Servan Keondijan was a part of Rendermorphics back in the early days of 3D gaming. He helped develop Direct3D for Microsoft and now is CEO of Qube Software who hope to bring a full-featured, adaptable, standardized middleware solution to 3D graphics for games in the near future. He had some interesting insight into the future and I thought I would share it with you.

A standardized middleware for 3D graphics is a bad thing in the eyes of many. While risk is externalized when using it studios believe they could lose their differentiating edge if they move from their proprietary solution to a universal standard. This is all due to the one-upmanship of the industry and the ‘who has the best 3D graphics’ problem. He used the term High-end 3D which he described as the graphics capable of being displayed on an AAA PC, PS3 or Xbox 360. 

Everyone claims that they have better hardware. The PS3 has more processing power (CPU) while the Xbox 360 has a stronger graphics processor (GPU). But the future is looking more and more like it will be a merged CPU/GPU by 2010. This one chip solution will have the power of the PS3 and Xbox 360. These chips will be specifically made to order based on specs for consoles, PC OEMs and even TV set top boxes. The set top box and lower end PCs will basically have the power of the PS3 and Xbox 360 at this point. These chips will not gain much in the way of flops but will manage higher resolutions and deeper shading as they start to stack up 4, 8 or even 16 cores. 

The next step will be a new generation of mobiles and handheld gaming devices that will require lower power consumption but still want strong power and graphics. So these new integrated CPU/GPUs will allow another large step in mobile gaming capabilities. With more power and better graphics full on 3D graphics will be attainable on a mobile phone. Yes there are some games now that take advantage of 3D (see my review of The Overtaker 3D) but they are still flat in comparison with other devices. By 2012 we could have mobile devices that are approaching the graphics of today’s consoles.

Mr. Keondijan said that it seems like Nintendo already saw the future. He believes that in the end all graphics will be the same and thus will no longer be a deciding factor in gaming. More important will be the input device, hence the Wii remote. With high-end 3D available on almost all devices the art quality will solely depend on the art budget and the console format war will continue (whew!) but will be fought on a new level. No more will it be CPU/GPU power but interface and gameplay. 

He also believes that the future of the web is full 3D as well. 3D shopping, social networks (Sony Home anyone?), education, conferences, chat and more will all be 3D. He stated that IBM is basically already using Second Life as a 3D conference room for their multi-location operations. It makes sense, why build your own when you can use a pre-existing system.

 So the problem with the 3D web is standardization. Each time new features are added to an online game we must download new clients and updates, but with a standardized middleware this could be eliminated. The 2D web is already fairly standardized with Flash being the middleware and the browsers being the static client (for the most part). With a standardized middleware this could also be achieved with high-end online 3D. But he said that we basically need a ‘Firefox for 3D’ in that we need a freely available, extensible and standardized client for it. Consoles might lose out in the long run if everyone has high-end 3D available to them via their web browser, but I think they have a few good years left in them. With radically changing input devices navigating the full-on high-end 3D world of tomorrow should be a simple flick of the wrist…or maybe one day, just a thought.

 This got me to thinking about the possibilities. If the input device is going to lead the way into the future then we might be able to achieve full 3D haptic devices (see my writeup from GC Leipzig last year about the Novis Falcon 3D haptic mouse). Imagine a game controller or input device where you slip your hand into it and can handle a virtual mobile phone or game controller. A device that would allow you to actually push the buttons on the mobile and feel the weight. To get your hand around the device in virtual form to see how it feels. Imagine extending this to a high-end 3D point-and-click adventure where you could actually feel the surfaces in the game and pick up objects with weight and manipulate them as needed. If you’re having problems seeing the future, imagine sticking your hands into two input devices and then manipulating a Rubik’s Cube. In the simplest form this would be completely possible.

So if Mr. Keondijan is right and high-end 3D will be everywhere and the input device will become the delineating factor then I think these devices are coming. Thought-controlled devices, eye-movement reading and full 3D haptic devices could make game immersion nearly complete. No more will we simply push a button to make something happen in a game. We will not control the game with our eyes, our minds and really interact with the virtual world with our hands.

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