Where do PC games go from here?

Looking at Crysis and some other games that are soon to be released, I get the feeling that graphics in games do not have to go much further before they are nearly or completely photo realistic. It seems that improved graphics has always been at the top of the list of features that make a game "next gen" for most people. But what happens when we no longer have the need to improve them? What will define a next generation game then?

Any thoughts?

Most "next-gen" seems to be not just graphics, but technology of animation period, look at how well the animations are for Al Tair when he climbs buildings, or Alan Wake's tornado physics.

Although, I do wonder how soon crysis will look like it was supposed to.

Has the nvidia 9 series come out yet? I haven't been paying attention, it shoulda came in december right?

Although, I looked at SoaSE and it's got the least demanding sys. req. I've seen for a game recently besides the WoW expansion and it looks as good as supreme commander does! (you know, the game that makes your CPU beg you to stop playing.)

This is the first I've heard of SoaSE (been living under a rock, I suppose.) It looks great...hopefully it can fill the void in my heart where a new Homeworld have should have been :cry:dos4gw82

Actually, I think SoaSE has been under the rock, there has hardly been any hype, trailers or w/e for it, I bet if it had more publicity there would be a nice big "megathread" for it, and it's sad cuz this game (as ZP would say) is a shiny gem that shines out in the filthy swamp of video game filth. I guess Turok is taking up the advertisementson gamespot.

Although, they had a beta for it since the game was announced!

The new Turok: Now with even more fog!dos4gw82

So its just a white screen?

[QUOTE="dos4gw82"]The new Turok: Now with even more fog!Rattlesnake_8

So its just a white screen?

With the advertising I just saw on the home page, it'll still get 9.5 editors choice on here, if not a frikin' 10.

When the issue of improving graphics is no more a thing that determines next gen, I think game play and story line intergration will be the next biggest thing... for example the ablity to play out the game and create you own story in a non-liner game experiene... thing Crysis graphics with WoW gameplay and interaction. Multiplayer interaction will also be a big part of the next gen gaming experience! The closer the gaming experience can feel real and be believable the better... this is the altimate goal of any developer!Brendonius

They also want to be able to make an experience so real, that if say, a character in a game died, you would cry! Unlike the lifeless drones that flood the streets of GTA. I'd say Valve is the closest to achieving that goal, if not achieved already.

Bigger maps, more players/npcs, larger draw distances, seemless level transitions, dynamic environments etc.

AI will be far more challenging.RedDanDoc

true, but also just game story and and gameply will get better

When you will have a world the size of the one in Flight Simulator X, with the graphical detail of at least Crysis on High and gameplay freedom like GTA then you can really ask the question "Where do we go from here?".

Until then, gaming is only in it's adolescence.

By the time we have truly lifelike visuals, what will people even think of computer games? I think people - the whole world - will have a much different opinion of games. I mean, if the visuals are literally lifelike, what will happen to the film and television industries? If a game developer can make a movie in their game engine for $15m when a live action movie might cost ten times that, and no one can really tell the difference (there will probably always be some telltale signs, but who is going to care all that much?).

What is going to happen to computer games? And how will the film and television industries play off it? I think all three industries will change when we hit that point, shifting and merging - I think all three will end up as something other than they are now.

I guess I think improvements in AI, animation and physics are the most important next steps. Games where the game worlds are as real as they look, and where the characters therein are as real as they look.

But I think most of all that developers will begin building films and television shows in their game engines, because I imagine it would be much, much cheaper. Though admittedly I have no real idea how much a game costs, it must be a relatively modest figure or most non-platinum games would be running at a loss.

Well, my prediction is that people will stop trying to do photo realistic content.

Look at the history of Art, when loads of artists were doing paintings so lifelike you could believe it was real, some started doing crazy things and not even trying to make their work look real. The whole impressionist thing kicked off and then Art became anything you wanted.

I believe that video games will go down a similar route, especially since smaller developers won't be able to put the amount of work in necessary to create realistic visuals. Simpler, cartoony graphics will become far more common.

I think there will still be the big studios making realistic looking games, but it will hit a point where they can't improve the visuals any more and there won't be any graphic hypes anymore, just gameplay hypes (I hope anyway :) ).

We're quite a way off that yet though.

Have fun