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This week, my inspiration is about
something that really did inspire me, the announcement of the new PlayStation
4. The PlayStation 4 is a new gaming
console that will release this December at the latest. Sony, the creators of
this new console, gave a presentation to show off what people can expect or
what general idea this new console is going to be.
As a gamer I am very excited to
hear these announcements that included the new games to release, new software,
and new graphic capabilities. Others with whom I have talked and discussed were
not that impressed, and frankly I was surprised. Did I fall into the hype? Why
do I think this machine is revolutionary? I had seen the future and few had
seen it with me.
I see the future that lies ahead
with gaming and it’s beautiful. My peers saw this console with most likely open
but narrow minds, and narrow not in a sense that they couldn’t see this console
in any other way, but narrow meaning they were only seeing this console as a
machine. One of my peers commented today, “I mean we all know what’s going to
happen, they are going to advertise the games but not come out with any good
ones on the release date.” My fellow classmate was already viewing this machine
as a portal to playing games and not thinking about what the creation of this
machine itself entails. I see this console not only as a portal to wonderful
games and stories, but I also see it as a sign of greatness of how far we have
come and most importantly a sign of creativity to be ushered in for a new era.
During the event of the console
announcement, one of the presentations made me marvel at a clip of an old man.
This old man looked human, even the difference in lighting on his cheekbone was
realistic. The video showed the old man’s emotion without a word of dialogue.
The old man looked surprised and then confused and finally almost sad. The presenter said that early movies were
held back by technology, and today, without budget in mind of course, movies
are only limited by imagination. “Games” he said, “have finally reached that
point as well. Games are now only limited by the imagination of its creators.”
So yes this technology will allow games to have beautiful graphics, but what
else does this mean? Games have always told stories but never at the caliber
that will now emerge. It means that
video games are officially capable of being a new medium to tell real,
emotional, stories filled with social commentary. Characters will cry and
players, story lovers, will see each tear roll down on each wrinkle on the
characters face, and outside of the screen, the player will be there shedding a
tear for the character whose story had just become real.
Along with the previous example,
many other inspiring and futuristic presentations were shown, but the most
inspiring was Media Molecule’s presentation. The presenter told of how Media
Molecule had performed extensive research and had finally found what they were
looking for, the PlayStation Move controller. This controller enables the
player to control the game or object with accuracy, the best accuracy for any
gaming move like controller using a pointer. Viewers were then shown a clip of
someone literally sculpting a three dimensional object. He said that we are no
longer held back from two-dimensional software building, and that “Players can
finally create and share their dreams.” A video followed a demo of people who
sculpted their “dream”. This to me is most exciting. Without fancy or difficult
technology, now with patience and the desire to tell a story, people will be
able to create and share their dreams. And looking at this technology from a
different perspective, this sculpting could be used for hundreds of different
fields such as architecture and even biology where players could build proteins
a lá “Fold-it”.
The PlayStation 4 is a subtle
revolution, or at least has set one off in my head. The possibilities of what
can happen are exciting and in a way, humbling, and if Microsoft comes out with
an even better, then I can’t wait. This conference may have not impressed you,
but I invite you to not think of Sony this, Microsoft that but of what is
coming on the horizon of gaming, which is nothing but the best of new stories,
new dreams, and new possibilities.
