Actually, I have been thinking about this myself recently, but I haven't gotten around to post the question. I don't really have an exact answer for you, just ideas.

I would really like to see games become more involving. Man, that sounds vague. I just want games to evolve to a level where you quit "playing" games to a level where you "enter" the game. Take a RPG for example. As well designed as FFVIII was, it was still too linear to truly become encompassing. No matter how much you got into the game, you still new that you were at point A and you had to get to point B. A truly encompassing game would be a role playing game where these points didn't exist, much more like real life.

Also, I would like more control in games where you have an omni presense. Take Homeworld for example. I thought it would have been great if you could have taken control of a fighter and flew as a member of a formation.

Personally, I think simulations are going to become more of a cornerstone of gaming, once the internet can truly support the bandwidth needed. Virtual armadas of space ships could square off with other armadas, each ship being pioleted by a human instead of AI, where some people could design the tatical strikes while others fly the missions. Imagine the Star Wars saga playing out online, whether you are there or not with no set result.

Okay, it's not a specific answer like you were wanting, and these are more like next-next-next generation games, but isn't it nice to imagine?

Edited by - I-Shaolin on 1/25/00 7:45:24 AM

Take that idea a step further, and have multiple human players controlling various aspects of a single capital ship. Pilots, turret gunners ect. Even more interesting would be to have a FPS / space sim hybrid. Imagine a boarding operation where one ship docks with a disabled craft, and a gun fight insuses _within_ the disabled ship.

The game could be played on multiple levels:

Strategic Level: manage resources, produce ships, diplomacy, long range planing. Decisions made at this level (by AI''s and humans) trickle down to...

Tactical Level: Give orders to squads of ships, such as ''destroy blockade'', ''lay mines'', ''bombard planet'' ect. These orders then trickle down to

Individual Level: Pilots and marines fight it out in an action type game, based on thier orders such as, ''secure the engine room'' or ''protect the convoy''

Human players would select the level of gameplay that best suited thier playing style. AI''s would fill in the empty positions.

- genovov

Layers of abstraction are an excellent yet feasible idea to put into a RTS game right now.
Having the ability to control troops from a small skirmish to a the level of the whole theatre of war using a single system would require a f**k load of design but is certainly very possible.
Imagine being able to control a single platoon, advancing them by numbers at the begining of the game (or even better, being a member of that platoon) then advancing until you''re in charge of a company shouting orders to your lieutenants to "take that hill" watching them attack autonomously to your pre-set contraints and their own internal reasoning. Finally each mouse click orders an entire battalion of men into the fray with the computer calculating tactics which underly your overall strategy.
No longer are levels unconnected missions in an essentially linear story line (if they bother with such a thing) but different levels of control, as in-depth or as autonmous as you want.
We''re talking at least two years of designing and implementing the AI here but I think it would be worth it.

Mike

What an interesting one. I think to truly answer this question might involve thinking about what future technologies games will make use of.

We have seen an amazing increase in the power of processors in home computers over the last ten years. Graphics cards seem to be going through quite an evolution over the last couple as well.

I think a next generation glasses/goggles/headset would be interesting. Something that really throws you into believing you are in the game (for a FPS at least). Play something like UT now and you are looking at a screen trying to imagine you are in the thick of the action. With a really decent headset you really would find yourself immersed, (and boy would you jump if you turned your head to find someone right behind you!).

In addition I would like better voice communication, both in multiplayer games and in ones where you are commanding forces. If your units responded to voice commands it would be much better. Imagine the potential. Think something like Command & Conquer (not my favourite but it will do). Let''s say one of your squads (let''s call them Alpha squad) are being attacked and they tell you so. Without having to scroll to that area of the map and highlight some units to give orders to wouldn''t it be superb to just say "Alpha squad retreat to ..." or "Beta squad support Alpha squad". I know it is not easy but I am trying to look forward a little.

I have recently enjoyed UT and Half-Life, but the likes of Diablo and Baldur''s Gate are probably my favourites. Where RPG''s will end up I do not know. Creating a rich enough realistic enough world to make them first person perspective games is the obvious step, but then party management becomes quite difficult (if as a single player you command a group). Maybe environment-rich persistent rirst person perspective unlimited human player worlds is where all RPG''s will be in a few years. Interesting.

I hope that in another ten years we will not recognise the games industry as it stands now. Hopefully we will be in a new era altogether.

(sorry if I went on - this is a topic I am quite keen on)

Kressilac, who were you replying to?
Genovov or me or......

Actually, if you were part of a large company that had it''s unreal engine and it''s homeworld engine then could you use the tools developed for these systems to create a game which was a hybrid of the two and how easy would it be...


...ah, who am I kidding, have I ever seen readable, easily integratable legacy code?
Bollocks have I.

Mike

I think that in general, we''ll be seeing a influx of massivly multiplayer games (RPG and otherwise) in the near future. Good voice communication will be essential for a really emersive experience, and will enhance the kind of ''game communities'' that make MUDs so interesting and fun. Voice technology exists, but the bandwith it needs is not really accesable to the average gamer.

Realistic physics will be a great step in making games more intuitive, emersive and open ended. No longer will the players be restricted to interactions anticipated by the game designer. Want to block that door? Move the crate in front of it, or even better, shoot the bottom crate in a stack and cause them to all fall over, pushing other objects out of the way and crushing your opponent. There''s no sane way a game designer could include all these posibilities in a game, and no need to do so, if each crate is modeled with it''s basic physical properties. I d/led a interesting demo of a physics engine called Ipion (don''t have the link) that shows that this kind of simulation is well within reach of current technology.

Hopefully, however, the next great advancment will be in AI. Wouldn''t it be great if, as some of you have said, you could play a wargame online with hundreds (thousands) of other human players in an persistant world. Where there are no scripted missions, but rather various teams of players involved in various levels of the grand theater. Those planing the overall strategy create the missions for those controlling the various armies/platoons/fleets/whathaveyou, who in turn create the missions for the individual pilots/soldiers. All in realtime. And you have AI which can assume control of any aspect of the game. No one wants to play the soldiers? The AI controls them. No good strategists online? You get you''re orders from one, and (hopefully) can''t tell the difference.

This is my idea of an ideal game. Unscripted, totaly non-linear. Where the story is defined by the people playing, not a writer. Game designers become almost obsolete... ; )

Is this type of thing possible today? Probably not. But game programmers and designers seem to be moving in this direction, and that can only be a good thing.

- genovov

P.S. Anyone interested in trying to CREATE something like this? If so, send me an email @ chris@newpublishing.com. I''m working on some a rigid body dynamics engine for a space sim, hoping to eventually create something like the old Elite games, but multiplayer. Let''s see if I can put my money where my mouth is, so to speak. ; )