The gaming industry is driven by technological development, with emerging technologies being implemented into the latest titles to ensure players enjoy the best experiences. Improving connectivity has also been a major factor, with online gaming providing greater convenience to its customers.
The capabilities that modern consoles, PCs, Laptops, and mobile devices have, as well as fast and secure internet connections, mean that developers can harness emerging and existing technologies to improve the overall gaming experience, rather than shoehorning it purely for novelty value.
We look at four ways players can experience something beyond the world of traditional gaming and make use of online access and the latest technologies.
Online Raffle Games
The US has relatively complex gambling regulations, with each state deciding its own rules. This can result in consumers living meters apart having vastly different betting laws. Online and retail sports and casino betting industries can all have different regulations in the same state, leading to many people looking for alternatives.
One option that has grown in popularity is online raffles. These options allow players to buy or earn ticket entries into raffles for a variety of prizes. Paid raffle sites will vary prices depending on the prize, with the most expensive tickets available for houses, luxury cars, and holidays. Some sites offer free entries for players who complete certain activities.
Anyone can sign up for the raffle site and look through the different options to see which ones they want to enter. Different activities can reward players with a greater number of raffle entries, with simple tasks like sharing across social media channels and signing up for email updates being some of the most popular options. Interested players can check out Real Raffle to enjoy the fun and excitement of entering raffle draws, with the opportunity to win massive prizes.
Virtual Reality Titles
Virtual reality gaming has been around for years, but we are only just reaching a point where the technology can improve gameplay. Players can wear VR headsets, with some of the most popular options, including Meta Quest and Apple Vision models, allowing players to get as close to entering the world of their favorite games as possible.
The demand for immersive gaming experiences has never been higher, and the interactive nature of VR gaming where players can move and engage with the players and the environment around them. These games can not only provide hours of entertainment but can also be beneficial for players’ cognitive and motor skills. If you are in any doubt as to how immersed players can get when playing VR games, just look on YouTube at some VR gaming fails, with some hilarious results.
The physical nature of VR gaming is another benefit, with activity levels matching or exceeding those of Nintendo Wii players back in the 2000s.
Players use a headset that uses high-res screens and 3D lenses. State-of-the-art sensors can pick up the head movements of the player, letting them look around, and stereo sound can also add something extra to the experience. Players will also control actions by using handheld controllers, with haptic feedback also used to activate the senses.
Augmented Reality Games
The popularity of augmented reality games has been made possible by mobile devices, with players able to use smartphones to combine real-world activities with popular gaming franchises.
One game that took the world by storm in 2016, and is still going strong, is Pokémon Go. This game allowed users to explore their local area, with Pokémon spawning the more they walked about.
Players could choose between using their phone camera to see Pokémon in real-world settings or using the computer-generated background. The game was so popular that the game developers even had to add a warning to ensure people would look where they were going and stay safe.
After the popularity of this game, a variety of similar options came out, including Jurassic World Alive and Ghostbusters. These games gave players the opportunity to catch dinosaurs and ghosts, and also improve their fitness.
The technology to superimpose computer-generated images over real-world views is something that works as the polar opposite of VR immersive experiences. Rather than entering a computer-generated world, the player invites characters to join them in the real world.
AI and ML-Assisted Games
Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies have helped take gaming to the next level. Both the gaming and gambling industries have been able to streamline operations and improve the user experience by gathering and deciphering vast quantities of information to make games more responsive.
In some cases, these systems can learn the ability of a player and tailor difficulty levels to a setting that is challenging enough to keep things interesting, without making it too difficult. It can also see the types of challenges and characters that players prefer, generating more as the player continues.
AI and ML have also been used to improve NPCs in games, these characters are typically used to drive storylines and present challenges. By learning more about the player, these characters can be directed in different ways, and will also react differently depending on the actions taken by the player.
Online casino players can also benefit from computer-generated AI characters, such as dealers and competitors. This has helped to create a more lifelike casino experience and drive revenue for operators.
While AI and ML technology is expensive, there is a strong case for its implementation as it will bring long-term value to game developers and betting operators. The information gathered can help determine consumer preferences and provide fast and accurate data compared with old-fashioned opinion groups.
As well as improving immediate gameplay, AI and ML have also helped operators improve their marketing, creating promotions tailored to individual users that are more likely to be used.
Regardless of the device players use to access their favorite games, technological developments are improving the player experience immeasurably.
