We've all been spoiled by technology the past few years as it has progressed at a remarkable pace. However, there is still plenty of room for growth, and that means that those games we play that appear lifelike will look even better.
David Cage, Founder of Quantic Dream and Director of Heavy Rain, is no stranger to technology. During GDC 2012, Cage shared his insight on how long it will be until games are truly photorealistic. He said:
"Yeah, technology is great and it’s going to get better and better until you reach the stage where you won’t be able to tell the difference between reality and games. We are what, 10 years from that now? Ok."
Some might argue that games are already photorealistic but there's still some work to be done before the clarity of the real world is translated into pixels. What'll be most interesting is when consoles are able to produce the realistic visuals that Cage is talking about. Current consoles are severely handicapped by their memory, and their graphics processing power is aging.
Some speculate that the PlayStation 4 and Nextbox will be only minor upgrades in order to launch at a low price point and compete in today's market. That leaves us waiting yet another generation before visuals can take the leap that some are craving for. That's a bummer, because I really want to play Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball with this technology Cage speaks of.
But then there's the PC platform, which is already producing some mind-boggling results. Nvidia is about to launch their GTX 680 card and preliminary benchmarks are showing some incredible numbers, which translates into higher framerates with better graphics in games. Realistic graphics might be closer than we think.
[Via]
