14th Week of Project

This week I will just be posting my outline for my senior presentation. Here it is:

Outline

1. (1 min) Short intro on beginning of gaming
• Mention Computer, Graphic space, PONG
2.  (2 min) Where we are now in gaming
• Next Gen Consoles
• Current Restrictions
3. (2 min) Virtual Reality
• Current location of VR progress
• Public use
• Problems and Restrictions
4. (2 min) Quantum Computing 
• What is it
• Where it will go
• What we could create
5. (2 min) Other Possibilities
• Augmented Reality
• Google Glasses
• etc.
6. (1 min) Rap everything together

12th Week of Project

This week I finally received an email back from the creators of the Oculus rift. This is what they had to say.

Q: Do you feel Oculus if the future of gaming?
A: It's tough to say if Oculus is the future of gaming. It does bring a new type of gaming into the hand of gamers, but with all the inventions and innovations happening everyday, I would say that the Oculus is just a small part of the future of gaming.

Q: Do you think Oculus will become a public device anyone can buy soon?
A: Soon would be nice, however the truth is it might be a while. Although there are a few different companies creating their own virtual reality headset, all are encountering the same problem. The motion sickness experienced by gamers is a large issue we would like to solve. Not to mention the reluctance of game developers to gamble on making a triple A gaming title.

Q: Do you think we will have even more realistic graphics for the Oculus before it's release.
A: Seeing that it's release is still some time away, we would love to improve the game graphics as much as possible. The more realistic the better. I think it's a simple as that. We might run into some technology restrictions, but we are always working on over coming that.

Q: What gaming innovations are you excited for?
A: Well other than other virtual reality headsets, I would really like to see the new consoles pushed to their limit. I want to see the real power that they have. Make a video game that would really show people the potential these consoles poses. I would like to see a game developer try out some new ideas and take some risks on the new consoles.

Q: How do you see the Oculus influencing gamers in the future?
A: Well based on the fan participation within the Oculus community. From them making their own games, to pushing the Oculus to it's limits, I think it's safe to say that the Oculus really makes people want to do more and make more with the technology that they're given. Sometimes I see a fan made game and am really amazed that they took such initiative to create something of this caliber. You really see the love people have for video games when you play their own creations.

Thanks to the developers of the Oculus for answering my questions. Next week is the final week of my project and hopefully I will be able to lay out my plan for my senior project. See you all next week.

11th Week of Project

Last week I emailed the creator of the Oculus. As of now I have not received any response, so instead I want to talk about the use of console games. These are games that are played using a home console connected to the TV. With the release of the Xbox One and PS4 a few months ago, there has been some speculation as to what the capabilities these console have compared to the power of the Desktop. A desktop computer has always been the more powerful gaming option, whereas console had significantly less, but at a fraction of the cost. But now the current generation of console are bragging of the same capabilities as a computer, but at half the cost. Now there is debate that the Desktop computers are stronger, but there's no clear cut winner on who's better. The important part is that where Desktops are getting better slowly, consoled are making huge strides. It would not be wrong to say that soon consoles could catch or even pass Desktop gaming. All that will be revealed in the future. But for now, Here: http://gearnuke.com/pc-vs-consoles-ultimate-showdown/ is an article comparing the two ways to game. It's a little biased, but gets some good points across. Hopefully next week I will have an update on my emailed questions. Until then, go play some games.

10th Week of Project

Welcome back, this week is a big step in my project. I've emailed the company that created the Oculus Rift asking 5 questions. I wanted to know what they thought about the future of gaming, and how the Oculus would help further that progress. I asked the questions

1. Do you feel Oculus if the future of gaming?
2. Do you think Oculus will become a public device anyone can buy soon?
3. Do you think we will have even more realistic graphics for the Oculus and how soon?
4. What gaming innovations are you excited for?
5. How do you see the Oculus influencing other games in the future?

Hopefully I can give you an update on a response from the Oculus creator next week. Until then Think about how you would answer my questions, and what you would want in the future of gaming

9th Post of Project

Last week I talked about the difficult topic of Quantum computing. So this week I'm going to focus on a more simple topic. The straight up future of gaming. This topic may seem broad, but whats important is that the future is always moving forward. This week I want to talk about the gaming type of graphics. Graphics are an important part of gaming. It's how clear the game looks and can determine if a game looks realistic. Graphics are determined by the engine the game uses. And most new games use a newer or updated engine. Now graphics are a vital part of gaming. When a game has the best graphics it makes the scenery almost breathtaking and can really stun the player. So whats the future of graphics in gaming. Currently graphics have reached the point of using a 2GB graphics card. 30 years ago the top of the line card was 2KB. Over 30 years the increase is roughly 10 times greater. This is incredible. And with a 2GB card the graphics are near mind blowing. Imagine in 10 years, we could have graphics on par with real life. This is truly the future of graphics. Here: http://www.develop-online.net/tools-and-tech/the-future-of-game-graphics/0201807 is a great article on the future on graphics. And as always, I'll see you next week.

8th Post of Project

This week I'm going to move away from the idea of Virtual Reality and move to a more complicated topic known as Quantum Computing and Gaming. To understand this idea you first must understand how computers work. So the main idea you need to know is that all computers have tiny boxes or switches on the computer chips inside of them. The number of switches determine how powerful a computer is. The more power a computer has the more tasks the computer can complete. So the problem we're running into today is that these switches can only be so small and we can only have so many on a chip. What's the solution, Quantum Computing. This might sound complicated. But all it really means is tiny engineering of computers. How tiny? How about the size of atoms. By making these switches the size of atoms we can put an enormous amount on a chip. Making the power of the computer become beyond our comprehension. The issue with making these switches is that when something is the size of an atom that means we have to maneuver around the atoms that are already there and dealing with atoms is a lot different than anything else we have dealt with. Atoms don't really follow the laws of physics we know of and use every day. Imagine this, A switch in a computer has 2 options. On or Off. The problem atoms have is that atoms will hit both on and off at the same time, or none of the options, or one of the options an unlimited number of times. And since these atoms are so small, we don't know any of the options it will choose. This is the problem with Quantum computing. The possible solution to this is a certain type of bit. Bits are the on and off part of the switch. But a Quantum bit is a bit that doesn't have a set option. The bit can adjust itself. The problem is this bit will only work with an atom and not the base of all current computers. To utilize this idea of Quantum switches we would have to throw away everything we know of current computers. Since nothing would work the way we expect it to. However the benefits of this idea are unfathomable. When two atoms interact with each other and then move away, they maintain a bond of power, the likes we can't explain. This opens up an unlimited amount of possibilities with computers and in turn Gaming. Here is the video that I used for my information: http://www.techtimes.com/articles/21608/20141211/5-videos-show-future-gaming-draft.htm
Click on the Quantum Computing video and I'll see you all next week.

5th Post of Project

Hello everyone, this week I want to move away from the gaming possibilities of virtual reality, and move into an interesting topic dealing with the idea. Education is on of the most important parts of a society. It educates the children and leads to advancement in technology, medicine, politics, everywhere. Now imagine if there was a way to immerse children in topics of school. History, English, and Science to name a few. I mean, think about learning the history of America. Say, the Revolutionary War. Imagine students learning this time period in history, by experiencing a simulation of THE WAR. It's incredible. You could have a simulation for WWII, creation of man, exploring a volcano, the painting of the Mona Lisa. The options are unlimited. By immersing a student with these simulation their ability to retain the information would increase. The use of VR in our society can have more uses than just in games. Virtual Tours, training simulation, the options are staggering. I think VR is truly the future for society and not just gaming. Here: http://www.techradar.com/us/news/gaming/beyond-oculus-the-future-of-virtual-reality-gaming-1255974
is an article on the future of VR. See you all next week