The gaming industry has undergone something of a metamorphosis. In just half a century, it has transitioned from pixelated graphics of 2D objects to the immersive worlds of virtual reality (VR).
This evolution comes primarily from technological advancements, but also a growing sense of appetite to push boundaries to integrate diverse gaming formats. Today, there’s a broad range of experiences, from playing Eye of the Horus online to hunting monsters in Witcher 3.
Digital Gaming
The 1970s and 1980s were where it all began for digital gaming. These pioneering creations, which today are characterized by their pixelated visuals (something that has stayed “in fashion”), were relatively simple.
Games such as “Pong” and “Space Invaders” offered straightforward gameplay that was easy to grasp but challenging to master, setting the foundation for the industry’s future. In other words, they had the scope to be extremely competitive despite their simplicity, much like pinball or checkers. This era showcased the early technological experimentation of playing games, and a shift from analogue to digital.
Internet Gaming
The rise of the internet in the late 1990s and early 2000s revolutionized gaming in a different way, introducing online multiplayer experiences like Runescape and EVE. This period took gaming from being competitive to being a place where you can build communities, social circles, and in-game credibility that is long-lasting (not just high scores, but currency, resources, and ranking.)
Because of this, more scope for variability opened up. No longer did you have to have Pac-Man types of genre, but instead almost anything could be gamified, from farming to driving, meaning there was now something for everyone.
The Digital Casino Gaming Revolution
Casinos are far older than video games, unsurprisingly, so it was only a matter of time before they got digitized too. Since the turn of the century, we have seen a rapid shift from visiting real casinos to just playing them from our laptops and phones. With cellular data and 6-inch touchscreen phones, it’s possible to play almost any casino game on these devices – and from anywhere in the world.
Technology helped enhance player engagement through high-quality graphics, live dealer interactions, and now even AR features. This digital shift not only made classic games more accessible to a global audience but also introduced a bunch of new gaming options, from slots to virtual card tables.
The Era of Virtual Reality
The introduction of VR into the gaming ecosystem has opened up more opportunities as it now offers an unprecedented level of immersion and interaction. This technology has transformed not only traditional video gaming but also online gaming experiences, blurring the boundaries between reality and the digital world. For example, people will create their own bedroom within the Metaverse chat rooms, meaning that other users around the world can virtually hang out in their real home. The same goes for watching films in a cinema together. The influence hasn’t yet been quite so big on gaming specifically, but it is expected to once the hardware gets better.
Conclusion
The evolution of gaming has been a quick one. However, the 8-bit style of 90s video games hasn’t been left behind. Mobile devices are the most common way to play games now, and many of these games have the appearance of older video games due to the limited hardware (though, graphical power is now at a point of being highly impressive for flagship phones). The same goes with VR, in which many popular games like Walkabout Mini Golf appear to have an early 2000s feel, despite being on a futuristic VR environment.
