anybody here hasn't seen it or doesn't know what it's about, here's the breakdown for you.

This might be a bit off, but it's close enough...

Something happened to RPGs worldwide which sparked a complete reinnovation of the internet itself. Upon completion, only one RPG was what everybody played. The game simply called "The World" was a real-life RPG where you are basically in the game. If something strange in the game itself occurs, it is possible that you will suffer the consequenses in reality (mainly stuff outside the program itself... .hack//SIGN explains). Players would suffer head trauma or even be killed in the real world after a "virus" run amok tried to take over the system.

Well, the only interesting thing about that was the fact that "The World" was similar to virtual reality. You can be in either world, RPG or real, only one at a time. If you were logged in to play, you were essentially a vegetable in reality until you logged off or stepped away.

That would be cool to play though. Massive worldwide MMORPG with a few billion players.

~Squeek

Or a massive FFR, where its "not just a keyboard anymore."

I dont want to think about 20 years from now, all I want to do is want to play the stuff that are out now, then when 20 years come, I will be playing the games then without thinking of the next future. Actually, I might be working so much in 20 years that I wouldnt want to play games anymore.

Do that and you lose the ability to a) create a world you want to simulate (say a fantasy setting) and b) do whatever you want with no real-world consequences. It allows for enormous experimentation in life. Also you could set up adventures to partake in that normally you wouldn't be able to. You can live your own life, but you can't slay your own dragon.

Arrrgh....Inner Fanboy...Taking..Over...

OMGZ TEH FUTURE OF VG IZ TEH SEGA!!!11111 SEGA ROXXORZ YOUR BOXXORZ!!!!!!!1111

yes, a life simulator would probably be alot better than life itself. i mean, u're not gonna go out in real life and shoot people for fun. and maybe u could play laser tag to remedy this, but what if nobody you know can go? thats why u hop into Virtual Reality land and play some random kids in china and whoop their asses.

speaking of VR, anybody remember the VirtuaBoy? i think it was supposed to replace the GameBoy, but it sucked ass. i think they should make a VirtuaBoy 2, with real graphics and not a bunch of red lines. it wouldnt be too hard to do, really. i mean, they make games with 3D options, u just need the glasses. with a VB, instead of each image be flitered by the lens of the glasses, each eye would get its own image. cool thing about this: suppose you zoom in with your sniper rifle. only one eye would be given the view through the scope while the other remains normal. that way, u have to actually close one eye to look thru the scope (or if ur weird like me u can look thru both at the same time and have both a wide and tight angle on things (@.@)). i mean, why not?

I prefer 2-D games to 3-D games, in most cases.

SUPER NINTENDO ROXOR

i wish they'd revamp some games, like Smash TV. that Contra remake sucked as far as the game went, but the graphics jsut about made me piss myself with joy. then i discovered there was no spread so i was "bump this" and threw the disc out the window. ok, so maybe i made that last part up...