AI has been a part of the gaming industry for quite some time now. It has been featured in genres like strategy games, shooting games, and even racing games. The whole idea of using AI in gaming is to give the player a realistic experience while playing even on a virtual platform. However, with the recent advancements in AI, the gaming industry and game developers are coming up with more lucrative ways of using AI in games. This article will see how Artificial Intelligence is making a drastic change in the gaming industry.
What do Experts Have to Say About the Change?
Experts have done a lot of research to see where and how AI can take the gaming to a new level. As per the studies and market research, they say that you can expect the gaming industry to change drastically in the next few years.
Moreover, market researchers have seen a drastic change in the way people look at games. Now developers have a more significant challenge to stay connected to the extreme and fast-paced changes. Every year, the research to find out the trends, market value, key players, etc.
What do Market Studies and Research Reveal?
As of 2019, the market worth of the gaming industry was close to 150 Billion dollars. With the introduction of technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, the numbers are set to cross more than 250 billion by 2021-2022.
Artificial Intelligence will be the stepping stone and equally important component in the evolution of the gaming industry. The key players to be at the top on this front include Tencent, Sony, EA, Google, Playtika, Nintendo, etc. Moreover, the market will also see the rise of new players that will specialize purely in developing games with advanced AI environments. Some of the main elements that would be included are:
- Development trends of the gaming industry
- Analysis of the competitive landscape
- Development status and the critical regions with it
- New techniques and adaptations by key players
- Improvement in techniques and methodologies of game development
- Developing plans with state-of-the-art technology in gaming
- It will also include significant classifications like cloud base and on-premises gaming
A Look at How AI was Introduced in the Gaming Industry
The term Artificial Intelligence is broad and is not limited or restricted to just a particular industry. Even in the gaming sector, AI was introduced a long time back, although, at that time, no one knew that it would become so popular.
Ever since its inception, AI was introduced to the gaming industry. The 1951 game Nim is one such example of the earlier use of AI. Although at that time, artificial intelligence was not as advanced as it is now, it was still a game that was way ahead of its time.
Then in the 1970s, came the era of arcade gaming, even in this there were various AI elements in different games. Speed Racing, Pursuit, Quack, etc. were some of the most popular games. This was also the era when Artificial Intelligence gained popularity. In the 1980s, games like Pac-Man and Maze based games took things to a different level.
Using Artificial Intelligence in Game Development and Programing
If you are wondering- How does artificial intelligence make a difference in gaming?
The answer is simple; all the data is stored in an AI environment, each character uses this environment to transform accordingly. You can also create a virtual environment with the information that is stored. This information will include various scenarios, motives, actions, etc. making the characters more realistic and natural. So, how is Artificial Intelligence changing the gaming industry? Read on to find out.
- Games will Become Smarter
With the help of AI, game developers are coming up with new techniques like reinforcement learning and pattern recognition. These techniques will help the game characters evolve through self-learning of their actions. A player will notice a vast difference when they play a game in the AI environment.
With AI, games will become more interesting. A player can dispose-off or slow down the game to suit their needs. You will hear characters, even talking, just like how humans do.The overall accessibility, intelligence, and visual appearance will make a significant impact on the player. Some live examples of these techniques are presently seen in games like The Sims and FEAR.
- Games Give a Realistic Feel
Over the past ten years, we have seen a drastic change in the gaming industry. The revolution of the sector has already started with the introduction of AI. Compared to the earlier methods of development, it is easy to develop games in an AI environment.Today, it is prevalent to find games with 3D effects and other such visualization techniques. AI is taking the gaming industry into a new era and heights. Very soon, it will not just be about good graphics, but also about interpreting and responding to the player’s actions.
- Different Gaming Experiences
Games like FIFA give you a real-world feel when you play them. The graphics make the game come to life. Now imagine having this experience taken a step higher with the help of AI. The experience will be at a different level.
Similarly, an action game will feel real with the help of artificial intelligence. In short, the player’s gaming experience will be very different from what it presently is. Moreover, the blend of AI and virtual reality will make a deadly combination.
Players do not feel that they are playing a game. Instead, they think that things are happening in real life. In today’s times, game developers are paying attention to minor details. It is no longer about just the visual appearance or graphics.
- AI will Transform the Skills of Developers.
Gaming developers have to develop their skills regularly. They are always adapting to new changes and techniques while developing games. This, in turn, will also help them to improve their creative skills and enhance their creativity.
With the help of Artificial Intelligence, developers can take their skills to a whole new level. They benefit from using cutting-edge technology to bring in unique aspects and ways to develop games.Even traditional game developers are using AI to bring in a difference in their games. They may not work with hi-tech environments; nevertheless, they develop games with various AI elements.
- AI will Provide a Better Mobile Gaming Experience.
Today, the world is more in-tune with mobile games. The convenience of playing when you are on the go or waiting for a meeting to start makes it more in-demand. With the help of AI, mobile gamers will have a better experience when playing their favorite game.
Even the introduction of various tools on this front will contribute towards the overall experience of playing games on the mobile. Various changes happen automatically based on the interaction of the game.
- Developers make Games that are Very Human-Like
When AI is used in a gaming environment, it brings in something new and different. The days of traditional gaming are gone. Now, game lovers want a lot more from their games instead of the norm.
Keeping this in mind, gaming developers are now coming up with programs and codes that deliver this. These codes and programs do not require any human interference. They create virtual worlds automatically. Many complex systems are designed to generate the results.
By doing so, this system results in amazing outcomes. One such example of a game on this front is Red Dead Redemption 2. When you look at this game, the players have the flexibility of interacting in myriad ways with non-playable characters. It also includes actions like bloodstains on a hat or wearing a hat.
- Saves on Budget and Time
In the gaming industry, a lot of time and money is invested while developing a game. Moreover, the strain of whether or not the game will be accepted is always on the air. Even before a game hits the market, it undergoes various checks until the developing team is sure that it is ready.
The entire process can take up to months or even years, depending on the kind of game. With the help of AI, the time taken to develop a game reduces drastically. This also saves a lot of resources that are needed to create the game.
Even the cost of labor reduces drastically. This means that gaming development companies can hire better and technically advanced game developers to get the job done. Considering that the demand for game developers is so high, the market gets competitive.
- AI will Help to Create New Level Gaming
Players want their games to take them to new heights. The introduction of AI in the gaming industry has brought in this change. Gamers can experience a lot more with the games of today than what was developed earlier.
Moreover, the games are a lot more exciting and fun to play. AI has given players something to look out for. Gamers get the benefit of taking their game to a whole new level. It also takes games to a different dimension.
Furthermore, with an AI platform, gaming companies can create better playing environments. For instance, motion stimulation can come in handy to make each character have different movements. It can also help to develop further levels and maps, all without human interference.
The Benefits of Using Artificial Intelligence into the Gaming Industry
In the modern age, you will often find reviews about various games. When you look at the difference between the reviews of traditional games vs. those developed in an AI environment, you will find a lot of difference between the two.
A review on an AI-based game will tell you a lot about the game in detail. When developed in the right AI environment, you will find the reviews not revealing the real game. However, when it comes to a bad review, every mistake will be pointed out. This is why it becomes imperative for gaming developers to do an excellent job while developing a game. But what are the benefits of using AI for game development?
- It helps to create better and exciting games
- Makes it easy for the user to play
- It offers a wide variety of characters and other such elements that makes the game interesting
- Changes the game according to the data stored, which means that a player gets a new environment
- The game becomes unpredictable, even for the developers, as they do not know what will happen next
- With AI’s help, you get various reactions, communications, responses, information, and knowledge while playing the game
- With AI, players will enjoy playing against/ along with the computer because of each character’s intelligence
A Final Thought
The gaming industry is changing at a drastic pace. Moreover, the demand for new and improved games is increasing every day. Today, gamers do not want a traditional game to play on. They are looking for a lot more than just that.
AI has brought a change in the gaming industry ever since its inception. Over the years, we have seen drastic changes in the way games are developed. In today’s technologically advanced world, games have become more challenging and exciting by providing human like experiences.
About the Author
Saurabh Hooda is co-founder of Hackr.io. He has worked globally for telecom and finance giants in various capacities. After working for a decade in Infosys and Sapient, he started his first startup, Lenro, to solve hyperlocal book-sharing problem. He is interested in product, marketing, and analytics.
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Shows sports games from EA and 2k with horrid ai and ai for animations and game devs to speed up development and for cheaper cleaner bug-free ports to the mac and pc going forward and even to mobile by the coming 5-7 years once the iPhone like M1X bionic CPUs get fast enough for them to compete for the aaa console handheld market. Watches it convert Final Fantasy 6 SNES to dragon quest 11 like 3d world for the ps5 pro and pc in 2025.
The Gaming Industry is one of the largest beneficiaries of virtual reality technology. The advent of this tech has given an exponential growth to the gaming business worldwide. The technology has not only helped game developers prosper but also the hardware manufacturing industry which provides gears for the video games. The usage of VR in gaming has begun since the 1990s and is ever-evolving since then.
Thanks for sharing the information with us.
The main purpose of incorporating AI in the gaming industry is to provide an interactive and a realistic experience to players for communicating with the characters or objects.
AI actually functions based on accessible information stored within it and utilizes those to enable the characters to perform basic and live actions as per the nature and scope of the games.
I encountered with an informative blog of Red Apple Technologies regarding the same.
Very interesting article points! Thanks for sharing!