Virtually pointless these day!

Whilst working at the games company in Bristol, I remember vividly the day that World of Warcraft became a buzz around the office. So much so that many people were even buying consoles in order to prepare for its release. Warcraft 3 was a big hit. It gave a great deal of enjoyment in the gameplay, and I even remember the days of doing network play during our lunch break. However, World of Warcraft was about to do something different, something better. It was opening the internet to a great degree of gameplay that was really unparalleled in games. Saying that, when ever I am in discussion with anyone interested in games, and the question arrises about 'favourite games', it always seems to come down to the same answer: "CounterStrike".

Why is has such a simple game become so popular. There are a few reasons. However, those unfamiliar, Counterstrike is a network game set in confined environments that pit two groups of opponents together. The Terrorist set and the Counter-Terrorist set. The objectives are to either set a bomb in place or to stop the bomb being set, or capture or hold hostages, or release these hostages. Nothing amazing really, and the graphics are simple and based on the outdated Half Life engine, so what is it about this game and World of Warcraft. The simple truth is that you are playing real people. This has become the new aspect to most games that do well. Internet cafes and online gaming that have counter players who are real rather than virtual cause a greater addiction.

Why would this be. have you ever played Chess on the computer, against a computer opponent? Well, if you are like me, then you will know it is dull and automated. This is how most computer AI has become. Regardless of how clever, variant or adaptive. The computer has a limitation when compared to a human. So, people prefer the play against a real opponent. This gives a stronger sense of achievement too. mainly as the male psyche has an ego that extends to domination control over an opponent. People don't like to loose. When beaten by a computer the human mind can learn and challenge the computer, as it is limited to its responses. When you are beaten by a human. Well, the simple fact is that you can't learn so much from their techniques as it is based on instant reaction a lot of the time, and therefore you simply have to get better.

What does this say about the future of game design and game play. As technology becomes better and the experience becomes more real, people want to experience a greater degree of reality. The best way to do that (without doing it in reality) is to control an avatar controlled by a human. So, in designing games for the future, thinking about the interaction capabilities, then it is worth looking into the values of the opponent interaction. Human game play is better than computer opponent, so one day the future might be totally virtual and we live and play as an avatar.