The video game industry is the fastest-growing technology area in the world. Due to this fact, many innovative products and directions appear in it every year that deserve attention. According to estimations, “in 2019, the gaming industry generated $120 billion in revenue, and experts predict it could reach $200 billion within two years” (Koss). In particular, cybersports is becoming more and more popular, overtaking traditional sports broadcasts in terms of the number of viewers. These factors together lead to the fact that more and more companies seek to invest in this area, which stimulates technological growth.
Undoubtedly, the most significant innovation in video game technologies is the development of artificial intelligence. This advancement allows video game developers to create more complex NPCs (Non-Playable Character) for the player to interact with. Together with the development of 3D graphics, this tool allows you to create the most realistic environment. In contrast to earlier models, modern NPCs can exercise more freedom in decision-making, creating the gameplay indistinguishable from reality.
This technology is associated with a number of fundamental changes that the industry needs since artificial intelligence is the most promising and innovative direction. First of all, artificial intelligence in the future can be used to simulate the emotional response and real interaction between the NPC and the player, which increases immersion (Fraser et al.). This circumstance is due to the ability of artificial intelligence to learn from real people, analyze the experience and apply it in various situations.
Deep learning for artificial intelligence, in this case, presents almost unlimited possibilities. This technology allows the system to analyze the provided patterns of behavior, highlighting the necessary patterns from them and learn from their own mistakes through their application (Torrado et al.). Thus, the correct application of the algorithm is encouraged, and the wrong is ignored, which forces the program to learn. This technology can allow NPCs to create realistic player interactions that will improve over time. With systems going global, the program can incorporate the experiences of millions of players and NPCs around the world. Although the use of this technology in video games is not widespread and has a number of limitations at present, it may develop rapidly in the future (Torrado et al.). Artificial intelligence is likely to change the industry in the future with its capabilities radically.
First of all, developers will be able to abandon pre-written dialogues and scripts in favor of a self-developing world. Artificial intelligence will be able to shape not only the environment but also the characters that inhabit it. Deep learning can also make NPCs indistinguishable from humans, as they learn from patterns of human behavior. Thus, in conjunction with the development of 3D technologies, the game world at some point will be indistinguishable from the real one, not only in terms of the visual but also the social component. This circumstance raises a number of concerns, but future technologies will also focus on the safety of players and the maintenance of their mental health.
In order to stay current in the field, I can use numerous databases providing information on relevant journals, including The Computer Games Journal, EAI Endorsed Transactions on Serious Games, or Entertainment Computing. To monitor updates in publications, I can use Inspec Database, which provides information and access to major journals in the field of science and technology, including computer and game technologies (Inspec). The plan on staying current in the field includes monitoring relevant publications, news in scientific journals, as well as possible visits to gaming exhibitions of the largest game developers, which are often held around the world.
Works Cited
Fraser, Jamie, et al. “Spoken Conversational AI in Video Games-Emotional Dialogue Management Increases User Engagement.” IVA, 2018.
Inspec. The Institution of Engineering and Technology, n. d.
Kross, Hal. “What Does the Future of the Gaming Industry Look Like?” Builtin, 2020.
Torrado, Ruben, et al. “Deep Reinforcement Learning for General Video Game AI.” IEEE Conference on Computational Intelligence and Games (CIG), 2018.