Today, video game technology is advancing like never before. New systems, devices, and interfaces are being developed with the intent of bringing a truly life-like experience to the user. Year after year, whether it be at E3 conferences or on IGN blogs, people are anxiously expecting and waiting for the newest, biggest, most advance technologies to hit the market. People ask themselves, what will be able to top last year’s device? When will we reach the ultimate interface that allows for the ultimate experience?
And as a result of these various systems, one is given the option between countless modes and interfaces from which to choose and experience a video game. These differences in interface allow the user and fellow video game lover to not only play the video game, but experience the game play as a member and become integral part of the simulated world. Furthermore, the fact that each video game system works differently through their interface allows for unique experiences specific to that system. Nevertheless, each of these interfaces work towards the same purpose: to bring enjoyment from a video game by giving a sense of reality within a simulated world.
Nowadays, people expect for video game systems to have an extra “oomf” in order to take the player to a new level of virtual reality and make their presence more known within the virtual world. Every system today has a specific interface that distinguishes them from their competitors. These differences become ways in which the player and user may feel more present within a video game. For example, the PS4 has a wireless controller with a touch pad and movement sensors that allow the player to affect the game play through more than just pressing buttons- now it becomes a game of 3D space. The movements of video game avatars now become part of your own movements. The companies of Microsoft and Nintendo took this and made it a whole style of play through the interface of the Xbox Kinect and Nintendo 3DS. The Kinect allowed for the player’s whole body to become the control and thus make your person the actual character in the game. The Nintendo 3DS brought in the aspect of 3D and made a revolutionary advancement in how we see video games (LITERALLY). The images and videos played on the screen of the 3DS can be viewed in 3D without glasses and makes the video game seem as if it were a part of the real world.
Finally, the most high-tech interfaces that affect the sense of presence within a simulated world are found in virtual reality helmets such as the Oculus Rift as seen in the above video. This interface allows the user to seemingly step INTO the virtual world of the video game itself. There are no avatars or characters other than yourself. The Oculus Rift and other similar interfaces create a first person point of view of a video game and allow you to be the main character of the game. This is a major advancement on what many call Role Playing Games (RPGs) and First Person Shooters (FPS) where the point of view of the video game is completely in first person. However, the Oculus Rift is unique in how it blocks out the reality of the physical world we see and immerses the player into the virtual/simulated world of the video game. It’s as if you are literally IN the game! And what once was only a dream of the future has now become a reality: a person can experience a video game and become present in a simulated world through the advancements of interfaces and systems.
