Modern technology is changing every industry around the globe. The world of online gaming is no exception. In fact, technology may be changing this industry faster than most others. Because online gaming developed from tech innovations to begin with, it is no surprise that it continues to evolve rapidly with new technologies.
1. Virtual Reality
Online gaming has, up unit now, consisted of a player sitting in some type of familiar environment and looking at a screen. Over the years, screens have become larger, clearer and better overall and the graphics displayed on them have become more realistic. Despite these facts, online gamers are always aware of their physical surrounding that do not involve the world on the screen. This is what virtual reality changes in online gaming.
Virtual reality allows gamers to become completely immersed in the online world that their game exists in. Instead of being acutely aware that you are sitting on your couch or desk chair, VR creates the feeling that you are completely part of the action online. It allows you really feel like you are swinging the sword, scoring the goal, or sitting down at the poker table.
While most VR gaming right now is available through 3rd party businesses, home VR gaming is becoming more of a reality. The price of home VR equipment is rapidly coming down and people are scooping it up quicker because of this. Some home VR gaming devices were so popular last holiday season that they sold out until February 2020.
2. Blockchain
In the early days of online gaming and gambling, there were bank transfers and prepaid, debit, or credit cards to fund your account. Then came wallets such as PayPal, Neteller, and others. Now comes the new wave of payment option, cryptocurrency. This decentralized, digital form of currency is making waves in the online gambling world. Bitcoin, the most popular, well-known, and widely accepted form of blockchain cryptocurrency is becoming a standard deposit and withdrawal option at many online casinos.
Café Casino is a perfect example of an online casino that has jumped on the Bitcoin bandwagon early and is already accepting Bitcoin as a form of both withdrawal and deposit. It is actually the only method that the casino offers for both putting funds in and taking them out. For newer and smaller casinos, embracing cryptocurrency is a great way to stand out from the competition.
This casino was founded in 2016 and offers a good array of slots and video table games, blackjack, and poker. These games run on very good software and the loyalty programs and promotions gamblers find here are top-notch. To learn more about Café Casino check out this review.
3. Facial Recognition
This is a new technology that is rapidly growing in 2020 and has big potential to change online gaming, even more so than it is in its early stages. There are two distinct ways that facial recognition will revolutionize online gaming. This is through safety and security and through personalization.
On the safety and security end, facial recognition is currently being used in many instances, from schools to iPhones, because it is one of the best and most secure ways to verify a person’s identity. To facial recognition experts, each person’s face is like a human QR code that can be scanned by the technology to make sure a person is exactly who they say they are. As this technology continues to develop, it will be a quick, easy, and accurate way to do things like verify identities for deposits and withdrawals from online casino accounts.
On the personalization side, facial recognition will allow players to no longer have to use fictional characters or poorly made avatars when playing online. Instead, they can use a character online that looks exactly like them. Also, when a game uses facial recognition to identify a player, it can do a whole range of personalized things such as give out personalized rewards, offer personalized recommendations, or show personalized advertising.
4. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
In the past, even the most sophisticated games were limited by a pre-determined set of rules and outcomes that were created when the game was designed. While early games have always used AI in some way, there have always been distinct limits to its ability. In the 21st century, AI and machine learning have improved to a point where games can now offer a seemingly unlimited amount of possibilities in the way they respond.
Much of these advancements have to do with how non-player characters (NPCs) respond in a game. Previously, when you tried to defeat a game-controlled bad guy, team, or opponent, there was a predetermined set of responses that the opposition could have. With advancements in AI and machine learning, these responses now feel much more varied, unpredictable, and human-like. They also allow the game to tailor itself to the exact specifications a gamer would want. This all adds up to the fact that AI is yet another technology that makes online gaming much more immersive and personal.
5. On-Demand Gaming
Instead of having to buy a physical copy of a game or download a game, players are now able to pick from a wide selection of games whenever they want. The ability for gamers to play the game they want, when they want is actually a function of multiple technologies coming together to improve the gaming experience. The advent of cloud technology combined with faster processing systems and internet connection has allowed this to come to fruition.
You need not look further than online casinos as a perfect example of this. Instead of buying or downloading games, online casinos offer gamers almost any game imaginable instantly at the click of a button. Just two decades ago, the thought that an online gamer could go to a site and choose from literally hundreds of casino games, all of which they could access instantly, was unthinkable.
Conclusion
They say that only two things in life are guaranteed, death and taxes. In 2020 though, there is a third thing you can add to that, technology. New technology is guaranteed to continue to change the world around us all the time. The world of online gaming is a particularly interesting study in this fact. These are just 5 of the ways that tech is changing online gaming right now. There are many more ways that we did not discuss here and even more ways than that which we do not even know about yet that will be coming soon.
Photo by Patrik Larsson