the future of gaming essay

Exploring the future of gaming

The changing face of gaming

The gaming market just keeps getting bigger. It has surpassed movies and music—combined. It is popular in every corner of the globe, with all ages, and with all demographic groups. Gamers are spending more and more time engaged in play, and increasingly it’s a social and community activity. The limits on this growth remain uncharted.

This ongoing market expansion has huge implications for the many businesses operating within the gaming ecosystem, including developers, distributors, content creators, and game platforms. In our first essay in the series, Gaming: The next super platform , we explore the industry’s rapidly growing revenue streams, the drivers of growth, the changing demographics of the gaming universe, and the increasing importance of gaming’s social interactions.

In our second essay, Playing for everyone! , find out why the gaming industry needs to offer the right experiences for all players – new and old – where we uncover opportunities for game platforms and content ecosystems to differentiate end-to-end experiences.

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The Next 10

Predicting the future of games is a fool’s errand, but let’s try anyway.

We asked a handful of experts to give their best guesses on where gaming is going in the next decade

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To celebrate Polygon’s 10th anniversary, we’re rolling out a special issue: The Next 10 , a consideration of what games and entertainment will become over the next decade from some of our favorite artists and writers. Here, freelance writer Khee Hoon Chan digs into the challenges of predicting what directions the game industry will go.

When speculating about the future of anything, there’s a chance predictions will appear dated in hindsight. Take the concept of retrofuturism; despite its quaint, kitschy charm, its aesthetics feel rather (and sometimes deliberately) antiquated: curved geometric designs, chunky phones, and nuclear-powered zeppelins. That’s because the movement was influenced by ’50s- and ’60s-era design and tech trends, which were then extrapolated into the distant future. This datedness is a pitfall Chris Novak is wary of falling into when discussing the shape of gaming a decade from now — especially if that talk were to stem from current gaming trends.

“If you just look at gaming through [the generations of consoles], and you think about the things that became blockbuster hits or blockbuster breakouts […] if you were to try and predict what the one in the next generation would be based on the current generation, you’re basically always going to be wrong,” says Novak. “That’s the one thing history has shown: Nobody expected motion controls; nobody expected all of these things.”

As the former head of Xbox research and design, Novak has a breadth of industry experiences to draw from, having led the user experience journey across gaming at Microsoft for nearly 20 years, and overseeing projects such as Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live. He suggests that it’s more realistic to deliberate over the future of player verbs: the act of play, discover, share, create, and more. He also feels that conversations around trending topics such as the metaverse and blockchain gaming are akin to talking about product and technical features, which are simply “not as existential” as discussions revolving around, for instance, designing future hardware around sustainability.

To celebrate Polygon’s 10th anniversary, we’re spending a week looking 10 years into the future , bringing in experts to predict what games and entertainment will be like in another decade. Check it out !

Johnny Hou, CEO of gaming PC manufacturer NZXT, agrees. “Talking about Web3 and the metaverse is like, I don’t know, 20 years ago or 15 years ago when people were talking about MMOs. [...] It’s a feature, and just because you made a MMO doesn’t mean it makes it a good MMO,” says Hou. “Web3 has this whole blockchain element behind it, and crypto is very exciting, and [there are] a lot of potential opportunities to make money. But from the perspective of a gamer, it just goes back to content.”

Hou defines that content as the next generation of games over the next 10 years. Quake , for instance, led to the WASD gaming configuration now used by PC players everywhere. The popularity of MOBA games, the likes of DOTA and League of Legends , has influenced streaming culture . Then there is the battle royale genre popularized by DayZ , PUBG, and Fortnite , the latter inspiring conversations about what it means to build a modern-day metaverse. Whatever platforms or hardware will come after will naturally be created to support the next big thing in games. “What’s next after MOBA? Is that battle royale?” Hou asks. “[Even] battle royale is really played out now. MOBA is obviously here but, like, what’s next? What’s the next innovation when it comes to gameplay?”

What this means is that designing future hardware, specifically targeted for gaming, can be a sizable challenge, especially when you can’t be sure what you’re designing for. Carl Ledbetter, partner director of device design at Microsoft (and, perhaps most famously, the inventor of the rubber wheel between the left and right mouse buttons), explains that some key considerations for designing gaming hardware include the technology powering the hardware, the design that can house this tech, and the input device — or controller — that is most compatible with the platform. Yet, all of these take a back seat to games; hardware will still have to be dependent on the sorts of games being developed in this not-so-distant future. “The conversation always starts with the games first. What is the game? How does the gamer engage with the game? What is the core of the game? Is it a short, snackable type of game, where you just want to get in and get out [like a] time-filler, or is it about ultimate immersion, where you want to really dive deep into the game and experience it with all it has to offer?” Ledbetter says.

And the answer can be a heady one to grasp. After all, one of the most viral games in recent months has been Trombone Champ , which is about the absurdity of playing classical pieces on the trombone. Not only did it inspire a hilarious glut of poorly performed covers; players were also crafting their own handmade trombones and controllers to blow along to these songs in Trombone Champ .

Yet as much as we love weird hardware, it feels like a safe bet that Nintendo’s next console won’t be based around a trombone. According to experts we spoke to, though, a handful of current trends seem like they will impact how games will evolve over the next decade.

Cloud gaming won’t be going away

Despite the unceremonious demise of Google Stadia in September, industry veterans we spoke to remain optimistic about the potential of cloud gaming. In a decade or so, gaming may very well become a pastime that will become increasingly accessible to more players due to the cloud. “What will evolve is the availability of people to access these more high-end gaming experiences,” says Hou. This has the capacity to change the way people can access more expensive hardware. “Maybe it’s not in the conventional way [...] in terms of [buying] a very powerful computer for the same price as a console, because I think that might be challenging, but [...] things like, I pay a monthly fee for a computer in a cloud that allows me to have access to a $2000 machine, for only 20 bucks a month ... That is actually very similar in terms of affordability.”

And for Marc Whitten, senior vice president and general manager of Unity, cloud gaming will continue to have a presence in the near future, while also further enabling game development. “The cloud is a tool set for creating the games themselves, [and] I think will be much more advanced.” Bringing up Microsoft Flight Simulator as an example, he points out how it leveraged geographic information system data to construct photorealistic images (“AI meets some form of mapping of the entire world”), thus creating an incredibly immersive experience for flight simulator enthusiasts. “It’s going to be that you can rely on extremely rich cloud services, and [...] I just believe there’s going to be a digital twin of everything in the world, like that whatever you think of, there will be digital versions of it.”

Live-service games will be everywhere

The rise of live-service games — that is, games with frequently updated and seasonal content — will likely also continue in the near future. “All games are live games [in the future],” Whitten predicts. “They’re live experiences, and it’s about a continually evolving experience that’s launched from the creator, but built as much from the community playing with it and evolving over time. The idea that they’re almost […] live destinations. But that trend, which I think changes design, it changes how people play, it changes how they think about the time and the game, and I think it’ll just continue to grow over the next 10 years.” Ledbetter, too, also brought up Minecraft’s content updates as an example, stating that this trend will continue to make future games more engaging.

More broadly, Whitten shares that this will lead to a sea change in how toxicity and player safety are being managed in the near future. “If you go back to my first trend, everything’s going to be a live game, and it’s about multiple people playing together,” he explains. ”You don’t run multiplayer services without a significant part of what you spend time on being, How do you evolve those services? And it’s a constant evolution, again, because players interact in new ways as the platform continues.” New technology, as Whitten suggested, may nudge this development along, such as using AI to “automatically find toxicity and field better controls.” While there may be an undercurrent of cynicism over such efforts — gaming toxicity has only peaked over the past few years — it’s imperative that game companies prioritize this change.

“[Managing toxicity] will be a challenge 10 years from now. [...] And if you put enough [players] together, you have to build systems that support making sure that the right tools are there to help protect people,” says Whitten.

Improved graphics, better (and badder) explosions

According to Novak, special effects like explosions are likely to be much more impressive in a decade — and more realistic, thanks to improved physics simulations. Play as a mage, set a distant town on fire with lightning, and watch gargantuan structures and towers crumble in real time, reduced to mere bricks in seconds. It’s a difficult technical feat to pull off for now, but this may just be possible not too far down the road. “The actual mechanics of playing a game are often limited by the CPU, not the GPU,” adds Novak. “It always comes to trying to do more advanced simulation. Making a bunch more enemies [become] very intelligent, making a lot of the world act ‘more real,’ doing much more sophisticated physics, being able to do things outside of where you can see. Doing all of that simulation is actually very, very hard, and typically it’s completely faked in games.”

At the same time, the upward trajectory of gaming graphics will most likely continue even a decade from now. Rendering capabilities will improve, Ledbetter notes, which means “more realism, faster frame rates and higher resolution, and even the ability to render people and faces and expressions.”

Community content will take center stage

Immaculate graphics and realistic explosions aside, Novak sees the next decade of gaming as defined by content generation. This runs the gamut of gaming content that’s more than just commercially produced, but also thrives among the community. What this translates to is activities like streaming and modding — which will only become more prevalent — but also something as simple as crafting short clips out of games so they can be shared on social platforms among small groups of friends. “If there was one change that I think is going to happen, it’s that creation, what it means to create — that entire process will be upended completely,” he says. “Right now there’s a lot of effort on the tooling — the tools that you need to create things — whether it be a video or an in-game mod. The tooling to create things for games is getting much better.”

Rather than just TikTok compilations crafted to the likes of content like “the biggest fails in gaming,” Novak is envisioning a gaming future where community content creation will be democratized and personalized. “Why can’t it be as easy as, you know, if there’s a funny line of dialogue that I want to create because it would be great in-joke between me and my friends in this game, I should be able to create that on my phone and insert that into a game?” he explains. And as such tools become more advanced, this can translate to a much more widespread culture of game modding. “Historically, DOTA was a mod, Counter-Strike was a mod. There have been mods over time, which have become games bigger than even the game they were founded within. That will no longer be an outlier event. You will now see content being published more and more into games.”

This accessibility can also be extended to game discoverability. Instead of just scrolling through web pages of games categorized strictly by their genre, players can instead look for games they like in a more intuitive manner. “The players won’t just be able to find another game. They’ll be able to find things within a game that they enjoy when they do their search, when that discovery option is in front of them,” Novak elaborates. “Imagine the power of being able to simply say, ‘Hey, show me games of great boss battles,’ ‘Show me the games that contributed to the game modes in this game that I love,’ ‘Show me just game modes that I would love.’”

Deliberating the future of games — an exercise that encompasses an astounding variety of interactivity and experiences — can feel like a nebulous thought experiment at times. Perhaps the next big thing in gaming is a wearable tech that’s as diminutive as contact lenses, easily fitted over the curvature of your eyes, allowing you to plug into virtual reality almost instantaneously. Or perhaps it’s simply a new take on first-person shooters that will let players gradually decimate their fragile environments till only the void remains. Such progress can be difficult to predict, but one thing is for sure: Past generations of games have at least shown that unexpected developments will continue to lie in wait.

“I think we will absolutely start to see things like artificial intelligence, the metaverse, game content, and the delivery of content come together in ways that we just started to understand today,” says Ledbetter. “I don’t think we’ll actually be all the way there yet in 10 years, but it’s going to be very different than how it is today. Actually, I think it’s going to be amazing.”

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Article Contents

• THE NEXT-GEN IS ALREADY HERE
• WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF GAMING?
• CLOUD GAMING
• AUGMENTED REALITY (AR)
• ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
• THE METAVERSE
• < Previous

What is the Future of Gaming?

• Article contents
• Figures & tables
• Supplementary Data

Buddhika Jayasingha, What is the Future of Gaming?, ITNOW , Volume 64, Issue 3, Autumn 2022, Pages 8–9, https://doi.org/10.1093/combul/bwac073

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The gaming industry is changing, and it’s changing fast, writes Buddhika Jayasingha, an IT specialist at Future Fish. Before we know it we’ll be playing new types of games in ways we’d never previously imagined.

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The Changing Face of Video Games and Video Gamers: Future Directions in the Scientific Study of Video Game Play and Cognitive Performance

• Published: 31 March 2017
• Volume 1 , pages 280–294, ( 2017 )

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• Gillian Dale 1 &
• C. Shawn Green 1  

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Research into the perceptual, attentional, and cognitive benefits of playing video games has exploded over the past several decades. However, the methodologies in use today are becoming outdated, as both video games and the gamers themselves are constantly evolving. The purpose of this commentary is to highlight some of the ongoing changes that are occurring in the video game industry, as well as to discuss how these changes may affect research into the effects of gaming on perception, attention, and cognition going forward. The commentary focuses on two main areas: (1) the ways in which video games themselves have changed since the early 2000s, including the rise of various “hybrid” genres, the emergence of distinct new genres, and the increasing push toward online/open-world games, and (2) how video game players have changed since the early 2000s, including shifts in demographics, the decreasing specialization of gamers, and the fact that gamers today now have a long gaming history. In all cases, we discuss possible changes in the methods used to study the impact of video games on cognitive performance that these shifts in the gaming landscape necessitate.

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Dale, G., Shawn Green, C. The Changing Face of Video Games and Video Gamers: Future Directions in the Scientific Study of Video Game Play and Cognitive Performance. J Cogn Enhanc 1 , 280–294 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41465-017-0015-6

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How 5G Will Impact the Future of Gaming Technology

For gamers, Christmas comes once every seven years.

That’s about how long it takes for Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo to design, develop and release new consoles. PC gamers are able to stick closer to the actual calendar year, thanks to the fact that they can upgrade their “rigs” in a piecemeal fashion following the release of new graphics cards, processors, memory and other components.

For years, the gaming industry has followed this cycle, where evolution centers on how quickly console makers and computer companies can roll out new hardware. But that cycle is about to be broken by 5G. 

For the gaming industry, 5G has the potential to do more than enable gamers to download massive titles in minutes and make lag a relic of the past. The next-generation cellular network could lead to a dynamic shift in how and where video games are played , with gamers able to choose between playing on traditional consoles or streaming the latest releases to their smartphone, tablet or TV. Mobile gaming will also stand to benefit, as developers become unbound by the technical limits of smartphones.

The race to build the first 5G-capable console could come down to a single company and whether or not they believe the opportunity to become the industry’s new standard-bearer for innovation outweighs the costs. 

Bringing Gameplay and Game Development to the Cloud

In October 2018, Electronic Arts announced “Project Atlas,” a cloud-based video game streaming service and development platform. In a lengthy blog post, CTO Ken Moss detailed the company’s vision for the platform, including multiplayer games with thousands of players on maps that thousands of kilometers, terrain-building algorithms that simplify the process of creating realistic in-game worlds, and hyper-realistic graphics. 

If this all sounds incredibly aspirational, that’s because it is. Even still, Moss said in a 2018 interview with Variety that a future where games are streamed from the cloud, and developed on it too, isn’t so far away.

“I think people are underestimating how soon this will happen,” Moss told Variety. “There are two trends driving this. Number one is cloud capabilities. There is amazing public cloud investment happening. The second trend is 5G. When 5G comes, and it is coming fast, it’s going to make this a no-brainer. We will have very high bandwidth and very low latency.”  

What Does the Future of Gaming Look Like? From VR to AI, These Are the Technologies to Watch

Time has proven Moss’ prediction correct. Staida, Google’s gaming streaming service, launched in November 2019, while GeForce Now, a rival platform from graphics card company NVIDIA, went live this past February. A release date hasn’t been announced yet for xCloud, but Microsoft has been publicly testing its streaming service since October 2019. EA hasn’t provided an update on Project Atlas’ development since announcing a two-week public beta back in the fall of 2019.

For EA, there doesn’t appear to be any need to rush Project Atlas out the door. If anything, an extended development timeline should benefit the company, giving it more time for 5G networks around the globe to come online. In its hands-on test of Project Atlas, PCMag noted that games aren’t yet running at full power due to how much data is needed to stream 4K video. Once the switch to 5G is complete, gamers should have more than enough speed and bandwidth to stream high-quality console games to their tablets, smartphones and TVs. 

Console-Quality Smartphone Games

The year is 2010 and Facebook users around the world are getting invitations to visit virtual farms, play poker and join mafias. “Farmville,” “Zynga Poker” and “Mafia Wars” were all wildly popular among Facebook users in the late 2000s and early 2010s, with each title boasting tens of millions of monthly players at their peaks. The success of these games, among others, catapulted Zynga from a gaming startup to a publicly traded company in just four years.

Zynga initially struggled to capitalize on the growth of smartphone gaming, but in 2016, Frank Gibeau, who previously served as executive vice president of EA Mobile, joined the company as CEO and began a mobile-first turnaround project. More than 90 percent of the company’s revenue is derived from mobile gaming, which Gibeau expects will be completely transformed by the widespread roll out of 5G.

“5G is going to be a real tailwind for growth in mobile,” said Gibeau in an interview with Bloomberg. “You’ll be able to have games that are zero downloads where you can play them right over the air and never have them installed on your phone. If you’re looking at an ad on Instagram you’ll be able to touch that ad and quickly be able to play the game without having to go to the App Store.”

Gibeau is referring to the ability to stream games directly to smartphones. If 5G is capable of reaching its full potential, people will be able to stream console-quality games onto their smartphones. For Zynga and other mobile gaming companies, 5G could serve as a springboard for launching new franchises that combine the addictive nature of mobile games with the cinematic quality and advanced gameplay mechanics of console titles.

“When you look at the history of games over the last years, anytime game developers were given [an even bigger] bandwidth, they innovated in ways they didn’t expect,” Gibeau told CNBC.

The World’s First 5G Console

Both Sony and Microsoft have yet to mention whether their new consoles will be 5G-capable, but it wouldn’t be surprising if both the PS5 and Xbox Series X shipped without any ability to connect to the new cellular network at all. 

At the moment, 5G doesn’t exactly make sense for Sony or Microsoft. Their consoles are designed to be played at home, which gives gamers the option to plug them directly into their wireless routers if they need more speed. Then there’s the antenna issue: Lenovo crammed nine antennas into its new 5G laptop to ensure users would have the strongest signal possible.

While 5G-capable consoles may not make sense at the moment for Sony and Microsoft, it’s a different story for Nintendo. The Nintendo Switch is designed to be played on the go and could benefit from offering gamers the ability to tap into 5G networks. Ko Shiota, a director of Nintendo’s hardware division, said in a shareholder Q&A last summer that the company is keeping an eye on the technology.

“5G can send a large amount of data without latency,” Shiota said. “We are aware that this technology has been gaining a lot of attention, and Nintendo is also investigating it. However, we don’t only chase trends in technology. When considering what to offer in our entertainment and services, we think about both how the technology will be applied to gameplay and what new experiences and gameplay we can offer consumers as a result of that application.”  

The Industry’s Biggest Names, Plus Some Upstarts That Should Be On Your Radar 31 Video Game Companies to Know

For Nintendo, 5G could potentially enable the Switch to pull double duty, serving as both a standalone console and a device for streaming games. In Japan, gamers can already stream “Assassin’s Creed Odyssey” and “Resident Evil 7,” two games that were previously unavailable on the Switch due to the limitations of its hardware. Nintendo is reportedly releasing a new Switch in 2021, but there has yet to be any mention of 5G capabilities. According to Shiota, the company’s primary concern is making sure a 5G Switch can be created in a cost-effective manner.

“Cost is also an extremely important factor when it comes to 5G,” Shiota told investors in the same Q&A where he confirmed Nintendo’s interest in 5G. “It’s difficult to use even an outstanding technology if the cost is too high, so we will continue to also thoroughly investigate the cost of new technologies.”

Cost will be a big factor when it comes to the impact 5G makes on gaming. If costs are through the roof, it might make more sense for gamers to simply invest in a new console or gaming PC as opposed to shelling out for a 5G-capable device, game streaming service and unlimited data package. 

But that’s in the short term. In the long term, the writing on the wall is that 5G will change the gaming industry for good, ushering in a new age of mobile gaming, streaming services and game development. The only question is whether this new age will start in the next five years or 10.

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ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Unlocking the Potential: AI's Impact on the Future of Gaming

The Silicon Review 05 April, 2024

Welcome to the realm where AI transcends its origins as a tool and emerges as a driving force of transformation within the gaming industry. From its inception, AI has wielded its prowess to revolutionize gameplay mechanics, from intelligent adversaries that adapt to player strategies to dynamic environments that evolve based on player interactions. Its impact reverberates across genres, from sprawling open worlds to tightly knit narratives, offering players a glimpse into the infinite possibilities of interactive entertainment.

As we peer into the future of gaming, AI stands as the harbinger of a new era, where every pixel is infused with the potential for innovation and discovery. Beyond the confines of traditional gameplay experiences lies a landscape where AI-driven narratives unfold uniquely for each player, where virtual companions anticipate their needs and where the boundaries between reality and fiction blur. The transformative impact of AI on gaming is not merely a glimpse into what's to come, it's an invitation to embark on an odyssey where the possibilities are as vast as the imagination itself.

Personalized Gaming Experiences

Through the power of AI algorithms gaming experiences are no longer one-size-fits-all, they are tailored to cater to the individual player's unique playstyle and skill level. Customized gameplay mechanics adapt seamlessly to your actions, ensuring that every challenge is engaging yet achievable, fostering a sense of mastery and accomplishment. Adaptive difficulty levels dynamically adjust based on your performance, ensuring that the game remains challenging without becoming frustrating. As you progress through the game, AI-driven systems analyze your behavior and preferences, curating a personalized experience by recommending content that aligns with your interests and playstyle. From quest suggestions tailored to your character's strengths to in-game items recommended based on your gameplay habits, AI-powered content recommendation systems elevate gaming to a whole new level of immersion and enjoyment.

Enhanced Gameplay Mechanics

At the core of the groundbreaking integration of Artificial Intelligence are enhanced gameplay mechanics that elevate the gaming experience to unprecedented levels of immersion and dynamism. For instance, in the  Ice Ice Yeti Demo , AI-driven procedural generation breathes life into a frosty, ever-evolving world, showcasing how dynamic and reactive environments can adapt in real-time to player actions. From towering icy mountains to sprawling frostbitten cities, each environment in the demo is uniquely crafted, promising endless exploration and discovery.

Intelligent Non-Player Characters (NPC) take on a life of their own, guided by sophisticated AI algorithms that imbue them with personality, autonomy and depth. No longer confined to scripted behaviors, NPCs interact with players in nuanced and meaningful ways, forging alliances, engaging in dynamic conversations and reacting authentically to the player's choices and actions. This adds layers of complexity and immersion to the gaming, blurring the lines between human and AI-driven interactions.

Furthermore, real-time game adjustments based on player actions ensure that the gameplay remains challenging, catering to individual preferences and skill levels. AI algorithms analyze player behavior and dynamically adapt various aspects of the game, including difficulty levels, pacing and narrative paths. This ensures that players are constantly engaged in the gaming sessions, with every decision and action shaping the outcome of their journey.

Advancements in Player Engagement

Now let's delve into immersive storytelling realms crafted by AI-generated narratives, where each twist and turn is tailored to the player's choices and actions, promising a deeply personal and emotionally resonant experience. These narratives transcend traditional linear storytelling, offering dynamic and evolving plots that adapt to the player's decisions, guaranteeing a truly unique and captivating journey.

But the revolution in player engagement doesn't end there. AI serves as the cornerstone for fostering vibrant social gaming experiences that unite players in unprecedented ways. Through AI-powered matchmaking algorithms and dynamic social interaction systems, gamers can build connections with like-minded individuals, forming alliances and embarking on epic quests together. Whether exploring vast virtual worlds or engaging in intense multiplayer battles, AI facilitates social connections that transcend physical boundaries, nurturing a global community of gamers bonded by their shared passion.

Furthermore, the integration of AI-powered virtual assistants elevates player assistance to new heights, providing personalized guidance and support throughout each gaming session. From offering strategic advice to providing real-time assistance and answering queries, AI-powered virtual assistants cater to the individual player's needs and preferences, enhancing the gaming journey with tailored support and guidance. With AI as their ally, players can navigate complex challenges with confidence and ease, unlocking new levels of enjoyment and immersion.

Ethical Considerations and Challenges

Among the foremost ethical considerations is the delicate interplay between data privacy and the utilization of AI in gaming. While AI-driven experiences offer unparalleled levels of personalization, the collection and analysis of user data raise pertinent questions regarding privacy, consent and the potential for exploitation. It is imperative for developers to prioritize transparency and user agency over data usage to uphold ethical standards and foster trust among players.

The ripple effect of AI on game development processes and employment casts a shadow over the industry. While AI streamlines certain facets of development, such as procedural generation and bug detection, it also poses disruptions to traditional roles and job security within the sector. Navigating this evolution necessitates a delicate balance, ensuring that AI serves to augment rather than supplant human creativity and expertise, while also providing avenues for reskilling and upskilling for displaced workers.

Additionally, as AI increasingly shapes gaming experiences, the quest for fairness and inclusivity emerges as a central concern. AI algorithms hold the potential to perpetuate biases and stereotypes, resulting in unequal representation and opportunities within virtual realms. To counteract this, developers must implement measures to mitigate bias and foster diversity and inclusivity in AI-driven gaming experiences. By championing transparency, accountability and proactive measures, the gaming industry can harness the transformative potential of AI while upholding ethical principles and cultivating a more equitable gaming landscape.

From the personalized experiences tailored to individual players to the dynamic gameplay mechanics driven by AI algorithms, the transformative power of AI has reshaped the gaming landscape in ways previously unimaginable. Looking forward, the horizon brims with the promise of even greater synergy between AI and gaming. The evolution of gaming with AI technologies is a testament to the inexorable march of progress. As we navigate this ever-changing landscape, one thing remains certain: the future of gaming is defined by its ability to adapt and innovate. By embracing the transformative potential of AI and fostering a culture of creativity and inclusivity, we can unlock new realms of possibility and usher in a golden age of gaming that transcends the confines of imagination.

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The Future of Gaming

Updated 13 September 2023

Subject Games

Downloads 34

Category Entertainment

Topic Video Games

The main reason why gaming is today viewed as a male activity when it wasn’t initially is the increased number of male players in the video. Statistics show that there are more male gamers today compared to their women counterparts. Furthermore, the fact that there are very few female heroes and lead characters means that the heroes and lead characters are males which mean that gaming remains a male-dominated activity (Parmer, 2013).

Today’s gamers

Over the years online gaming attracted different types of players. However, the majority of today’s gamers comprise of male players while female players are the minority. The average age of gamers is 35 years a number that is slowly increasing as people who played as kids are still playing on the current systems. Online media is highly flexible as marketers have the chance of crafting programs to run on certain games (Prescott, 2014). Most gamers today prefer violent heavy games such as GTA and call of duty which attract more male gamers.

The industry’s gender assessment of gamers and role of female gamers in gaming today and its future?

The gender assessment of gamers in the industry does not sell its male consumers short about not needing female protagonist since women seem to be less interested in video games. Currently, female protagonists in video games are a minority especially since most of the developers perceive that female protags do not sell. The creation of complex and great female characters in video games has been an involving process where developers risk the creation of complex female characters as they have to go outside the established or expected conventions (Rott, 2014).

Female gamers are key to pushing for increased engagement of female protagonists in gaming today and in the future. While females are increasingly sidelined in the gaming industry today, the few female gamers who take part in the industry today play a key role in attracting other female players in the field thus increasing the visibility of women in the industry (Parmer, 2013). Furthermore, given that women are easily wooed to making purchasing decisions, female gamers can aid in increasing the number of purchases made by women in the gaming industry in the future by encouraging other women that there is a chance for other women to take part in the industry.

Games with more female protagonists

More games with female protagonists would grow the gaming audience given that it would appeal to a broader audience including the female audience as opposed to concentrating on only the male gamers. There is a great potential in a female audience which has not been exploited for the longest times and in case it is understood, it would earn a fortune for the developers (Prescott, 2014). Casting aside the old stereotypes that only male gamers are attracted to playing games should be a key step for creators and characters seeking to increase their market. Furthermore, women have always played games, and the contemporary mobile games’ growth in the industry has been perpetrated by female consumer base which means that by having more females as protagonists, the gaming audience stands to grow.

Fighting misogyny                                  

Women like Zoe Quinn and Anita Sarkeesian play a key role in fighting misogyny in the gaming industry since they feel like being a gamer is not gender oriented and therefore everyone irrespective of their gender, ethnicity, disability or religion has a chance to enjoy gaming without being threatened or harassed. Furthermore, gaming should be a form of entertainment that depends on one’s creativity and therefore is not limited to a specific gender (Rott, 2014). By enhancing diversity in the gaming industry or trying to change it as we see it today, it is possible to allow the game to flourish as it has a chance of attracting more audience. As a result, more female gamers are fighting misogyny to ensure that women feel comfortable while participating in the gaming industry as with less misogyny, they can be able to express themselves which in turn increase diversification in the industry (Prescott, 2014).

Audience understanding

As per the current situation, the industry does not understand its audience given that it does not understand the potential that the women have in increasing its ability in the current market. With more women seeking to either take part in gaming during their leisure time or joining their male counterparts to engage in gaming competitions, it is clear that by locking out women and lowering their chances of acquiring the protagonist stance in the industry, the industry is failing in how it understands its audience (Rott, 2014).

The industry is also failing  in performing long-term analysis for its business model given that the anti-woman stance stands to limit the industry’s growth since women across the globe are seeking to engage in video games as an entertainment tool thus providing a great market which would not be exploited if they are locked out. Failure to eliminate the anti-women stance stands in the future may lead to business decline as the male gamers cannot fully exploit the gaming market which stands to grow in stature as well as ability in the future (Parmer, 2013). As the notion of what a game entails dawns to more female, failure to tap in such a market may result in a business decline in the future.

Parmer, B. (2013). Why does the games industry have such a problem with female protagonists? The Women’s blog.

Prescott, J. (Ed.). (2014). Gender considerations and influence in the digital media and gaming industry. IGI Global.

Rott, N. (2014). Gamergate controversy fuels debate on women and video games. NPR: All Things Considered, 25.

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Let’s Plays are out. The gaming video culture essay is in

Over the last decade, long-form video essays have grown in popularity — arguably entering into a boom all their own . Viewers can easily look up a video essay on just about any topic they’d like to, from deep dives into filmmaking, theme park history, fashion, and everything in between. With such a large offering of video essays out there, one sub-genre that has found its own footing is that of the video game culture essay.

The draw of the video game essay

Niche topics in a not-so-new format, coexistence with traditional game reviews.

These particular gaming videos are a style of visual essay that offers both the creators behind them and viewers the space to explore video games in new ways that extend beyond what we’ve come to expect in a video game review. That flavor of video tends to dig more into a niche topic that the creator is most interested in — be that a theme, specific character, or even how artistic choices impact the game.

These gaming essays have managed to find their own foothold within the wider world of video game commentary while maintaining a pretty even coexistence with the traditional game review format. Both offer up individual thoughts and insight on video games while actively not detracting from the other.

• One of the Apple Vision Pro’s first games lets you play tabletop classics
• The best third-party video game controller is about to get even better
• Venba celebrates South Indian culture through more meaningful video game cooking

To better understand that foothold and coexistence, I spoke with two creators who have been making culture gaming essays. They explained what exactly drives them to share their unique perspectives through this format and what serves as a draw to both gaming essays and reviews for viewers.

Understanding what initially drives a creator to get started on making video game culture essays can give us insight into why they’ve found such a strong foothold in the gaming space to begin with. There’s something to be said for knowing the passion behind something. For both Maria (also known as eurothug4000 ) and Daryl Talks Games , the initial interest to discuss more niche topics related to video games stemmed from outside influences.

Maria, who has been creating videos on YouTube since 2018, shared that her background in studying art during her A-Levels helped serve as inspiration for the discussions around art direction and aesthetics that she has in her video essays.

“I had a very good teacher throughout those years,” Maria tells Digital Trends. “There was one exercise, in particular, she would make the class do when analyzing the works of artists, which would basically just be a good old brainstorm diagram. We would have the painting or photograph in the center and write anything that comes to mind as we looked at it — texture, mood, content, etc. This is something I do in my mind when looking at games. It’s just a natural process so deeply ingrained into my brain — I can’t help it!”

“Essays give both players and creators a chance to find beauty in the mundane, clarity in the intricacy …” 

Daryl Talks Games initially started out on YouTube in 2009. But as a long-time gamer with an interest in psychology, he knew that he wanted to get back to making videos eventually. Nowadays, he makes “essays that center around the “interaction between psychology, video games, video game design, and life.” His inspiration came from Mark Brown’s Game Maker’s Toolkit , a channel that takes deep dives into every aspect of game design.

“I was captivated by his ability to explain things I had never noticed in games and how fascinating it was to learn why games work from a design standpoint,” he tells Digital Trends. “I came across his channel during my last year of undergrad and since I was studying psychology, I found myself making connections between a lot of the points he was making and the things I was learning in class. I pretty much just said ‘Let me try the whole essay thing, but my gimmick will be psychology.’ Since I was uninterested in grad school and a bachelor’s in psychology pretty much only qualifies you to be a YouTuber, I just kept on making videos!”

Both creators approach their gaming essays through a new lens that gives them the ability to explore games in ways that go beyond the limits of standard criticism.

With the broad range of possible topics that creators can explore in their gaming essays, it’s no surprise that creators choose to look at hyper-specific things that catch their interest — such as the space in games that players encounter between a respawn point and the boss.

Niche topics offer viewers the chance to see what creators are seeing in a game that extends beyond just a cursory playthrough or answering the question that many turn to reviews for: Is this a game that I’d like to play?

“They’re just documentaries, but smaller, with more personality, and sort of, dialed-in to one very niche topic. I have a whole essay on the mental health of this one particular side character in Deltarune . Jacob Geller has an entire video exploring games that specifically save their most interesting bits for last,” Daryl Talks Games says. “I think both myself and others that do this enjoy it so much because creatively, the sky’s the limit. Essays give both players and creators a chance to find beauty in the mundane, clarity in the intricacy, and generally just a chance to enjoy games on a deeper level than if we had just played them and moved on.”

That ability to explore and enjoy games a little deeper in gaming essays certainly offers viewers another way to look at and experience the games that they’re playing, almost peeling back certain layers in a sense. Some gaming essays tend to tread into lengthy territory as a result, often going over the 30-minute mark. Ladyknightthebrave has an hour and a half look at the Last of Us series , while some of Tim Rogers’ videos are about as long as an HBO miniseries.

Maria, who originally began producing game reviews, eventually figured out that she enjoyed making this style of gaming deep-dive more.

“A lot of the time I focus on the inspirations behind certain games that contribute to their art style,” Maria says. “For example, Demon’s Souls ‘ background in dark fantasy and its similarities to Frank Frazetta’s works, or the cultural aspects behind Resident Evil Village that I rarely see in games. In Kuon (PS2), even the saving mechanic is contextualized by having a small ritual involved instead of just a menu with a save button. While I love just how game worlds look, it’s really impressive to me when they can fit their mechanics into it as it makes me feel even more engaged.”

Gaming essays and game reviews have come to a rather unique coexistence. And while viewers and creators alike might prefer one form of gaming commentary over the other, both Maria and Daryl Talks Games honed in on the fact that both serve slightly different purposes at the end of the day — even as they both work to answer questions.

“They’re just documentaries, but smaller”

“A review, in my mind, is to inform someone whether they would want to purchase the game for themselves, or to simply see what other people generally thought about it,” Maria says. “A video essay can offer the same, but ultimately they’re about learning something new, whether that’s about the game, someone’s personal experience, or even something seemingly unrelated. A lot of my videos have got me researching all kinds of random topics. I’ve learned about Italian horror cinema, camp fashion, and even the origin of CPR dolls to name a few!”

“There are plenty of reviews for the game Omori out there, but I am definitely the only one offering a detailed analysis on how it illustrates dissociative amnesia.” Daryl Talks Game says.

That slight difference in overall purpose sets gaming essays and reviews apart from each other but also ties them together. Creators and viewers can easily pick and choose which of the two they’d like to create and watch respectively.

“We all see and play games differently which means that everyone gets their own experience,” Daryl says about the coexistence of gaming essays and reviews. “For some, the mechanics are more interesting, for others, it’s the music, for some it’s all of it! Just about any genre of gaming video will be important to someone out there and it will never be impossible for a person to only watch one type of gaming video.”

In a space that could easily have been dominated by one or the other, gaming essays have managed to find a unique coexistence alongside game reviews while maintaining their own individual draw. Creators like Maria and Daryl Talks Games find a lot of joy in the varied ways that they can discuss games in their essays, sharing special insight and discussions around topics that are important to them — all while deepening the collective toolkit we use to understand games.

Interview responses have been lightly edited for clarity.

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If there’s one video game presentation happening over the next week that has the most to prove, it’s the Xbox Games Showcase. Despite a strong start to the year with Hi-Fi Rush and a solid Developer Direct showcase, Microsoft’s gaming branch has floundered in recent months because of struggles with its acquisition of Activision Blizzard and the rocky launch of Redfall. With the Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct Double Feature, Microsoft must reconfirm its commitment to gaming and to releasing high-quality first-party exclusives.

That said, Xbox is in an excellent position to do just that because of Sony’s underwhelming May showcase. As the first major gaming presentation of the summer, Sony had the chance to “win” the whole game reveal season early with its PlayStation Showcase. Ultimately, that live stream proved disappointing because of its focus on CGI reveal trailers and live service games.

Trying to pick the best video games of all time is a task defined by one word: hubris.

How could anyone possibly create a definitive list of gaming's greatest accomplishments when there’s such a wildly large variety of games to choose from? That’s a question we asked ourselves over and over when deciding to put together our own top 50 list. It was the kind of task we could slice up hundreds of ways, coming out with completely different lists every single time based on our preferred methodology. That’s a testament to the rich history of games, which offer countless diverse experiences worthy of praise.

It’s safe to say that the cozy game genre has come into its own in the last few years. Also known as wholesome games, the emerging genre typically offers a slower story pace and a more relaxed style of gameplay, dropping the fast action found in other genres. More low-key and self-guided games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Harvest Moon, and Spiritfarer have always existed, but they’ve only really established themselves as a separate genre recently. There’s an entire cozy tag on Steam and even an entire industry event, Wholesome Direct, dedicated to showcasing new games annually.  A quick search on Google will reveal a number of game developers who have happily taken up the mantle of creating these chill games for players.

But cozy gaming has blossomed beyond just the games themselves, much as the larger video game space has over the last 15 years. Players have begun to take their love for gaming and channel it into other forms, making use of platforms like Twitch, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram to create a variety of unique content. Content creators have taken to streaming, video making, and other forms of content such as sharing photos on Instagram to discuss, play, and share their love for the genre.

Essay on Video Games

Students are often asked to write an essay on Video Games in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Video Games

Introduction.

Video games are interactive digital entertainment platforms. They are played on devices like computers, consoles, or mobiles.

Types of Video Games

There are many types of video games. Some are educational, others are adventure-based or sports-themed.

Benefits of Video Games

Video games can improve hand-eye coordination, problem-solving skills, and strategic thinking. They can also be a fun way to relax.

Drawbacks of Video Games

Excessive gaming can lead to health issues like eye strain and lack of physical activity. It can also impact social skills if not balanced with real-world interactions.

Video games can be both beneficial and harmful. It’s important to play responsibly and maintain a healthy balance.

Also check:

• 10 Lines on Video Games

250 Words Essay on Video Games

Video games, a form of interactive entertainment, have evolved dramatically from their rudimentary origins in the 1970s. They have penetrated almost every aspect of modern society, becoming a significant part of our culture and a powerful force in the entertainment industry.

The Evolution of Video Games

In their inception, video games were straightforward, consisting of basic graphics and gameplay. However, as technology advanced, so did the complexity and visual appeal of these games. Today, video games are immersive experiences, boasting high-definition graphics, complex narratives, and intricate gameplay mechanics.

The Impact on Society

Video games have a profound impact on society. They have transformed how we spend our leisure time, and have even created new professions, such as professional e-sports players and game developers. In addition, video games have educational potential, as they can develop problem-solving and strategic thinking skills.

Controversies and Criticisms

Despite their popularity, video games have attracted controversy. Critics argue that they promote violence, addiction, and social isolation. However, research on these issues remains inconclusive, and many argue that the benefits of video games outweigh potential negatives.

In conclusion, video games are a multifaceted phenomenon that has significantly influenced our culture and society. Despite criticisms, their popularity continues to rise, indicating their enduring appeal and potential for future growth. As technology continues to evolve, so too will video games, promising exciting developments for this dynamic medium.

500 Words Essay on Video Games

Video games, a form of digital entertainment that has dramatically evolved over the past few decades, have become a significant part of contemporary culture. They offer a unique blend of interactive storytelling, art, and technology, engaging players in a way that no other medium can. Video games are more than just a pastime; they are a platform for expression, learning, and innovation.

The history of video games is a testament to the incredible technological advancements of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. From the rudimentary pixel graphics of the 1970s to today’s immersive virtual reality experiences, video games have continuously pushed the boundaries of what is technologically possible. They have transformed from simple, solitary experiences into complex, social phenomena, connecting people from all walks of life.

The Impact of Video Games

Video games have a significant impact on society, influencing various aspects of our lives. They have revolutionized the entertainment industry, becoming a multi-billion dollar sector that rivals and often surpasses traditional media like film and music. Beyond entertainment, video games have found applications in education, healthcare, and even military training, demonstrating their versatility and potential.

The Benefits and Concerns

Despite the criticisms often associated with video gaming, such as addiction and violence, numerous studies have highlighted the potential benefits. Video games can improve cognitive skills, such as problem-solving and spatial awareness, and can also foster social interaction and cooperation when played in groups. They can serve as therapeutic tools, helping to manage conditions like anxiety and depression. However, it is essential to maintain a balanced perspective, acknowledging the potential risks and promoting responsible gaming.

The Future of Video Games

The future of video games is as exciting as it is unpredictable. With emerging technologies like virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and cloud gaming, the possibilities for innovation are limitless. Video games are poised to become even more immersive, interactive, and personalized, offering experiences that were once the stuff of science fiction.

In conclusion, video games are a dynamic and influential part of modern society, reflecting our culture, advancing technology, and impacting various aspects of our lives. They are a testament to human creativity and innovation, offering unique experiences that entertain, educate, and inspire. As we move forward, it is crucial to continue exploring the potential of video games, addressing the challenges they present, and harnessing their power for positive change.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

• Essay on Veterans Day
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Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

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The Field of Dreams Approach: On Writing About Video Games

Tony Tulathimutte on the future of video game criticism

Every year, more and more great essays are published on literary sites concerning video games. In the past year I’ve especially loved entries like Janet Frishberg’s “On Playing Games, Productivity, and Right Livelihood,” Joseph Spece’s “A Harvest of Ice,” and Adam Fleming Petty’s “The Spatial Poetics of Nintendo: Architecture, Dennis Cooper, and Video Games.” But for each great essay there are a handful of others written like apologies, seemingly perennial pleas to take video games seriously as a form of meaningful narrative.

I hoped to have a conversation with a writer about games that went a little deeper. There were two main reasons I turned to the Whiting Award-winning writer Tony Tulathimutte. The first was because of his response in an interview with Playboy , in which he said that his interest in gaming probably “had something to do with my desire to bend or break formal conventions in fiction.” The second was his three thousand word essay about Clash of Clans , “Clash Rules Everything Around Me,” which was exactly the type of essay about gaming I wanted to see more of. Tulathimutte is the author of Private Citizens , which we listed as one of the 25 best novels of 2016 .

What I want is long-form literary criticism. But writers should just write what they want to read. The body of work will be there and the audience will follow it. The ‘ Field of Dreams’ approach.

Graham Oliver: Can we have this conversation without getting stuck trying to legitimize video games as a medium?

Tony Tulathimutte: “Are video games art?” “Have we had the video game Citizen Kane  yet?”

GO: That’s such a boring and overdone conversation. I think it’s more interesting to look at the ways in which video games actually do interact with literature, and not to hold the conversation just as a demonstration of our respect.

TT: Take the respect for granted and go from there. I thought about starting a literary magazine about video games a while back, but the discourse had by then become so toxic that, even with the most anodyne academic essay you could write, the best you could hope for was that it would be ignored. There needs to be more space for this kind of writing, but I just didn’t want to wade into it then. I feel a little better about it now, which is why I did the Clash of Clans  essay.

GO: What is the difference between video game-related essays showing up on a literary site, versus a site where the primary purpose is the intersection of video games and literature? What could that site do that can’t be done (or isn’t being done) otherwise?

TT: Part of it is just volume. You can’t have a general interest magazine like the New Yorker covering video games to the same depth or degree as it does film or music or even theater. Every big magazine at this point covers video games occasionally — I know the New Yorker has written about Minecraft and No Man’s Sky , for instance. New York Magazine just did a big essay on gaming more broadly.

But for some reason, there’s no video game editor at the New Yorker , no dedicated departments or verticals, except at newer places like VICE, Vox , The Verge . Unlike music or movies, video games aren’t equally distributed through the culture; it’s more compartmentalized. This owes in part to a marketing apparatus around games that caters to and fosters a specific audience, and because the audience for certain genres — responding to these pressures — became self-selecting, especially with respect to gender. Video games may be art, but they are also a STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics] industry, which makes them no different from any other STEM field in that regard.

GO: It’s a question of access. I was thinking about your Clash essay; you have this entire paragraph that has to explain this massively popular and mechanically fairly simple game. Does that automatically turn off an audience who are already proficient in those basics? In which case, are you only writing for people who don’t game? I suppose that’s another conundrum of coverage in a general interest publication…

TT: If you read an essay by Susan Sontag or Martin Amis about the great books, or by André Bazin about film, they can assume a certain level of knowledge about the text or film from their audience. I can write that way about games on my own time and my own dime, but there’s no presumed canon or general readership for games, because they’re not taught in schools and not regularly discussed in big publications. So you either write for the diehards — the equivalent of film buffs or bookworms — or for novices.

GO: Is that why we haven’t had novels which interact with video games the way David Foster Wallace did with tennis, or Ann Patchett with opera? Neither of their books included explanatory paragraphs; it’s so ingrained in our culture that it seems almost impossible to have grown up without some idea of what tennis or opera are.

TT: Most people have played a game, and the average gamer spends six hours a week playing them. I think it has less to do with the medium inherently than just the failure of writers who have approached the subject. I haven’t read everything on games, but so far, the fledgling efforts have been too literal or kind of corny. Some writers seem to think that you’re supposed to transpose the form of games into fiction — to provide this very lightly remediated experience of reading a book so that it feels like you’re playing a game.

The last thing you want to do is create a watered-down experience of gaming in a text. A book should still work as a book. It’s the usual difficulty of writing about other mediums; there’s that old chestnut that writing about music is like dancing about architecture. But there are special considerations for how to write about any form in a way that conveys deep presence and vividness comparable to the experience itself.

GO: When you’re writing about games in one form or another, do you find you prefer to write for someone who is like you — very interested in both writing and video games — or is your preference for someone in that liminal space somewhere between them?

TT: I approach it as I do with all my creative writing, which is to write for the audience of Tony. That frees to me to write things irrespective of their publishability. Right now I’m working on a long essay about Metal Gear Solid  — the whole series. That’s between ten and twenty games, depending on which ones you call canon. The dialogue alone stacks up to something like sixty thousand words each. And the companion synopsis is almost three thousand words. I’m just trying to make points about the series that haven’t been made before. Would Kill Screen or The New York Review of Books ever run that? Hell to the fuck no.

If writers keep doing this, eventually there will be a readership equipped to deal with it. For the longest time there have been really smart people playing video games and wondering where all the good criticism was. It’s a discoverability issue, to a certain extent. There’s so much good writing out there about games, but most games-writing outlets cater to fairly niche perspectives. Action Button is extremely good, irreverent creative criticism, probably my favorite. Five Out of Ten is academically oriented, Kill Screen is mainstream journalism. What I want is long-form literary criticism. But writers should just write what they want to read. The body of work will be there and the audience will follow it. The Field of Dreams approach.

GO: You said earlier (and you’ve also mentioned it in your Playboy interview) that the discourse around games is toxic and partisan. Are you talking about within or outside of the gaming community?

TT: All of it. Partisan lines have been drawn within it for purposes far beyond aesthetic disagreement. In part because so much of this discourse occurs in a medium where people are not held accountable for their words, i.e. on the internet.

GO: How does that compare to conversations within the literary community? You’ve written before, for instance, about the MFA vs. NYC debate .

TT: I want to do my part to de-estrange gaming discourse. Not de-stigmatize or demystify, but de-estrange. This cancerous shit happens everywhere — it just happens in a spectacularly aggressive and organized way in gaming.

GO: When you’re not actually writing about video games, what place do they hold in your life? Are they the stress relief at the end of the day, the reward after two hours of writing? Or something you try to avoid when you’re in the middle of a big project?

TT: I’ve played video games since I was three years old. I have loved video games a lot longer than I’ve loved literature — which is not to say more. Actually… yeah, probably more. It just so happens that I’m a writer. I don’t feel the guilt that some people do who, even if they enjoy gaming, approach it feeling as if it’s a waste of time, or a form of entertainment which takes them away from their “real life.” You wouldn’t condemn a cineaste or a lover of literature. But a fug of non-respectability still attends video games.

That said, the reward mechanisms in most games are designed to get you hooked in cognitive motivational ways that don’t apply to most literature. So it’s absolutely possible for games to displace other things that you would want to do just as much. I don’t struggle to fit them into my life, but I probably would, if my life consisted of much more than just teaching and writing.

GO: I suppose I was thinking more about the effect on your mental state. For instance, I have to save video games for the end of the day, because I have a hard time going from the almost meditative state of game-playing into writing. How does it fit in, not in the sense of time but in how it interacts with your ability to produce writing afterwards?

TT: If a visual narrative enters my head before I start writing, it’s enormously difficult to pull myself back into writing. A huge amount of psychic inertia has to be overcome to transition from consuming a narrative to assembling one. I have a lot of wacko bird theories as to why. Perhaps language is such an information-poor medium that it demands a sparseness of input, so that you can have room to envision or create new stuff in your head. Maybe the act of viewing, which puts you in the posture of evaluation and judgment, beefs up the inner critic that makes it hard to write. That’s all pure superstition, I have nothing to base that on.

GO: What about when it comes to the type of video game? You’ve mentioned playing DotA 2 in other interviews, which is very different from more narrative-heavy single player games. In the middle of a big writing project, do you find yourself drawn more to one type of game over another?

TT: With the caveat that writers are the worst self-appraisers, I’ll say that I have not noticed any influence from the type of games I’m playing on what I write. I think games engage an entirely different part of my brain, which might also account for the difficulty I have toggling between those two modes. That said, I think longer games can work like long books — immersively — where you have to pinch your nose and take a deep breath before plunging into the Neapolitan books and it just becomes the medium you swim in for months. Some games demand a higher or more frequent degree of engagement to get any kind of nuance at all. You can play a thousand hours of DotA 2 , without coming anywhere near understanding it.

GO: How does that compare to the relationship between reading and your own work? Do you avoid other people’s writing when working, or do you keep books on your desk for the sake of referencing them?

TT: I do. I try to keep a messy puddle of books around my work area, in case I want to steal something from somebody else. But I Google as much as I refer to other books. I don’t disconnect from the internet when I’m writing, like some writers who have this almost mystical anathema against technology. I generally find I benefit from my procrastination.

You can have a rom-com game, a campus game, an adultery game, or a boring-but-important game that will get taught in high schools circa 2110.

GO: You referred to language as being information-poor a minute ago, which reminds me of the AGNI essay you wrote on boredom. The thesis of that essay was basically that boredom in literature is okay. Can you also apply that idea to video games? Can there be meaningful or productive boredom while playing, through the act of repetition, for instance? I just played Her Story, which I know you enjoyed, and while it has a super interesting story you have to slog through a certain amount of repetition to get to it.

TT: The democratization of game creation is producing a wider range of games, like the Super 8 camera did with film. You can have vignette-style games like Nina Freeman’s —  Cibele , how do you Do It? , Freshman Year , etc. You can have “walking simulators” that are almost purely meditative, like Gone Home , Firewatch , or Dear Esther . I just saw a piece on a game based on Thoreau’s Walden .

The impulses and tendencies that make people want to create literature are present. It will happen more as people are able to do what they want to do, without enormous corporate financial support or even crowdfunding, which, to an extent, just moves the bottom line to having to be crowd-pleasing. Games can be plenty boring in spite of themselves, even if that’s not what they’re trying to do. It’s a cliché by now to point out that the most time investment-heavy games like World of Warcraft consist largely of “grinding.” Or, if you play something like DotA 2 , queuing for a game.

GO: For DotA 2 you also have to spend a lot of time reading up on viable builds. Work that’s not in actually playing the game.

TT: Yes, although I will say that that intellectual work doesn’t feel like tedious labor to me. I have fun looking up builds. The deep strategy and understanding are coextensive with the pleasure of playing the game.

Moments of boredom are built into games for reasons that range from comedy to suspense. I think a lot about the moment in Final Fantasy VI where you’re directed to just wait at the edge of a floating continent for a character to come along. On the one hand you’re sitting watching a clock tick down. On the other hand, it’s extremely tense.

Contrasting aesthetic effects in games to those in other media is not always productive, because it’s like playing Twenty Questions. Can games do X like books? Can games do Y like films? In the same way we should assume games are art, and that there’s an audience out there hungry to make something of them, we should assume that games can do anything. You can have a rom-com game, a campus game, an adultery game, or a boring-but-important game that will get taught in high schools circa 2110.

GO: I go to these academic conferences where a similar conversation is happening among professors who write in the field of gaming studies. Some bring in literary and film theory, and try to lay that on top of video games, while others reject that. The tools and the language are already there from other fields, so it seems easy. On the other hand, it can be kind of reductive, and perhaps prevents you from having the more meaningful conversation.

TT: Right, or even just the conversation you’re trying to have. There are also those efforts to create a language around game studies, partly I think try to legitimatize it in the eyes of the academy. You get people going on about the Ludologists versus the Narratologists, about ludonarrative dissonance, copping these quasi-academic terms. I can see the point of systematizing things, but my favorite criticism helps you not to just describe and understand, but to enjoy stuff more.

GO: How much do you worry about the effect that being an “out” gamer will have on your literary career?

TT: If I were bashful or coy about my love of video games I wouldn’t do this interview. The same goes for pornography or television. Even the language of being “out” implies a political and social pressure or an importance that just doesn’t exist. I’d hate to believe that being a writer means living in a constant state of deposition, publicizing everything you do, think, or feel. The fact that I like video games isn’t interesting. Video games are interesting. I love talking about them with smart people, both within and outside of gaming culture. But I’m also perfectly happy to be left alone with them.

GO: Do you hope there’s a day around the corner where a game developer decides to make a narrative-heavy game like Life is Strange , Her Story , or Kentucky Route Zero , and they look at a list of literary authors to figure out who should write it?

TT: Not at all. I believe that I can do a lot of things in writing, but I haven’t felt an urge to create a video game since the third grade. It’s always good to have some kind of interest that is totally pure, where you’re going to be an eternal fan, because sausage-making can disillusion you fast. If part of the charge of art comes from mystique or sheer baffled admiration, that’s something I want to preserve in at least a few departments of my life.

GO: As a writer, you’re expected to be both a creator and a thoughtful critic as well. It seems like once you publish a book, there is an expectation that you’ll be reviewing or blurbing for other books for the rest of your life. How does your approach to writing about literature differ from your essays on games?

TT: I review books as a practitioner; I know what goes into putting one together, so I can pan one that isn’t well-made. I write about games as an appreciator, in that I want to take something I like and enlarge people’s sense of pleasure or wonder at it. This doesn’t mean that I can’t be critical of a game. I have negative things to say about everything. But because I’m not highly qualified to trivialize or disparage a game on the level of craft — for instance, a sunbeam in a video game might look shitty and aliased because of technological or budgetary constraints that I’m not aware of — my main task is to study its narrative and to add value.

GO: You’ve been thinking about games critically for a long time. I read that you wrote your theses — both in undergrad and for your first master’s degree — on video game interaction. What were you looking at in those?

TT: I majored in something called Symbolic Systems, which would be called cognitive sciences anywhere else. They add linguistics and philosophy to the standard curriculum of formal logic, computer science, and cognitive psychology. I applied the extremely specific language of human-computer interaction studies to video games. So I wrote pretty dry literature surveys of game-writing and interaction theory, and how the latter could be applied to the former.

One was about game controller design, which ended up anticipating the Nintendo Wii controller by a couple of years. I talked about the potential for modular design and gestural input. The second thesis was about menus. They’re the basis of turn-based RPGs, and in games their definitional boundaries are weird. Take the Warp Zone Pipes in Super Mario Brothers . You go over a ceiling and drop into a room where you’re invited to select one of three pipes to go through. It is very clearly a menu, where you’re selecting one of three options, but it’s also a part of the action.

God, I sound so stoned when I talk about this.

GO: I hate to keep mentioning Her Story , but I just started it today. In that game, the user interface also has this blurry boundary. You read a ReadMe file to learn how to use the system, but that’s all part of the in-game computer you interact with as part of the story.

TT: Yeah, it’s brilliant. Any computer interaction can be extrapolated into a game premise. Here it’s basically Database Search: The Game, but it’s fun and well written. To analogize with literature, there are plenty of stories whose premise comes from its formal conceit. My favorite is “ Going for a Beer ” by Robert Coover. He takes a simple sentence gimmick — where two things that happen at different times are written as though they’re simultaneous — and it becomes the conceit of the story. The story is, “what if your life was composed of moments with endings and beginnings but no middles?”

GO: Form matching content. That happens in all types of art, right? There was a piece on Hamilton which pointed out that, as the first half progresses, the Marquis de Lafayette’s rhymes get denser and faster, coinciding with him being in America and increasingly speaking English. The music reflects the plot.

TT: Form generating content, I would say. It’s a classical idea. Sometimes it’s done very explicitly, like with Oulipo. It can be super corny, but it’s a dependable source of inspiration.

It’s Tristram Shandy-levels of batshit.

GO: Going back to your idea for a game-writing website, were you imagining a place that just collected the kind of long-form writing you want to see, or were you also imagining a community that would be built around it?

TT: I am not too concerned with building community. The idea was simply to get critical essays on games­ — not fiction, poetry, reviews, or personal essays, but literary analysis. Like the essay I’m working on about the Metal Gear Solid series… So many of the male characters lose their hands and are sterile and have daddy issues and misinterpret the will of one female character, The Boss. Aside from the glaring Freudian overtones, what’s that about? This is not stuff that figures into the plot as it plays out, but is something that I think screams out for conversation.

GO: I was a Nintendo kid and then jumped to PC gaming, so I never got into the Metal Gear  games.

TT: It’s like the Infinite Jest of games. As far as I know, it’s the longest continuous scripted narrative in games. You can make a strained case for things like Zelda or Metroid , but this is the most sustained vision from an auteurist figure, Hideo Kojima, and it’s just bonkers. It’s Tristram Shandy -levels of batshit.

GO: Well, that sells it. I now have to ask the big, speculative question, since you just called it the Infinite Jest of games. What do you think David Foster Wallace’s writing would have been like, had he been obsessed with video games rather than television?

TT: This question is so enormously counterfactual it might as well be a novel. The guy was hugely tech-avoidant. He typed with one finger on an old computer. But games seem very contiguous with his concerns in Infinite Jest . Though who’s to say Virginia Woolf wouldn’t have also gotten equally invested in games? Wallace is a gimme because of the technological overlap, but to me the more interesting speculative question is, What would a game written by P.G. Wodehouse be like? I want to see an essay on  that .

How to Have Fun Destroying Yourself: An Interview with Tony Tulathimutte, Author of Private Citizens

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2 Minute Speech On The Future Of Gaming In English

Good morning everyone present here, today I am going to give a speech on the future of gaming. Video games are played on platforms like video game consoles, personal computers, or handheld devices. These platforms can be huge like a mainframe computer or tiny like a mobile device. In the old times, the most common platform was arcade games.

Since the days of the Amiga, when graphics were blocky and pixelated, gaming has advanced significantly. Today’s photorealistic images immerse us in totally lifelike surroundings. Ray tracing, a method used in movies to provide real-time effects like glow and reflections, will be available on the PS5. It entails lighting effects that are highly realistic and increase your sense of immersion.

We may observe how gaming consoles changed throughout time. not only their speed, appearance, or operation. Modern graphics design is much better because of fantastic resolution and realistic-looking textures. Gaming consoles first appeared in the 1970s with just a game controller that had a joystick and one button; today, we have a huge variety of game genres and game controllers with dozens of buttons. These advancements in the gaming business happened quite quickly.

We will eventually play the game from inside. With the help of special glasses, cameras, and a moving platform, we will be able to move as though we were in a virtual environment. In barely 40 years, table tennis was transformed from using two white bars and a square ball to a virtual reality simulation. Thank you. 

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