Fundamental Advances in Video Gaming Technology - Case Study Example

GAMING SYSTEMS Video gaming technology has experienced a meteoric increase in recent decades from simple physics-based applications such as Pong, toincreasingly convincing simulations in 3-D. In addition to increasing sophistication and graphical displays, these improvements are largely characterized by advances in artificial intelligence. This report will explore fundamental advances in video gaming technology with respect to three fundamental areas that contribute to the present state of electronic simulations pertaining to this application: 1.) Graphic displays – including the rendering of sprites and obstacles in addition to background details. 2.) Networking – which describes growing connectivity between electronic devices contributing to the videogame experience, and often making it possible for a wider range of machines. 3.) Artificial intelligence - character interactions between sprites within the game show increasing facility with respect to decision-making in a way that increasingly controls the gaming experience, with applications beyond the console. Graphics: Graphics technology has expanded through several discrete stages from purely textbased, to increasingly detailed visual displays starting from the 1970s. Early textbased gaming often depended upon the development of the terminal emulator. This is a program designed for the purpose of emulating another video terminal within a video terminal, or some other customized display structure. These emulated terminals could involve creative design and could be customized based upon the genre at hand. This usually takes the form of one or more terminal windows in which game related output can be provided separate to some form of input display under direct player control. These windows are not limited to gaming, but can be applicable for programming purposes as well, including support for commandline interfaces and other applications supporting text user interfaces. For gaming purposes, it is common to include customization options to allow the player some control over cursor shape, or the appearance of the text – but these aesthetics may often be predetermined depending upon the game and the genre. This basic system is largely dependent upon human imagination, but nonetheless permits the rudimentary interactivity of the gaming experience but without any specialized graphical displays beyond a flashing cursor. Many terminal emulators can perform local echoes on command (Bigelow, 2000). Early examples of textbased gaming would include the multiuser dungeons or MUDS, or games such as ZORK. These projects are easier to write in terms of programming, but they can also serve as the core of a gaming system which supplements the text with rudimentary images, an example would be the electronic arts game THE BARDS TALE. Textbased gaming with rudimentary image supplementation represents an intermediate stage towards a more in-depth simulations. Other early forms of graphics displays included vector graphics and gaming. The vector system employs rudimentary geometric forms based upon mathematical equations to create simple polygons which are representative of sprites and other in game characters. Vector graphics represented an innovative alternative compared with pixel designs that would predominate later in the industry. Some early arcade games would use a fast-moving electron beam to render moving characters overlaid upon a static background. This was a popular technique employed by ATARI. This technique fell into disuse as pixelated sprites became increasingly popular in the late 1980s (Wolf, 2008). Later trends and graphics include a style that is still in use in some forms today, projected moving pixels. This represents advancements in a basic technology that has existed in rudimentary forms since the days of primarily textbased gaming, but which began to surpass earlier styles. In the 1980s, pixel animated games typically took the form of two-dimensional graphic bitmaps dividing the games display potential into a library of tiles and sprites that could be reused and recombined in order to simulate more complex environments than would have been possible through vector-based polygons. Potential applications include a wide range of two-dimensional, side scrolling titles, and simulated 3-D with numerous examples by Sega and Nintendo. Ultimately, the development of 3-D accelerated graphics permitted advancement beyond sprites based pixels limited to two dimensions. In the technical terms, this includes features such as perspective projection and other technologies that permit simulation and duplication of distant backgrounds without extending processing power to render them in real time. 3-D acceleration also permits a wide range of varied perspectives, including both first and third person. These 3-D systems are dependent upon three basic stages, modeling, animation, and rendering. The modeling phase may involve the scanning or capture of a real world object into the computer which is then subject to specialized animation or rendering. An example of life capture techniques would be the original MORTAL KOMBAT game by Midway, which implemented photographic capture even in the absence of 3-D acceleration. Another option is a virtual simulation. Physical simulation can be achieved by constructing an object out of triangular polygons. This is modeled through the positioning of specialized points in a simulated 3-D space called vertices. Lines connecting these vertices define the shape of polygons, which can be assembled into a complete character. As processing power improves, it becomes possible to generate characters with increasingly high polygon count totals. Afterwards it becomes necessary to arrange the figure or object into a scene. The layout of the objects determines the way in which the character moves and is affected by its environment during the course of gameplay. This can be accomplished through the methods of inverse kinematics, as well as 3-D motion capture. After structure and movement are defined it becomes necessary to determine when and how the object is rendered. This can evolve textural details, as well as the simulation of light sources upon the image. In some cases it is also necessary to employ 3-D projection which replicates images of the character as part of the process necessary to shape the environment to match. Rendering adds final, aesthetic details that make the collection of polygons a compelling simulation of the real thing (Jáuregui, 2012). Networking One of the most impressive modern innovations expanding the potential of gaming in general is the adaptation to the Internet, and online networking in general. This allows the creation of games that transcend practical limitations in the past, allowing for the transmission of new content, in addition to a new style of cooperative play permitting individuals around the world the chance for cooperative experiences with each other. The classic example of this technology in action is World of Warcraft by Blizzard. But there are other examples that utilize this model as well, such as Guild Wars. There is also a trend where many other games not originally intended for online play have been adapted through sequels to support online interactions. This includes the Mortal Kombat series by Midway, in addition to the final installment of the Mass Effect series from Bioware. This technology first became available in the 1990s, and was achieved using local area network LAN protocols allowing limited connections between adjacent devices, but on the Internet it became possible also for devices to connect with one another using TCP/IP protocols. This refers to the transmission control protocol combined with the Internet protocol, a model specifying the ways in which data should be addressed, routed, and prepared for reception upon reaching its destination. The system includes communication technologies for the initial network link, as well as provisions to connect hosts across multiple independent networks, as well as the inclusion of a transport layer for host to host contact, as well as a data exchange application that allows processes to exchange data. The system was developed back in 1989, but this process itself was dependent upon an earlier protocol, IPv4, which itself laid the groundwork for the modern Internet in 1981. (Braden, 1989). But that protocol itself was also a replacement of an even earlier design. The revolutionary potential intent to terms was realized by these protocols which enable the transmission of discrete packets over multiple interconnected networks. It was possible to connect computers before, but this was typically done through a dedicated cable connecting one computer at a time, limited by proximity and the physical properties of the line. A personal computer is subject to the specific needs of an individual, and therefore its output of information will vary depending upon when and how the device is used. This makes dedicated cables linking individual computers inefficient except in the most limited context. Network enabled transmission of specific data packets using these protocols allows virtually limitless combinations of computer to computer interactions, permitting it gaming and other simulations to reach a new level of interactivity. The information packets come in discrete layers, like an onion or a Russian nesting doll with units contained within a larger whole. Addressing information determines source and destination through a particular packet, with a convention of port numbers that permit each computer on the network to have its own unique address to prevent confusion in the transmission of data intended for another device. Sequencing numbers also exist along the packets to be arranged in a specific order as needed, or request the retransmission of packets that are missing (Fall & Stevens, 2011). Artificial Intelligence For a truly immersive gaming experience, it becomes necessary to develop increasingly complex behavioral routines affecting characters, and the background world in which the game takes place. Improvements in artificial intelligence are useful in a wide range of videogame genres; allowing alien invaders to realistically support their allies in a simulated firefight, and use smart tactics like flanking, or tossing grenades when an enemies strength and position is uncertain. Fantasy dragons can more efficiently employ their fire breath in real time. Even an educational game can benefit by anticipating player responses. Even wordprocessors can learn and remember and are more likely to accurately predict what a writer intends to type in a given literary context. These technologies have a long history. Artificial intelligence represented through mathematics is arguably the core principle for which the computer itself was initially developed. Earlier work had been done both in terms of mathematics and hardware that would later be assembled into the modern computer, but the first fully functional electronic digital computer was designated Colossus and created by cryptographers in World War II as part of a code breaking initiative by mathematicians at Bletchley Park. The Germans had instituted a new encryption method codenamed fish for use with the enigma machine used to encode Nazi radio communications. This new binary teleprinter system was used for high-level encryptions, such as those originating from high command or Hitler himself. In those days successful decryption became a military necessity (Copeland, 2000). Other analog devices had been attempted earlier, but the most efficient means devised to defeat the new encryption for the enigma machine proved to be the worlds first, fully functional electronic computer. It was the exploration of these mathematical capabilities that would later be expanded upon in two modern principles of artificial intelligence, applicable in simulations and a wide range of video games. Artificial intelligence implemented for peaceful purposes largely took the form of chess playing programs; among the first computer programs ever written. This is an application which continues to this day, but is by no means the extent of simulated behavior possible. Late in the 1970s and into the 1980s arcade video games became popular which introduced the idea of a player competing against enemies. Early videogame enemies had distinct movement patterns that were stored specifically with minimal responsiveness. But early on it was possible to devise interactivity based upon player responses through the use of hash functions, which were dependent upon player input. In essence, these hash functions convert a body of data into an abbreviated form based upon specialized algorithms (Konheim, 2011). From this, it was possible to derive modifications in stored behavior patterns as a result of player input. The mathematical essentials of hash functions, the conversion of data into simplified shorthand can be understood as the technological outgrowth of the processing power that defeated the encryption from the enigma machine. Typically, this results in a small selection of simplistic rules able to simulate a gameplay experience, but these capabilities still represent a considerable distance from the perennial dream of a truly responsive, independent artificial intelligence. However, processing power improves all the time – and todays limitations may be reduced to a footnote in computing history. Conclusion For optimized interactive experience, these three characteristics will ideally be integrated into a functional whole. Graphics and text will be supported by networking capabilities not dependent upon any single device, but one part of an interactive network. Through hash functions and pattern recognition algorithms, it is conceivable that future gaming experiences will include more than simply responsive enemies, but the system that guesses and supports user choices through a probabilistic estimation of what the user is most likely to want, and to fulfill those desires through artificial intelligence integral to every aspect of quality computer gaming experience. References Bigelow, S.J. (2000). PC Technicians Troubleshooting Pocket Reference (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-212945-8. Braden, R., 1989. Network Working Group. Internet Engineering Task Force. Internet Standard. Network Working Group. http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1122: Accessed: 4/29/2014. Copeland, J. 2000. A Brief History of Computing. © Copyright B.J. Copeland, June 2000. A Brief History of Computing. AlanTuring.net. Accessed: 4/29/2014. Fall, K.R., Stevens, R.W., 2011. TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1: The Protocols (2nd Edition) (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series) Addison-Wesley Professional; 2 edition (November 25, 2011) ISBN-10: 0321336313. Jáuregui, D.A.G., Horain, P. 2012.3D Motion Capture by Computer Vision and Virtual Rendering: Allowing virtual telepresence to anyone using a personal computer with a webcam. LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing (November 19, 2012). Konheim, A.G., 2011. Hashing in Computer Science: Fifty Years of Slicing and Dicing. Wiley-Interscience; 1 edition (May 23, 2011). Wiley-Interscience; 1 edition (May 23, 2011) Wolf, M.J., 2008. The Video Game Explosion: A History from PONG to Playstation and Beyond. Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. ISBN: 978-0-313-33868-7. Read More