CHRISTINE AKEDE - 249495

Unit 8 Assignment 1
Computer Games Development
 Table of Contents
Unit Introduction...................................................................................................................................3
Social Trends in Gaming........................................................................................................................3
Genres...............................................................................................................................................3
 Action/shooter or FPS:...........................................................................................................3
 MMO:....................................................................................................................................3
 Role-playing:..........................................................................................................................3
How has gameplay changed over time?............................................................................................3
Demographics....................................................................................................................................4
Age.................................................................................................................................................4
Gender...........................................................................................................................................5
Game producers................................................................................................................................5
Mainstream Publishers..................................................................................................................5
Indie games...................................................................................................................................5
Crowdfunding................................................................................................................................6
Free to Play....................................................................................................................................6
Multiplayer....................................................................................................................................6
Emerging Technologies..........................................................................................................................6
Virtual Reality....................................................................................................................................6
Cost................................................................................................................................................7
Lack of Wider Consumer Demand.................................................................................................7
Form Factor...................................................................................................................................7
Augmented Reality............................................................................................................................7
Evaluation..........................................................................................................................................7
Security of Services................................................................................................................................8
Why are young gamers being increasingly targeted by hackers?......................................................8
Development Platforms.........................................................................................................................8
Personal Computer............................................................................................................................8
Advantages of PC's........................................................................................................................9
Disadvantages of PC's....................................................................................................................9
Advantages of Mac........................................................................................................................9
Disadvantages of Mac....................................................................................................................9
Consoles............................................................................................................................................9
Advantages of PlayStation.............................................................................................................9
Disadvantages of PlayStation.........................................................................................................9

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 Advantages of Xbox.......................................................................................................................9
Disadvantages of Xbox...................................................................................................................9
Mobile Devices................................................................................................................................10
Apple IOS.....................................................................................................................................10
Android Devices...........................................................................................................................10
Evaluation........................................................................................................................................10
Hardware.............................................................................................................................................11
Central Processing Unit...................................................................................................................11
Graphical Processing Unit................................................................................................................11
Memory...........................................................................................................................................11
Output.............................................................................................................................................11
Input................................................................................................................................................11
Connectivity.....................................................................................................................................11
Evaluation........................................................................................................................................12
Software..............................................................................................................................................12
Operating System............................................................................................................................12
Programming Language...................................................................................................................12
Device Drivers..................................................................................................................................13
Audio Options..................................................................................................................................13
Evaluation............................................................................................................................................13
Bibliography.........................................................................................................................................13

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 Unit Introduction

My job as a junior developer at a software company in Manchester that specializes in gaming has
been given the assignment of writing an article for the company’s website on the impact of current
and emerging technologies on the gaming world.

Social Trends in Gaming

The social trends in gaming are impacted by the following:

Genres
The genres of computer games are determined by the type of interaction or gameplay that they
provide. i.e., the games are categorised according to the type of challenges they offer, regardless of
the setting or world experience they provide. A shooter games, for example, will be a shooter games
regardless of the environment in which it is played. Despite this there can also be a subjective
element as some games can cross multiple genres. Some of the more recent game types are as
follows:

 Action/shooter or FPS: There are many types of games, but first-person shooter (FPS) is one
of the most prominent types. FPS games allow players to engage in weapon-based combat in
first-person perspective. For example, Call of Duty falls under the action and FPS category.
 MMO: Another genre that is quite popular in the gaming industry is the MMO, which is an
acronym for massively multiplayer online games. Multiplayer games allow players to play
simultaneously across the internet. It is possible for several players to compete against each
other simultaneously in Star Wars Battlefront for example.
 Role-playing: Since traditional pen and paper role-playing games have been around for
many decades, it is not a new concept, but it has inspired computer game makers to create
characters that grow with the players once they have choos3en them. For instance, it allows
character advancement and rewards in Call of Duty.

How has gameplay changed over time?

The difference between the 2 genres is that most of the PlayStation 4 games is that they have
multiplayer compatibility which has helped these games reach the top of the charts in this era. This
is partly due to the advancement on the internet and faster broadband speeds over time which has
helped multiplayer games become more popular as people can play with their friends against people
across the world. These changes have occurred as technology has advances and gaming has
beco0me more mainstream which reaches a wider audience. It has also become a form of
communication for people who spend time with each other but in a game having fun.

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Demographics
Age

There are key differences between the two genre is that most of the PlayStation 4 games have
multiplayer functionality that has helped push them to the top of the charts in this era. Multi player
games have become increasingly popular as people can compete with their friends and people all
over the world due to advancement in the internet. With the newness of technology, gaming has
become more mainstream, gaining a wider audience as a result, in addition, it has become a form of
communication between people who have fun together playing a game with each other.

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Gender

The majority of game developers appear to target an average adult demographic of 18 to 54 years
old. which represents about 60% of all customers. The male users tend to have a small advantage
based on the gender contrast, but this advantage eventually disappears. One of the implications that
may be taken is that action-packed first-person shooter games are well-liked by players of all ages
and genders and will likely be popular in the future of game development.

While women typically enjoy in-game communication and interpersonal interactions (character
development and story dynamics), male audiences tend to favour fast-paced, explosive action and
fighting. It has also been demonstrated that women favour role-playing video games over first-
person shooters. Women are often characterised as preferring story-driven games o constructive
games like The Sims of Civilization, but this is not universally true.

Game producers
A game producer can be classified into 3 main types of market. There’s mainstream publishing, indie
publishing/crowdfunding, and free-to-play. In the absence of an established audience, game
producers will have no financial incentives to produce the games. An idea or concept is usually
contacted by the development studio, but a game publisher can also initiate this process.

Mainstream Publishers
Large international businesses that specialise in creating video games are known as mainstream
publishers. These businesses offer financial support for the simultaneous production of several titles.
Being a major game publisher has its advantages in terms of market shares, but it also has
disadvantages. Because AAA titles require enormous expenditures, publishing houses in the
mainstream game business are constrained in their ability to experiment. Therefore, AAA rated
games, for example, adhere to prevailing patterns. Due to its growing popularity in the modern day,
every reputable publisher will attempt to develop a game along the lines of Battel Royal. To ensure
consistent profits, they prefer to follow established and popular trends rather that experiment.

Indie games
Indie games are independently developed games created by independent developers. Indie games
are often the start of established game developer before they gain popularity and achieved

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mainstream success. Games created by independent developers can be published to digital stores
like Apple’s App store and Google Play by the developers themselves.

Independent developers typically work in small teams or individually. Individuals can easily create a
2D/3D graphics game using free game engine like Unity. Indie generally follow a unique vision or
simple concept that could be taken to an extreme. Despite being unable to develop AAA games,
indie developers can still create successful and popular games.

Crowdfunding
In the last decade, crowdsourcing has really exploded to a point where it is no longer a gimmick that
is used to top up the finance studios but has become a way to fund large-scale projects as well.
Oculus Rift and other virtual reality hardware would exist without crowdfunding.

Free to Play
The goal of free-to-play games is to get players addicted so they would spend more money on in-
game purchases. This will increase the games' target audience because more people can play them,
which could lead to long-term financial gain. Smaller kids are the ideal audience for this, as they can
play for free and grow so dependent on the game that they steal their parents' credit cards to
purchase in-game currency. The fact that certain games contain loot boxes, which randomly throw
out stuff, is another factor contributing to its harsh criticism. Many people compare this to gambling
as you are not sure what you may get, it is all chance at what you can receive and there no
guarantee at anything.

Multiplayer
Multiplayer refers to a game mode in which two or more players can communicate with each other
simultaneously on a PC or other computer. In split-screen multiplayer mode, players play together
on a single device, whereas in LAN or Internet multiplayer mode, players use separate devices that
are connected to a game server to play at the same time. Multiplayer games are appealing because
they let you play with real people instead of just bots or artificial intelligence. Because multiplayer
games allow for the continuous addition of new features—for example, in a shooting game, the
developer can charge a premium and add new gun skins—developers are gravitating towards
providing multiplayer modes. This allows the developer to steadily increase revenue over the course
of the game's lifespan. Since it's easier to offer in-game purchases for a single player game than a
multiplayer one, if they only built a single player game, they would only be able to buy it with a one-
time payment and would not be able to make any more money from it.

Emerging Technologies

One of the things that makes the video games market so exciting is its fast pace of growth and
innovative concepts that change our ways of playing games. Game developers develop new
concepts based on hardware and software improvements and inventions.

Virtual Reality
The field of digital reality is currently seeing a rapid expansion of artificial intelligence. Virtual reality
was supposed to become highly popular in the 1990s, but the project never got off the ground since
headsets were very expensive and computing power was likely to decrease. Although the original
Oculus Rift headset was funded through crowdsourcing, it was a success and other companies have
since copied the design. Virtual reality headsets are made up of two displays for each eye, enlarged
to fill the field of vision by special lenses. The headset's accelerometers and gyroscopes track how

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quickly you move and how your head rotates. You can also move forwards and backwards by moving
your head with the spatial sensor inside the headset.

Cost - It is expensive to develop the technology itself, and businesses and organizations lack the
expertise to do so. For them to outsource this development, there must be more demand than there
is now.

Lack of Wider Consumer Demand - It seems that the average person has just not been exposed to
the implications of AR and VR (education, healthcare, logistics, etc.) even though they are
entertaining. It is expected that demand will grow as younger generations (millennials and Gen Zers),
who are already comfortable with technology, become the majority of screen users.

Form Factor - Everyone would be running around with headsets and looking odd if we all were into
AR/VR. Currently, headsets are bulky and must be connected to a device of some kind - most
commonly a smartphone, a computer, or smart TV. However, since untethered technology is
expensive and not mainstream yet, it is still being developed. These wearable devices will not
require bulky headsets that are meant for home use or that must be tethered to devices.

Augmented Reality
With augmented reality, the real environment is layered with virtual objects. It was popularized
when the video game Pokémon GO was released in 2016. A smartphone camera can be used to
translate sign boards from one language into another using AR technology in Google translate. The
application of AR across various industries has improved worker productivity, allowing them to
operate equipment without the need for prior training.

Evaluation
As you can see from the above graph, VR adoption within the gaming industry has been slow and
gradual. In order for VR to thrive, companies need to do more to increase consumer awareness and
lower their prices in order to boost adoption. The speed at which these new and emerging

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technologies have captured the global market is very exciting for the future of technology and
gaming. The greatest breakthrough in virtual reality has been made possible by headsets that let
users escape reality and enter fantastical, fantasy-filled realms. Users have the freedom to travel
anywhere and encounter whatever they have never encountered before. High frame rates are
required for a seamless VR experience; however, these specifications call for high-end computers,
which most users cannot afford when combined with an expensive VR equipment. Customers might
be able to buy the headset and hardware, but if they've never played this kind of gaming before,
they might not want to wear so many devices.

It is important not to confuse augmented reality with virtual reality. A virtual reality does not provide
any real components, while augmented reality features real components that surround the virtual
environment. Virtual features are added to the real environment using augmented reality. With the
2016 launch of the video game Pokémon, augmented reality has grown in popularity. Thanks to
virtual reality and augmented reality, wearable technology will also be a part of the future. The
Apple and Android software stores for smart watches provide a wide selection of basic games. This
will make it easier for the typical customer to adopt these kinds of cutting-edge technologies without
discouraging the vast majority of users from doing so. It will pique their curiosity about these more
recent and fascinating technologies at a basic level. From there, they can move on to virtual reality,
which is more sophisticated than augmented reality and even wearable technology.

Security of Services
With the increasing dependency of gaming systems on digital networks and downloadable content,
there is a growing need for companies to access players personal details through their software.
Consumers who use digital channels provide their credit card information and also link their social
media pages in order to share information about the game accomplishments they have achieved.
There is a major security risk here, as hackers could use the information to steal customer identities.
The company must protect the privacy of its clients, since the company handles customer-sensitive
personal information as much as a bank does, despite being a game.

Why are young gamers being increasingly targeted by hackers?

According to the research, cybercriminals can "easily pose as a gamer, build trust within a particular
game or community, and gain access to privileged inside information." This involves collecting
private data such as complete names, phone numbers, passwords, and credit card information.
According to the research, hackers are also capable of stealing expensive in-game items and
weaponry. Through a phishing scheme, hackers tricked kids into divulging their parents' bank
account information while they were playing Fortnight.

Development Platforms
There are many different platforms that games can be played on these platforms are:

Personal Computer
Developing games for PCs is easier because there are more available game engines. Since many
people own personal computers, developers can target a wider audience. Almost all digital platforms
are compatible with Windows and Mac, which means games can be uploaded and played easily.
Nevertheless, this has the disadvantage that developers can only create quality games if they are set
to work with the lowest PC specs.

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Advantages of PC's
 They are very cheap to develop for and distribute
 Supports a wider variety of peripherals
 Upgrades are much simpler and easier
 The userbase is much bigger

Disadvantages of PC's
 Numerous types of malwares and spyware which can infect someone computer

Advantages of Mac
 Fewer Apple products means fewer viruses created for their OS
 Macs are commonly used for video production which is useful for game development

Disadvantages of Mac
 More expensive than a regular PC.
 Upgrading is much harder to complete
 Peripherals are also much more expensive

Consoles
With consoles moving towards digitally downloaded games, developers will need to make sure their
game is optimized for both disk and digital distribution. Developers may need to write additional
code to handle this. The benefit of digital downloads is the wider and faster distribution networks
they provide.

Advantages of PlayStation
 The latest PS5 has a digital version (£359) which costs less than the Xbox One X (£449)
 Sony have implemented Haptic feedback and adaptive triggers into their newly designed
controller

Disadvantages of PlayStation
 Not all PS4 games and no PS3 are backwards compatible
 In order to play online you must pay a £40 subscription fee

Advantages of Xbox
 All Xbox One games, and certain Xbox 360 and original Xbox games are backwards
compatible
 Xbox consoles have a user-friendly interface which allows to effectively use interface due to
its simplicity

Disadvantages of Xbox
 Xbox systems are disliked by a number of people because of their large size, which limits
their placement. This would require a certain amount of space on the table, as well as
detract from the overall look of the table if it were located apart from the screen.
 Microsoft's implementation of the next-generation Kinect, which includes capturing users'
facial detection and heart rate, as well as storing that information on its servers,
compromises users' privacy.

The benefit of developing games for PlayStation and Xbox is that they are very popular consoles,
along with the added benefit that they have very robust hardware and very devoted OSs that cater

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to playing games. It may be very expensive to create games for PlayStation and Xbox and there will
have to be negotiations with major publishers in order to obtain disc distribution.

Developers of software for platforms like Xbox or PlayStation are currently challenged in that games
should ideally be made cross-play and multiplayer friendly, as these trends are on the rise.
Developers will most likely have to use the company's gaming engine and editor since the software is
not open source.

Mobile Devices
Apple IOS
The advantage of using Apple IOS is that consumers in the Apple ecosystem will likely invest in more
expensive gaming than consumers of non-105 smartphones. IOS developers are limited in that all
products must be licensed by Apple, which usually has very strict requirements and limits production
to Mac, unless a games engine is used.

Android Devices
Due to its open source nature, Android is much cheaper to produce than Apple products. The
disadvantage of using an Android device is that there are too many different types of devices, so you
can't maintain quality consistently across all the devices.

Evaluation
In conclusion it appears that Mac devices are generally more expensive than their Windows
equivalents. It is much cheaper to buy the parts separately and build your own PC as you will be able
to customize it much better to your needs than buying a prebuilt Mac which will add a premium to
the device since it is created by Apple. You will then be able to modify and add upgrades to your
individual preference with the Windows PC's which make them much cheaper and inexpensive to
reach the heights of gaming and the latest technology. I would prefer a Windows PC as I can create it
to exactly how I would like and can slowly upgrade it along the way unlike a Mac which cannot be
upgrading due to the design and build of it.

Whereas in the console industry the market for this is very similar in the PlayStation 5 and Xbox One
X are very similar in terms of hardware and the price they cost. They both have 8 core processors but
they Xbox has more GHz which is 3.8 compared to the PlayStations 3.5 GHz. The Xbox also has a
better GPU which is a 12.0 teraflop AMD RDNA 2 compared to the PlayStations 10.3 teraflop AMD
RDNA 2. This helps the Xbox have a slightly better performance but this gap in software between 2 is
not noticeable by the average consumer as they for the most part they are just casual gamers. This
makes the consoles the best platform and market to play games on as it has the best balance
between price, convenience, and hardware. This is because for a flat fee of around £450 you get a
prebuilt computer which has the sole function of being able to play games up to 120 frames per
second.

The mobile device market is still quite young, and hence it will take time for it to develop to its full
potential. It is easy for anyone to develop a game, even if it is cheap and not complicated to publish
one on the app store or play store. Due to the requirements for other devices, Mac is probably the
best platform for making games and complicated applications.

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 Hardware
Typically, gaming hardware is built using the same core elements these are:

Central Processing Unit

CPUs process instructions in games and process input from and output to players. The NPCs,
simulations, and environment during the game session are handled by this system. A powerful CPU
is needed in games that are heavily focused on physical simulations. CPUs also play a crucial role in
passing information from the CPU to the GPU in most games. A recent advancement in CPU
technology, such as enhanced framerates, has enabled developers to create games that include
more NPCs and battle scenes than ever before, pushing the gaming experience further than ever
before.

Graphical Processing Unit

In addition to the CPU, the graphics processor is responsible for displaying pictures on the monitor,
which is its primary function. Complex graphics require more processing on the GPU. GPUs can be
part of the main motherboard when playing games, but they usually have a separate graphics card
connected to it via a hard drive on the motherboard. PC gamers also define the minimum GPU
power required by a game to function, as many GPUs have their own random-access memory.

Memory
There are two types of memory: read-only memory (ROM) and random-access memory (RAM). The
RAM storage in gaming is used to store data when the data is being processed. The more RAM the
faster the data runs. ROM is used as storage for games in gaming software. With the introduction of
cloud storage gamers can store game data in the cloud which enables them to carry on playing their
game without any particular dependency on a single gaming device/machine. For developers’ cloud
gaming is also a huge advantage in terms of removing any restrictions they previously had in terms
of the size of the game.

Output
In order for a gaming experience to be effective, sounds, on-screen feedback, and haptic feedback
must be provided. Displays that are 1080p or 4K have become the norm, with the latter allowing
gamers to experience high visual detail. A game's sound system informs gamers when something
negative or positive has happened during the game and is therefore integral to the game and the
learning experience. With advancements in gaming controller technology, players now have the
option of getting feedback both from the sound of the game as well as the controller, which is an
additional sensation that wasn't available in the past.

Input
Gaming has traditionally been controlled by keyboard, mouse, or game controllers. Despite this,
technology advancements have allowed users to input using voice commands and kinetic
movements, which is especially helpful to gamers with disabilities. Many gamers play games on their
mobile devices using touch technology. Due to the wider range of input/output devices available,
developers may find it more challenging to program and yet have the advantage of being more
creative thanks to the advancement in input/output sources.

Connectivity
As a result of the connectivity, gaming platforms and operating systems can download patches in
real-time to deal with bugs and vulnerabilities. On the other hand, if networks go down, gamers can
experience great frustration since they are used to performing and competing online. The

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connection between a PC or console and the internet is established by way of a local network or
cellular network, but smartphones can also connect to the internet via their mobile data networks.

Evaluation
To conclude, these hardware parts such as the CPU, GPU, and RAM are essential to a computer, and
it cannot function without these components in place in the correct place. The CPU is used to pass
information to and from the many different components of the component. Whilst the GPU which
has the primary function of displaying the images on the screen. The RAM storage in gaming is used
to store data when the data is being processed. Without these hardware pieces the puzzle would be
incomplete, and it would not function at all.

Having a better CPU which has more cores, or a better GPU which can produce more fps, or more
RAM which allows you to run multiple applications at once. These all have their own way of
improving the user experience and giving them the best experience possible. All of these are able to
be upgraded separately in your own computer so the better they are, they more they will cost but
the better and smoother your experience gaming on it will be. Without one of these, the game you
are attempting to play will not function at all.

If you get one that does not meet the requirements, then it will not function to the best of its ability
as the hardware you have is not suitable enough to run the game you are attempting to play. Not
having the required parts on the user's end will not meet the requirements of the computer games
industry as they are creating games which require a more advanced piece of hardware which will
hinder the user as they will not be able certain games due to the hardware they have acquired.

Software
An operating system runs a program written in computer language as a computer game. However,
they use most of the same tools and techniques as other software programs despite being extremely
complex. These are:

Operating System
Operating systems fall into two main categories in the software industry. These kinds of operating
systems run general purpose software as well as gaming software, for example Windows, Mac OS
and Linux operating systems. Others, however, are more tailored to operating specific games, such
as those used in consoles such as PlayStation, Xbox etc. In the last few years, there have been many
new operating systems on the market, such as Steam, which is popular among developers who are
building PC games. Developers will definitely use an operating system that is optimized purely for
gaming purposes over other operating systems which are not optimized for this purpose.

Programming Language
The programming language used in a game may vary quite a bit based on the purpose for which it is
written. In the past few decades, C++ has gained popularity as a popular object-oriented
programming language. C# and Java also use the same framework. Java is used to build Android
devices, while C# is used to write motors for games. There seems to be a network of programming
languages related to various platforms. Some languages have been described as being light weight,
and they will require a game engine to run. In addition to graphics software, APIs play a crucial role

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in games development. APIs are, essentially, a set of routines and protocols designed for facilitating
game building.

Device Drivers
They are responsible for identifying and communicating with the operating system the hardware
components attached. A driver informs the computer, screen, or handheld which hardware is trying
to connect to it, and how it should work. In this way, external gadgets such as newer controllers,
microphones, and even dance mats can be used with games.

Audio Options
The audio in video games is another important element. During a game, music and sound effects
inspire positive and negative emotions and act as a feedback mechanism. The developer can choose
a variety of file formats when creating the software for the game.

Evaluation
Overall, I believe that emerging technologies have had a massive impact on the design and
development of recent games in order to meet the user's requirements and the computer games
industry. This can be seen in the case of Virtual Reality which is very GPU intensive due to the frames
it needs to push out to each screen which is separate for both eyes. This means that developers in
the computer games industry can create these in-depth real world-like games for the users. Which
means that the developers do not need to hinder their games to meet a lower standard of gaming as
hardware has also advanced, which allows a wider range of user's access. Due to hardware
advancing this is making it much easier for console developers to build more affordable consoles
with higher quality hardware. This is very advantageous for the consumers as they are able to access
higher quality gameplay at a more affordable price.

Bibliography

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https://www.statista.com/statistics/232383/gender-split-of-us-computer-and-video-gamers/#:

https://www.crucial.com/articles/mac-users/mac-vs-pc-the-pros-and-cons

https://www.tomsguide.com/uk/news/ps-vs-xbox-series-x

https://www.statista.com/chart/17482/share-of-americans-familiar-with-vr-and-perceived-barriers-
to-adoption/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology

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