Latest Video Gaming Technology- Video Game Realism is an Emerging Trend

We are at the dawn of the next generation consoles. Their unmatched power combined with the current motion capture technology we have today can easily bring a game to life.

It is an extraordinary sight to see a virtual world as if it was real. Sensors placed around the face of an actor can capture all their facial expressions and translate it into a virtual image. Perfect textures and lighting can turn any dull game into one that takes your breath away.

Astounding visual content and considerate details

“Battlefield 4” is one my favorite games out there. The amount of visual content it features is just amazing. They aimed to make a game which looked as real as possible and I have to say, they did just that. Bullets whizzing past your ear while waves slam on your jet ski makes you feel like you’re actually there in the firefight.

“Heavy Rain” another game where the creators focused a lot on the finer details which are usually overlooked. Characters in this game would shift their weight around to and from each foot as opposed to standing completely still.

Facial expressions – it’s doesn’t get any more real than that

Another great example of a hyper-realistic visual in a game is “Beyond Two Souls”. The most amazing thing about this game is the facial expressions of the characters. Willem Dafoe and Ellen Page are the two main characters in the game who conveyed their emotions and feelings though the sensors place all over their face.

These sensors did exactly what they were designed for and the result of combining technology with good old fashion acting was truly astounding. They did not stop at facial expressions – they also monitored the movement of the eyes to find out where they were looking at and this only made the visuals that much more realistic.

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Existing technology only allowed motion and sound to be captured separately but the creators of the game could not settle for it so they used something known as “performance capture” and this allowed the movements, dialogues and environmental sounds to be recorded all together.

Racing games – then and now

Let’s not forget about the improvements to racing games in general. In my opinion, racing games improved over time more than any other genre and the improvements can be seen very clearly throughout the “Need For Speed” series - from the first game to where we are now. Cars now follow a set of physics which is very close to that of the real world and the visual details of the game is also another aspect that has improved over the years.

It’s not just the software that’s causing games to be more and more realistic everyday… new hardware like the Oculus Rift has bridged the gap between games and reality. The Oculus Rift is a virtual reality headset which covers the eyes completely so the only thing you see is what’s going on in the game and this can have exceptionally realistic effects. When you turn your head, your character in the game also turns his head to the exact same angle so it looks as if you’re really in the virtual world.

Devices like these are quite a bit expensive these days and are not optimized for every single game. I don’t know about you but I am very excited about the day we can use Virtual Reality technology to live in the fantasy world like never before.

We certainly have high hopes from game developers, and it’s rather safe to say that in the near future we will experience even greater realism in video games.

Christopher Austin

About the Author:

Christopher Austin is the writer to this article. He is a freelance writer covering the world of videogames, tech, and popular culture. Also owns an online games site Truck Games 365.