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Reality, mobility and community
were prime themes at the international video game developers
gathering that ended last Friday in San Francisco.
Thousands of
engineers who craft software for games played on computers, consoles
or mobile devices mingled through the week, showing off innovations,
forming alliances and swapping insights.
The Game
Developers Conference was billed by organizers as the largest event
of its kind and an estimated 12,500 people were expected to attend.
Technology
from Silicon Studios of Tokyo enabled gamers to put animated copies
of their own faces onto customized animated characters used in
computer games or virtual worlds such as Second Life.
Firms that
make other game-enhancing software, referred to as “middleware,”
also displayed technology that immersed players in three-dimensional
scenes.
Imbuing video
game enemies with artificial intelligence lets them adapt to
changing conditions such as debris scattered by explosions or
improvised player tactics.
Computerized
video game opponents have traditionally been limited to specific
programmed actions, making them predictable to those that play
repeatedly.
The increasing
realism of game visuals and environments has caught the interest of
the US military, reported to be a driving force behind the
development of “serious games” designed for training instead of
fun.
A large swath
of the exposition was devoted to mobile games with wireless
technology firms such as Qualcomm enticing developers to create
games for the skyrocketing number of people who play on the go.
 --AFP
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