It's been rumored that the forthcoming action shooter game Dead Rising 2 will be capable of showing up to six thousand characters on the screen at one time. If true, this will be a towering achievement of programming and graphics. But on the other hand, who cares?
Not that 6,000 zombies isn't a lot to face off against at one time. But let's be honest: Three or four hundred zombies at once is plenty. And that's just the old-school, slow-moving zombies. If you want to get into the high-speed, 28 Days Later-style brain-eaters, you're going to have your hands full with only a couple dozen. All those extra zombies starting to sound like overkill? Especially since the programmers are also going out of their way to make sure they're not all wearing the same outfit--after all, when you take out Zombie #4,328, they don't want you thinking back to Zombie #387 and saying, "Hey, didn't I already shoot that one?"
It just seems like game programming is moving to the level where new features are way beyond our ability to fully appreciate them. Has gaming advanced as far as it reasonably can? Or should we be looking forward to new game features like the following?
Carbon footprint. New auto-racing games will constantly calculate the amount of greenhouse gases your virtual vehicle is putting out. At the end of each heat, you can check your time, average speed, and damage to the ozone layer. An optional add-on will allow you to purchase real-world carbon credits online.
Real-time wound healing. Actual soldiers who've been hurt in battle don't get to run over a medikit and heal instantly, so why should you? In the next generation of war simulator games, getting shot or blown up non-fatally will send your character to an army hospital, where you'll spend up to three months repeatedly playing minigames like "Morning Meds," "Physical Therapy," and "Bedpan."
Lifelike blade-dulling. One of the realities of swordplay is that the more weapons clash, the duller they get. In future versions of sword-and-sorcery games, each time you strike sparks off your blade, it'll become a bit less keen. Until you must either repair to a blacksmith for sharpening or resign yourself to wielding a broadsword that cuts like a two-by-four.
Instrument tuning. Real musicians are constantly retuning during a set. While waiting for the next song to load, why not make use of the time using tuning pegs on your bleeding-edge guitar controller or tighten the heads on your virtual drum kit? Bonus feature: If your virtual guitar is in tune while the pegs are parallel, it's good for an extra million points.
Tell us about your own ideas for gaming's least-anticipated features.
Topics: Digital
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