Video games have been with us for ages, offering a wide range of options for those who want to relax, have fun, distract from the daily routine, get rid of anxiety or anger, and just get to know the new technologies. What we, gamers, see is a well-designed picture with a good to super-creative story and eye-pleasing animation. What the developers see is the combination of cutting-edge technologies, elaborate design, and sequenced writing, which is wrapped with a catchy story.
In this day and age, people seem to have seen literally everything, as the development of technologies has made a quantum leap since the beginning of the millennium. From the golden era of arcade games to old-fashioned Microsoft games of the early 90s like Solitaire, the first 3D games in 2000 and full immersion online games nowadays. Naturally, there’s always room for improvement and the technologies keep adding new facets to create an unforgettable gaming experience. However, human nature is mysterious in many ways. While the game creators fight tooth and nail to offer something more innovative and complex, users just want to see something simple and familiar.
That’s the tendency happening now. Our super-developed technological and modern world is being heavily influenced by the design and ideas of aesthetic Y2K. It may probably be a simple flow of history, yet another reason is a need for security and comfort. Humanity seems to be tired of all the recent ups and downs and seeks the comfort of the good old days: simply saying experiences nostalgia. That’s where the gaming world comes in handy for the users and developers as well.
By twisting together Y2k aesthetic and state-of-art technologies, the game creators will hit the spot — satisfy the nostalgic mood, while not letting down the technologies.
What can we expect from such a combination of video games?
Born in the era of the technological boom, they are a digitally-raised generation. Being overwhelmed with the complexity of modern design, they show great interest in the Y2k aesthetic and tend to idealize it. While virtual life sprawls more into real life, Gen Z starts valuing physical ownership.
Colors are just another language to communicate emotionally. While new technologies favor plain, dark, shady colors that are a sign of minimalism and futurism; 2YK aesthetic offers bright and colorful pictures, and bold and daring color usage to shock, impress and stand out of the crowd. Neon colors, pinkish shades, and gradient background — when balanced, create an appropriate nostalgic picture.
As mentioned, Y2K is entirely aesthetic-wise. Wanting to own the retro-style thing, the users aren’t ready to give up on the convenience and functionality of modern technology. The game’s design should be “dressed” in the appropriate color schemes, yet the level of animation must be top-notch.
Our technological world is digital through and through. Yet, the need to achieve Y2K design makes the creators choose the analogous types of game layout – asymmetrical design and rather a flat user interface. Obviously, such a step back in design had no influence on the technological features.
Modern society is overloaded with information and visuals. Analyzing the Y2K approach, we see 2D and 3D art, thick lines, and shadows – they convey the meaning of the old style and coziness.
All the Y2K visual effects will create the picture a user wants to see, but what is the technological change of future video games?
This is a new era for smartphone users, as memory capacity isn’t unlimited. Typically, the users download the games, however, the ability to cloud play, will save matters, keeping all the records in a data center.
Video games are mainly associated with men, however, the research proves the opposite – women are also actively using this entertainment tool. Keeping this in mind, the developers come up with more options regarding gender, age, and affordability.
The console manufacturers never stop. They keep growing the library of digital games, developing super-sonic load time and state-of-the-art graphics. While it seems that there’s nothing else to change, the developers will always surprise you with new facets.
Video games take the player into a parallel world, making them feel the game and surroundings as if they were real. It can only be achieved through a combination of good game flow, well-developed storylines, and absolute realism using cutting-edge graphics.
The demands of the users are constantly changing, forcing the team of developers into new adjustments and ideas. The main challenge now is to create a comforting picture of an eye-pleasing and good old-days design with technology at the frontiers of knowledge. Simply saying, combine the best of two worlds to meet the user’s requests.
