Video games have experienced a renaissance in the last decade. Not that they had waned in popularity in the early 2000s, but their popularity has grown immensely to reach new audiences and that the quality of games has reached an amazing new level.
One of the most important developments has been in the rise of online gaming. PC gaming and consoles are still an essential part of the video gaming landscape, it’s just that now most of the leading games designed for these systems include online functionality. Online games are played on desktop computers and console systems as well as on mobile devices, which is where many new players are being introduced to the world of video games.
Online gaming isn’t just the present, it’s also the future of gaming. This article will look at three of the technologies that have influenced online gaming in the past decade.
Cloud technology
We’ve come a long way from the early days of cloud technology, where everyone was just trying to figure out what the cloud was and where it was located. Today, we understand that cloud technology refers to global server networks that store data and applications for us, so we don’t have to have them on our devices.
Cloud gaming has made it possible for players to have access to massive game libraries without having to purchase equally massive hard drives to handle them. The major systems offer their own cloud services that players can subscribe to in order to access game libraries that include games from earlier eras without any worries about compatibility. The Xbox Game Pass, for example, gives access to all of the hottest releases and classics like the original Doom and Age of Empires.
Canadian online casinos are also a perfect example of the use of cloud technology for gaming. The leading online casinos in Canada and elsewhere have game libraries with hundreds or thousands of titles. The no deposit bonus Canada casinos can offer their players is a big part of the appeal for new players, but it’s an amazing game library that convinces players to stay and keep playing. It would be impossible for a player to download all the games they wanted to play onto their phone, so cloud technology makes this variety possible.
Augmented reality
Augmented reality (AR) technology doesn’t get as much attention as virtual reality (VR) technology, possibly because it’s not quite as easy to imagine and understand. Instead of creating a virtual world that the player is immersed in and can interact with, AR technology overlays digital elements over the real world.
Many of the uses for AR technology are educational. It is a popular tool for language learning apps and has been used with some success in healthcare settings and life sciences education. In the gaming world, AR technology is used to make the games more immersive without requiring players to purchase an entire VR system and headset. This makes it more accessible and inclusive. Some of the most popular mobile games of the last decade, such as Pokémon Go, have used AR technology.
Artificial intelligence
The AI used to be the villain in video games — we’re looking at you GLaDOS! — but it’s now becoming one of the online gaming community’s heroes. There have been a lot of discussions recently about the role of AI in our world and its potential dangers. While there are many valid concerns, there are also many positive uses for AI.
In online gaming, AI is used to improve the overall player experience. One of the most basic uses of AI is to program NPCs to make them more realistic and interactive. AI improves the way that NPCs make decisions and respond to stimuli.
AI is in the early stages of being used for adaptive gameplay. Adaptive gameplay is a feature of online games that makes them respond to the player’s actions in a way that traditional games don’t. Adaptive games use an AI algorithm to analyze player actions, learning patterns and speed of play. The algorithm then adapts the game to the player.
There are some worries that adaptive gameplay could be used to exploit player weaknesses, especially in the case of in-app purchases. The algorithm could figure out where a player will struggle in a level and then offer purchases that would help the player get through the level. This is obviously problematic, though it could be ideal for players that get frustrated easily.
