If you enjoy gaming, you may have observed some changes in the titles that have been released in recent years. There is a revolution going on right now in the industry and it’s occurring in ways that no-one predicted. What we’re seeing in innovation trumping technology. Also, buyers are becoming more aware and engaging more, which is evening things out. So with these changes in mind, what trends can we anticipate for the remainder of 2019?
The significant impact of indie games
There are millions of gamers and that is a statistic that’s only going to grow as more gamers around the world are exposed to increased accessibility. It’s been predicted that revenue from the video games industry will reach $123.5bn this year. The industry, however, is not unlike any other that has enjoyed high levels of success, and to maintain that high level of success, it has to adapt to consumer demand.
In today’s market, that equates to estimating consumer interests. The problem is that those consumer interests are changing. Partly, that’s down to new technology, in addition to the vast potential that lies ahead in the field of development. There needs to be a shake-up and indie developers are the ones in the best position to make that happen.
The most important thing is the experience. It holds more value than the countless hours of finance developers working on multimillion-dollar projects as consumers are looking for an overhaul to the actual gameplay. The larger companies won’t stop doing the same things they’ve always done, simply because they’ve profited from it in the past. But that’s only in the short-term. We’re bound to see changing faces in the field of production, with indie developers becoming increasingly popular.
The hyper-realistic future of graphics
NVIDIA is responsible for the best graphics around of late, thanks to the new ray-tracing graphics cards that were released in September. The cards, that use both Turing architecture and ray-tracing technology, offer potential to provide hyper-realism to real-time graphics. That may appear to be a small thing but then it’s the most significant step we’ve seen in graphics for a long time.
Developers will love using these cards to create brand new worlds. In terms of players, they get to experience new levels of realism that could provide a heightened emotional and physical response. It could also create a new emphasis on the kinds of games we enjoy playing and, as well as provide a setting for new stories. While it’s still early days, the potential of ray-tracing is huge.
Arcade games are making a comeback
Not every developer will be plying their trade by jumping on the ray-tracing bandwagon. Some still have a nostalgic love for old arcade games, and that preference has some merit- these old games are becoming more popular with players.
Releases from the not-too-distant past, such as Super Smash Bros Ultimate, confirms that. This classic game hasn’t changed that much from its predecessors. It’s maintained its core elements, but with this release, the game keeps players fresh with new stages, characters, and abilities.
