In 2005, I wrote this:
“It is not hard, considering the progress made in the past couple of years, to envision a technology that would enable simultaneous instant communication between all members of the group. This technology would eventually become portable as well.
The emergence of such a technology would eventually lead to the ability for total and instant group communication. Each member of the group would be able to transmit messages that would be instantly received by all members of the group. Likewise, members would be able to receive instant messages from all the other members as well.”
Since a couple of years, we have Twitter.
Just saying….
Now that the whole planet knows about Project Natal, it is time to ponder the implications outside of the gaming spectrum.
What Microsoft has done is packing a whole videoconferencing capability into a small and affordable device.
Aside from that, there is also the capability of interacting with all participants or with a virtual environment, without the necessity of a complex controller.
Possble applications are myriad, but one can think of:
- Iteractive videoconferencing
- Training purposes
- E-learning
- Shared participation
By combining ease of accessibility, and low device cost, and integrated interactivity, this application might well herald a change in the way we work, learn and communicate.
I realize that during the birth of the consumer computer, marketeers struggled with the advertising concepts they should embrace. I also realize that, at that time, children were not yet considered a viable target audience for these expensive machines (unlike today), prompting some marketeers to target the parents instead. After all, which parent does not want to see its child as precocious as the ones in this picture? Which parent does not want to see its child become cum laude students? After all, the little girl is only about 6 years old and has apparently already graduated, even when holding the joystick the wrong way.
Social entertainment is back in the family room. After all these years of being huddled inside the confines of their rooms and attics, gamers finally emerge to spend quality time together in real life.
Recent years have seen a slow emergence of co-op titles in video-games, with this year being the apex of social gaming. Although split-screen videogaming has been around for a while, the first Halo game was propably the first game in recent history that made it fun to actually sit next to a friend and play in a cooperative modus.
What followed was a slow emergence of a play style which meant that instead of shooting other people in a deathmatch, people had to actually communicate and work together. In a nutshell; Gears of War, Army of Two, Rainbow Six; Vegas, and a host of other games gave reign to the coop modus, with the recent Left 4 Dead being the latest addition. And while most games can be played online, there is also a strong support for off-line play.
This trend has also emerged in the boardgame scene, with more cooperative games published during this year. With the board being the primary adversary, gamers need to work together to overcome the common threat. They either lose or win as a group; no individual winners emerge.
What this means is uncertain. It can point towards a need to actually being in the company of real people again. After all, the disembodied online voice and a glorified avatar can only give one so much social comfort.
It points towards a need to be part of a whole, to be acknowledged, and to be part of a team striving to overcome the odds thrown in their way.
A common goal; a united focus.
It is the voice of a generation torn apart in a post 9-11 world.
I am happy for Take-Two. With the unbridled success of Grand Theft Auto IV, they will be able to keep an EA take-over at bay for a little longer. This videogame has exceeded the wildest expectations, with review scores nearing the much-coveted 10 score.
And to be fair, the game looks amazing: New York Liberty City has never looked so crisp. What’s even more astounding is that the feeling of a living and breathing city has succesfully been captured in a videogame. Driving around, a player instinctively knows what the good and bad neighborhoods are, since even the population differs from one block to the next. Truly a remarkable feat.
But with regards to gameplay, I still do not understand why this game get so many high marks. In essence, there has been no revolution in gameplay since the original Grand Theft Auto: drive from A to B in order to achieve an objective, stay out of the way from the police, and have a free-roaming city-space at your disposal.
I understand that this game resides within it’s own genre with regard to gameplay. Likewise, racing games will not ask you to jump platforms. But I really think it is a missed opportunity.
Consider that what is the foundation of the game: the open city-environment. As mentioned before, great strides have been made in making this environment a self-sustained universe, where the virtual populace goes about it’s own business. The player is merely a small and almost insignificant speck inside this space. There is a real opportunity to expand the gameplay horizon with genre defining situations.
You have the gamespace, why should it not incorporate more gameplay genres and features?
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