Authentic Characters & Stories

The last ‘techno-conceptual’ achievement in videogames was the leap from 2D to 3D graphical environments. Mario64 was the first 3D game on a console and to this day it is still the biggest selling console game in history. Why?? It presented a technical advancement that opened up whole new “worlds” of game design and development.

People can sense the palpable nature of such a breakthrough.

We are now approacing a new era in game design and development. The primary emphasis won’t be on graphics, as many in the game industry would envision; nor will it be on image recognition, longer gaming experiences, or on-line tournaments where one can both gamble AND play a first-person-shooter at the same time.

The next techno-conceptual innovation is “Authenticity.” Games will include authentic characters in authentic settings playing out authentic stories where the Player is an integral and authentic contributor to the unfolding plot. In essence, the leap from 2D characters and stories to 3D characters and stories will provide the foundation for the Next-Generation Games.

Creative teams will be smaller and more evenly distributed across technology, audio & visual artistry and narrative. Writers, artists and programmers will leverage new technology and production processes to create gaming experiences the likes of which have barely been hinted at in the best games developed thus far.

Games populated with authentic characters and storylines will merge into an art form that will become the movies of this century. Already we see children opting to play games rather than go see many movies.

Where are video games headed?

The answer lies somewhere games have never been. A place where the Player and the computer participate in an authentic interactive experience, a PlaySpace.

© 2005 Kenneth Stein One may reproduce this work, in whole or in part, if one includes this notice of copyright, and a trackback to the original post at www.Playspace.com.