How Game Developers are Using the Internet to Enhance the Experience
The internet has changed our lives in so many ways, we can barely imagine life without it, everything in the world is literally available in the palm of our hands via mobile data connections through our smartphones.
If I had been presented with this technology as a child, I would have marveled at what I would assume to be technology from an advanced race or the deep and distant future.
But now online connectivity is here and a normal part of our everyday lives from looking up a taxi firm, to socializing and even gaming.
Here we look at the different ways that game developers are using the internet to enhance the gaming experience for us.
Multiplayer
Let’s start with the biggie, we should dive in both feet first and go to the biggest and best use of the internet for gamers and that is the multiplayer function on many games.
Now we don’t need the internet to have the ability to play digital games with our friends, but what it does do is make this easier to do and also opens up our world to a whole new potential load of friends and challengers.
So how does a modern game offer multiplayer capability?
Well for some it’s just an added part of the game, a multiplayer mode where you can test your skills against other gamers, such as shooting each other in Call of Duty or playing soccer in the latest version of Fifa.
Other games, such as The Elder Scrolls Online or World of Warcraft allowed you to go on missions or quests together.
–Game Expansion Packs
Game expansion packs have existed way before gaming moved into the online realm.
What they were in the old days were physical disks that would contain extra content that would enhance and expand the playability of the games, a classic example of this would be The Sims expansion packs which gave numerous new content for this.
The beauty of these from a developer’s point of view is that they don’t need to create a whole new game or gaming engine, as they could simply put out more content, and charge for it using the system that was already developed.
–Subscriptions
For many games, it’s possible to get a premium subscription for the game that offers premium content and extra features.
For some games, this is a necessity. If you subscribe and have a highly-ranked account then this can even be a valuable commodity to some people, for example, you can buy a LoL account.
–Add-Ons
There are so many add-ons and items that can be purchased for games and within games.
Now we are not talking about the expansion packs that we discussed earlier in this article, but more gaming items that can enhance the player’s character and may improve game performance or even just appearance.
In shooter games, the player can buy extra and premium weapons, armor or other such items. In sports games, you can unlock or purchase balls, uniforms, etc. Even in such things as online pool games fancy cues and new arenas can be bought.
The scope for what you can spend real money on to purchase virtual items is pretty much limitless.
–Social Life
For some playing games online becomes more than just a way to kill some time it becomes a very real part of their social life.
If you get to play with the same people every day then naturally you get to know them more and chat becomes more than just game strategy.
You could know everything about someone, make a real and positive connection and be an important and essential part of each other’s lives.
There are people who met online playing games and have ended up getting married and starting a family, think about that, there are children alive today that wouldn’t be unless certain games existed in an online mode.
–Make Money
There’s also money to be made through online gaming. So there are plenty of gambling sites which are a clear and obvious way to play games to make money online. Casinos and poker games are very common and are classic ways to gamble online.
There are a huge amount of online bookmakers (which are legal or not depending on your location). You can even play in competitive gaming tournaments with cash prize pots and up at the high-end professional stakes of this the prize money can run into millions of dollars.
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