Get Into Games: ‘Students should anticipate PlayStation 5′

A leading games academic believes anyone seeking a career in the industry should be looking beyond the current generation of consoles in anticipation of an immersive play revolution.

Adam Barton, course leader for Southampton Solent’s BA (Hons) in Computer and Videogames, says the fanfares heralding PS4 and Xbox One are justified, but warns they could be short lived.

[lifeisgamesok]

Isn't it a tad bit too early to have anticipation for the next consoles

Even if you're in the industry

[Nitrowolf2]

Nope, I've already got the 5, 6, and 7 pre-ordered.

[kneon]

But he's talking about students. By the time they graduate it won't be long before the PS5 dev kits will be in the hands of developers.

So it does make sense for them to start thinking about what will be possible with even more powerful consoles.

[Timesplitter14]

It's not too early since the PS5 will probably arrive in 5-6 years, and a degree might take something like 3 years, and developing your game adds another 2 years.

But then again this article is kinda pointless because the PS5 doesn't exist yet and there's absolutely nothing you can do to prepare for it. You can "anticipate" it but that doesn't really mean anything. It's not like there are people out there who think "NO, I REFUSE the idea of an eventual PS5!"

[Schatt3nwelt]

"...because the PS5 doesn't exist yet and there's absolutely nothing you can do to prepare for it."

That's what the government WANTS you to think!

[SpinalRemains138]

I wonder if Xbox Two has DRM?

[Relientk77]

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

PS9

We got a lot of PlayStations ahead of us

[dcj0524]

I aleardy have PS10 pre-order. 11.11.67!

[ChozenWoan]

Its amazing how much a good ad can do for a product line... Sony needs more of these.

[imXify]

Well at my school, all my teachers are getting up to date with recent technologies. But we do face the challenges of the future. 3D animation is getting extremely detailed and complex.

[ssj27]

Okay can any PC guys tell me what could be posible with a 10 times more powerful technology than the ps4?

We are talking about 4k resolution or 8k?

How about poligon number for a character? Let use quantic dreams numbers on the ps4 vs what they may be able to do in a 10 times more powerful technology.

[Software_Lover]

Higher resolutions, better AA, better framerates.

What people call graphics (textures), better looking depends on the textures and engine that the dev uses. Mario Galaxy in 4k running at 120fps will not look better than Ryse at 900p 30fps or Killzone at 1080p 60 fps. Better textures are used.

You can expect better looking games running better. I'm hoping for better A.I. It would be great since all our gaming is becoming internet connected if people can join games randomly as NPC and fight against actual players. Imagine playing the single player of Battlefield and to complete your missions you go against actual players instead of the dumb A.I.

I think that would be a challenge.

[Ninjatogo]

Graphics aren't only about the textures. Nowadays people tend to include lighting, materials, shaders, particle effects and camera effects too.

Mario Galaxy could look insane if they used all the items listed above effectively. Take the game Tearaway for instance, it uses single color textures for many of the objects in the demo; yet I feel it is one of the most graphically impressive games on the Vita even compared to Killzone:Mercenary.

[N4g_null]

Expect uncapped geometry limits and uncapped textures. Highend models are textured and sculpted at around 80 million polygons. Texture sets can be above 8k x 8k with over 8 gigs of data loaded and unloaded dynamically.

Raycasting is done on a seperate gpu array much like the tesla 2880 cores, then anyreal simulation is solved on that same gpu. The tflops are over 3 tera flops which is only 2 times that of the ps4 tech. 2tflops was the magic number these consoles had to hit. They did not hit that.

but hold up! Graphics need power gameplay doesnt. Ai is a matter of game design. Now if you are looking for graphicly more power, then its safe to say it still wont be that affordable next gen. Unless the underlining thinking changes.

[Debaitable]

Next gen technology has to be cost efficient for the company, consumers & developers. It will all come down to which TV technology is more popular at the end of this decade, 3D or 4K.

[TheUndertaker85]

There wouldn't really be a war there. All the new 4K TVs support 3D.

[rainslacker]

Probably looking at advances in AI, higher texture processing, and more inportantly, new technologies that may emerge during this generation...in particular things like VR with Occulus Rift and it's ilk.

The next gen will be interesting, because graphics in general are getting close to the uncanny valley, so systems will have to find other ways to differentiate themselves to make them seem necessary.

In the mean time, we have some time to not worry about it. Spend the next 3-5 years enjoying what's here for now.

[carlingtat]

What about those of us nearly finished our degrees in less than 6 months? Should we just forget about this gen and look to the next?

[Debaitable]

Obviously not. This was probably more towards newer students who have years left to finish.

[rainslacker]

No. Even newer students don't have to worry about that. The programming and principals you've learned aren't going to change that much. People will still be using texturing and 3D modelling. People will still be using C++ and 3rd party game engines with their own scripts. No matter what the next gen brings, it all boils down to basics.

The best thing a student can do is simply find a job and start getting experience. That will take you further than trying to learn what might be here in 5-6 years, as at that time, the whole industry is going to have to change for it. Once you have that experience, then you can start anticipating what will be needed in the future to increase your success in your career.

Think about your education. Have you ever really focused on a single technology such as the PS3 or 360 or Wii? More often than not, I'd imagine most of what you learned was for PC, because the principals are all the same across all platforms. Once you start interning, you'll begin learning the things that those with years of experience have, if you take every opportunity to do so that is.

Otherwise, the chances that the technologies that get used change drastically on the hardware side are slim for next gen. I think Sony with their Cell and now their x86 design showed that simplicity and familiarity are more important than exotic architectures that require massive amounts of re-education.

[Ninjatogo]

But, but they don't even have the PS4 dev kits where I'm at. Ah well, nothing stopping me from programming for current gen BEFORE I graduate.

[level 360]

It's not only consoles where would-be students should focus their attention to.

There is the movie/film industry where their talents with CGI and 3D will always be appreciated.

[atdoor]

looks interested