| Your mobile phone, computer, living room, and | | | | deals with lighting and water. How should light be |
| practically everywhere else are overtaken by the | | | | refracted when it hits a liquid surface? And how |
| video game storm. Not so long ago video games | | | | would the sun's glare look underneath the ocean? |
| were just a fad with simple physics-based games | | | | These questions and more have been answered |
| like Pong. But as video game technology has | | | | by video game developers for such games as |
| progressed, so too has the popularity and limits | | | | Crysis. |
| that are associated with games in today's society. | | | | Graphical Upgrades in Video Games: Pong wasn't |
| Can Artificial Intelligence Think Like Humans: | | | | such a beautiful game. It didn't make use of |
| Artificial intelligence isn't anything new; it was | | | | complicated shaders, textures, or sprites found in |
| present every time you served a ball to the | | | | all of today's modern games. As time has |
| computer play in Pong. But what is new is the | | | | marched on, there have been vast improvements |
| fact that artificial intelligence is starting to mimic | | | | in how graphics are rendered on gaming |
| human beings more and more every day. | | | | platforms. |
| In today's games, enemies will try war tactics | | | | Part of the reason technology has allowed for |
| such as flanking. They might try to throw a | | | | better graphics is through hardware upgrades. |
| grenade when they can't get a clear visual of you. | | | | With limited processors of the Pong era, not |
| They'll help their own teammates to bring your life | | | | much action could take place before choppy |
| to an end. Sound familiar? This is something very | | | | performance would have been observed. With |
| similar to what we call real life warfare. With each | | | | today's high-speed hardware, we can allow for |
| passing year, AI is becoming increasingly intelligent. | | | | more pixels, instructions, and shading to take |
| It's only a matter of time before humans are | | | | place- sometimes on a massive scale. |
| truly outsmarted in video games (by their own | | | | Technology has recently allowed for game |
| creations, no less!). | | | | development to be accessible to anyone- even |
| Physics in Today's Technology: If you were to | | | | without a computer science degree! Tools such as |
| jump, you'd expect to land back on the ground | | | | the Microsoft XNA Framework allow developers |
| within a second or two, right? Well, this very | | | | to create video games in a much less time span- |
| action is associated with equations and formulas | | | | and without the need to know a lot of computer |
| that scientists have developed. All that a video | | | | jargon. |
| game developer needs to do is look at these | | | | Where is Video Game Technology Going? |
| equations and apply them to video games. | | | | Technology 20 years ago looked like it was the |
| Physics in the original Pong are impressive. It | | | | cutting-edge of what was to come- and now look! |
| shows well displayed geometry physics. But in | | | | How would you compare a game of Pong to |
| today's video games, physics are becoming | | | | today's 3D shooters? You couldn't, and we can |
| increasingly realistic. You might jump off a | | | | only hope in another 20 years we will be thinking |
| mountain, stumble, and get back up. You might | | | | the very same thing. While we can't foresee the |
| get punched from an enemy, fall down, and try | | | | future- virtual reality is one topic that has been |
| to turn the tides of the fight. | | | | being developed much in recent years. Time will |
| Some of the more interesting physics technology | | | | tell! |