Next-gen gaming

"The future begins," Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2014 tells us. Or as Kevin Spacey would tell us from the new Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare he's starring in, "The spacefuture begins."

spacey playing the next-gen sim city

It's been about eight months since Microsoft and Sony released their Xbox One and PS4 consoles and both have made quite a lot of money for their respective companies. Console gaming is a huge part of the video entertainment industry and the big bosses have been rallying behind the next-gen banner. 

Writer for the tech blog The Verge, Sean Hollister identified some defining characteristics of next-gen games showcased at E3 2013. Sean noted better graphical fidelity; physics on a larger scale than ever before; open world mechanics; melding of single player and multiplayer experiences; and cross-platform mechanics to be key identifiers of games currently spearheading the next-gen switch. In short, the games are more photorealistic with the cross-platform stuff being slowly picked up and worked on. Even shorter, games look prettier. Save for cross-platform mechanics, the 2007 game Crysis pretty much had a head start- a six year head start.

I don't mean to undermine the graphical advancements made in console development, but at this point in time it is something that is expected out of games, not something to impress anyone with (especially for the big budget AAA titles). Even then, some games (Call of Duty: Ghosts, I'm looking at you) don't even deliver on the graphical fidelity portion of the next-gen deal, leaving behind awkward animations and out-of-place, low resolution textures in its wake.

 e3 is actually just a contest for realistic water and whale physics

Graphical capabilities aside, the cross-platform approach has me the most excited. Battlefield 4 gave us a look at what can be done with cross-platform integration with it's Commander Mode in something akin to the Natural Selection series: while your friends are on the ground, you as the commander can recon, give orders, launch tactical strikes, drop assets, etc. all from the comfort of your iPad or Android phone. This kind of integration opens up a whole new realm of possibilities. In future games, maybe one title can target multiple platforms, each with their own genre. Do you like shooters? Pick up your console controls and blast away! Do you like RTS instead? Pick up your iPad and give orders! Maybe you like puzzle games? Pick up your smartphone, play some puzzle mini-games to give boosts to your team! The idea is out there; it's up to the game developers to craft an effective execution.

it pilots real drones in real life

The gaming industry is in a pivotal transition period. Right now, next-gen isn't all it can be. I believe that the strive for photorealism tunnel-visions developers and leads them to leave out core areas in games (Titanfall really left me disheartened when I learned key multiplayer aspects in a multiplayer only game were left out). Lifelike explosions and fantasy settings bring games to life like never before, but graphics cannot be the only thing that holds up the next-gen banner. 

spacefuture! also no private lobbies in a multiplayer game? no single player? for full price?

I'm looking forward to 2014 and 2015 and all the gaming innovations that will come with it (I'm looking at you, Oculus Rift). The spacefuture is here; we're living in it. We need to be wary of the next-gen banner. We need to make sure that we get the most out of the games we buy and nothing less. As consumers, it's time to redefine what next-gen means before it slips too far out of our control.