“Every age has its storytelling form, and video gaming is a huge part of our culture. You can ignore or embrace video games and imbue them with the best artistic quality. People are enthralled with video games in the same way as other people love the cinema or theater.” – Andy Serkis
Since the very first game developed in the 1950s, gaming has grown into among the absolute most profitable entertainment alternatives of the world. Besides movies, music, and other art forms, gaming is likewise a crucial medium of entertainment. Games like Super Mario World and Sonic the Hedgehog, not only we spent our childhood playing these games but still are regarded as favorite amongst kids of this generation.
Why do people play games? To get relief, to enjoy and have fun! And it’s evolving, from computer to games consoles, to mobile games now AR/VR-based games. It’s grown to be a more widely recognized section of the ethnic arena. This can be the reason why it’s a great idea to have a glimpse of the evolution of gaming and find a sneak peek into the near future of the industry.
The early years of this video game: The first-ever successful demonstration of the video game was developed by Dr. Edward Uhler Condon at the New York World’s fair in 1940. This game was based on an ancient mathematical game of Nim. More than 50,000 people have been noted to be playing the game during the 6 months period when it was on display which was a huge success at the time.
Around a decade later, Ralph Baer, a German-born American inventor, known as the father of video games, introduced the first commercially successful game, “Brown Box”, in 1967. He had used the concept of setting a digital game system to a television set which led to a generation of players hooked to their television sets in the sofas.
Atari, competition and Arcade gaming: Before the commercially successful Atari was developed, in 1958 the first interactive video game, Tennis for Two was developed by the American physicist,” William Higinbotham. Spacewar is on the list of the very first successful computer-based game developed in the 1960s.
With the arrival of Atari(developed by Nolan Bushnell) in 1972, the nature of video games saw a great shift and it set a benchmark in the gaming sector. Gamers seriously participated in competitions to score the maximum in the game. Atari not only brought about a big change in the gaming community but in the gaming industry as well. Between 1972 and 1985, more than 15 organizations began to develop video games for their enlarging target audience. From Atari, Pong was developed, which was a better variation of the former.
Years of crucial development
To support the alluring trend of Atari many cafes and restaurant chains in the U.S. Begun to set up video games. Players till then didn’t know about multiplayer gaming where they can compete directly with different players on the same display.
The first example of multiplayer gaming was “Empire” in 1973 — a strategic turn-based game for as many as eight people. This was designed by PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operation), among the earliest of computer-based teaching systems. According to the information collected by PLATO, it was noted that end-users had spent approximately 300,000 hours playing Empire between 1978 and 1985. The actual revolution though in multiplayer gaming was seen after the addition of LAN and Web. The gaming community attained the subsequent degree of engagement, as it allowed gamers to compete and also interact with different computers leading to improved social aspects.
In 1977 when Atari 2600 was introduced, people got the experience of home consoles. This evolution opened the gaming industry to a larger community, and perhaps not only the younger generation but also the elder generation participated actively in playing the game. Although the home consoles had opened doors to a wider gaming audience due to the cost it was still not affordable for a lot of people interested in gaming. During the period, PlayStations were already in use but home consoles were more popular in the target audience.
When Nintendo brought GameBoy to the market in 1989, video-games became much more portable. It was hand-held and attracted a lot of people. To date, Nintendo has sold more than four hundred million portables. The demand for games started increasing in the market because it attracted both the newer and older generations.
Video Gaming vs App Gaming
Back in 1993, Arcades were seen as the forefront of the gaming industry. The best console games were “Street Fighter II” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time”, which started as arcade games. But when the personal computer system started getting common, and with the introduction of the internet, video games got obsolete. The main cause was the price tag. However, did it mean players stopped playing? No. The demand for games by the gaming community gave rise to App gaming, in the early 2000s. App gaming widened the gaming community as games were easily accessible and portable. With the coming of this App store, games like Angry Birds and Farmville grew and became familiar with all the gaming community. Through societal networking channels, the games went viral and increased their reach.
Online Gaming
The biggest impact of technology in the gaming industry is due to online Gaming. While back in 1993, gaming was more of a ‘solitary activity’. Despite multiplayer gaming, it was not at all easy to compete with countless people at a time. Now, however, it’s possible to compete with all the players at the same time from the comfort of your living room.
With the addition of MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game), online gaming has changed into a completely different experience altogether. Gamers can compete with different players regardless of their geographical location. World of Warcraft, an unrivaled champion in this field has about 8 million subscribers, which means all these 8 million players are connected with each other via an online camaraderie.
Not only this, there are various online forums for gamers and within the communities, they share games they like and post reviews of newly launched online video games. One can also play games of slots with individuals sitting at some other corner of the world using websites like All Slots Casino which we thought were impossible a few years ago.
AR gaming
With the rapid progress in technology, today we reside in an age where AR gaming is no longer a myth, but a genuine possibility. With PokemonGo, it is very evident to us. With the introduction of AR games, the full process has gotten more interactive and lively. The demons you accustomed to struggle with have now become more lively and you could experience as they’re speaking with you personally.
Devices such as PlayStation and Wii present interesting augmented games, where players can take part in the match and utilize their own physiological activities to restrain the movements and actions in the game. Augmented Reality is mostly pertinent now in sports games along with shooting or fighting games.
Augmented Reality And Virtual Reality have given a gala time to the game developers plus they like developing every single game which is packed with fun. And researchers have predicted that AR and VR are the genuine future of the gaming industry.
AugRay has a lot of AR gaming solutions which take away all the pain of creating AR games and maintaining the upgrades for the erratic millennials.
Ending Note
A lot has changed in the previous couple of years in the gaming industry. With the advancement of technologies, gaming has changed accordingly, and with every change, there’s always a new matter that wow the gamers. With online gaming, the gaming community has become a social world in itself. Mobile games and online gaming has taken a big leap in this market, and now with AR and VR, this sector can soar substantially higher.
