Ever since the first pixel ponged off of a virtual bat and the first time an invader entered our space, video games have been founded on the twin pillars of fun and technology. Gamings swift rise in the use of technology is remarkable and very similar, but much swifter then the early days of film.
Movies over a series of decades progressed from black and white silent film, to many tens of years later soundtracked colour films and eventually the third dimension as we have it today.
Video games quickly rose from black and white symbolic graphics to the almost photo quality, three dimensionally capable, gesture controlled, triple aaa soundtracked, hundreds of million selling franchises that we have now.
But for both forms of entertainment we seem to have a new is better attitude. A new game or movie will come out and all the hype, hyperbole and excitement surrounding it will push thoughts of other old games out of our heads.
In the movie industry, whilst not desirable, it is not damaging to the industry. The reason why is that in the course of a year an unfeasibly large amount of blockbuster movies aren't released. There are enough released that they can co exist quite contentedly together. If a patron wants to watch all of a seasons top movies then it is quite possible that they can. It is also quite feasible that older but no less brilliant movies like Star Wars and The Godfather et al can also exist and be viewed alongside the latest blockbusters as the weight of their names has enshrined them in the public consciousness, to such an extent that even though they are made with outmoded technology and techniques they are still very much enjoyed by viewers today.
Video games however have the problem that sometimes the technology of bygone years is so far removed from todays that it would be very hard to enjoy a relatively old game. Just as it would be unlikely for a modern person to watch a circa 1900 silent movie, so would it be unlikely that a gamer would enjoy a game of Pong other than out of curiosity.
Gaming still needs to mature its technologies to the point, at least from a graphical perspective, that a game created today could still be enjoyed in fifty years time and not be absolutely cringeworthy and embarrassing to play. Just as a game of chess by its very nature is not technologically dependent, this is the position that gaming needs to be in.
However when it comes to mobile gaming there is another hurdle to games enshrining themselves in our consciousness as evergreen heroes, aside from monoliths like Angry Birds. That hurdle is both Android and I phones strength and Achilles Heel. As mentioned previously in any one year it is fully possible for a film buff to enjoy all the big releases. However with smartphone gaming there are so many big releases that it would be almost impossible for a gamer to keep up with them all
So whilst gamings rise can be correlated to that of movies from a technological and state of the industry perspective we still have a long way to go.
Movies over a series of decades progressed from black and white silent film, to many tens of years later soundtracked colour films and eventually the third dimension as we have it today.
Video games quickly rose from black and white symbolic graphics to the almost photo quality, three dimensionally capable, gesture controlled, triple aaa soundtracked, hundreds of million selling franchises that we have now.
But for both forms of entertainment we seem to have a new is better attitude. A new game or movie will come out and all the hype, hyperbole and excitement surrounding it will push thoughts of other old games out of our heads.
In the movie industry, whilst not desirable, it is not damaging to the industry. The reason why is that in the course of a year an unfeasibly large amount of blockbuster movies aren't released. There are enough released that they can co exist quite contentedly together. If a patron wants to watch all of a seasons top movies then it is quite possible that they can. It is also quite feasible that older but no less brilliant movies like Star Wars and The Godfather et al can also exist and be viewed alongside the latest blockbusters as the weight of their names has enshrined them in the public consciousness, to such an extent that even though they are made with outmoded technology and techniques they are still very much enjoyed by viewers today.
Video games however have the problem that sometimes the technology of bygone years is so far removed from todays that it would be very hard to enjoy a relatively old game. Just as it would be unlikely for a modern person to watch a circa 1900 silent movie, so would it be unlikely that a gamer would enjoy a game of Pong other than out of curiosity.
Gaming still needs to mature its technologies to the point, at least from a graphical perspective, that a game created today could still be enjoyed in fifty years time and not be absolutely cringeworthy and embarrassing to play. Just as a game of chess by its very nature is not technologically dependent, this is the position that gaming needs to be in.
However when it comes to mobile gaming there is another hurdle to games enshrining themselves in our consciousness as evergreen heroes, aside from monoliths like Angry Birds. That hurdle is both Android and I phones strength and Achilles Heel. As mentioned previously in any one year it is fully possible for a film buff to enjoy all the big releases. However with smartphone gaming there are so many big releases that it would be almost impossible for a gamer to keep up with them all
So whilst gamings rise can be correlated to that of movies from a technological and state of the industry perspective we still have a long way to go.
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