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Tag: Video Games

REALTIME team up with Ukie to #RaiseTheGame on diversity

The #RaiseTheGame pledge, an initiative from UKIE, is a collaborative and high-impact commitment to improve equality, diversity and inclusion in the games industry — creating cultures where everyone belongs, voices are heard and ideas can thrive.

We are proud to announce that we are supporting the #Raisethegame initiative by pledging to create change within our own organisation.

Companies signing up to the pledge work towards:

  • creating a diverse workforce by recruiting as fairly and as widely as possible
  • shaping inclusive and welcoming places to work, by educating and inspiring people to take more personal responsibility for fostering and promoting diversity and inclusion
  • Reflecting greater diversity within games at every level from game design and development through to marketing and community engagement.

REALTIME joins developers, publishers and other companies associated to the video games industry who have also signed-up to the pledge, including Xbox, Mediatonic, Rare and EA.

Says Tony Prosser, Managing Director of REALTIME, “We wholeheartedly support the principle of equal opportunities and nurturing a diverse and inclusive environment within our business. Signing up to Ukie’s #Raisethegame pledge is a hugely exciting step for REALTIME; diversity in our workforce ensures diversity, innovation and resilience in our work, which is a vital to our company culture.”

Our five most anticipated games to watch out for in 2021

The anticipation for the next big game release never really goes away. The industry is constantly expanding and revolutionising, and so with each new announcement comes fresh excitement about what games are bringing to the table.

With the release of new consoles in November, the anticipation for next gen game releases has ramped up once again. With this sense of palpitation in the air, and people hoping 2021 will be a marked improvement on last year, we’ve put together a list of some of our most anticipated games.

 

Battlefield 6

The Battlefield franchise is a staple in the first-person shooter genre. The release of Battlefield 6 is looking to push the classic franchise even further, utilising the power of next generation consoles to expand the game and its capabilities. At an EA Play event in 2020, EA’s chief studios producer Laura Miele promised that developers DICE were ‘creating epic battles at a scale and fidelity unlike anything you’ve experienced before’, so there are big expectations for this release.

EA and DICE are keeping their cards close to their chest in terms of gameplay and story, but they’ve proved that these details aren’t necessary to create anticipation. Battlefield 6 promises to make the most of the next generation tech, with its detailed and realistic facial animation and sneak peaks at scenes with hundreds of soldiers running across the screen.

While the PvP multiplayer is, at its core, sticking to their classic 32 vs 32 battles, reports are circulating that the maps are being designed to support 128 players. This doubles the scale of PvP and offers potential online gameplay experiences that far exceed anything the franchise has offered before.

 

Halo: Infinite

Halo: Infinite is under the microscope after being delayed in 2020. After its much memed gameplay demo at an Xbox Series X showcase, fans will want to see how it pushes the boundaries with its graphics as they left some feeling underwhelmed.

Indeed, 343 Industries is determined to get this right, and the delay will hopefully lead to a better end product. The next generation should give them all the power they need to create the greatest Halo game yet, with creative director Joseph Staten claiming: “This was the Halo we imagined back in 2000, finally come to life, after 20 years of technical and creative innovation.”

We’ve yet to see a video update in 2021, but we’re sure 343 Industries are working hard to make this the best looking game it can be, to match the tight FPS mechanics the series is known for.

 

God of War: Ragnarok

From an Xbox staple to a PlayStation one. God of War: Ragnarok is the highly anticipated sequel to the soft Norse reboot of the series back in 2018. We’ve seen very little of the game, with just a short logo teaser back in 2020. But we all know what we’re in for when it comes to Kratos.

We aren’t the first people to talk about how excited we are for this game. The God of War sequel topped many ‘most anticipated’ lists at the end of 2020, including the official PlayStation Blog’s ‘Most Anticipated Game’ award. It’s safe to say the excitement is palpable right now.

 

Back 4 Blood

You can always trust The Game Awards to drop some exciting news. Amidst all the excitement was this title from Left 4 Dead creators Turtle Rock Studios. As the name of the game might suggest, this is a spiritual successor to the much-loved series, which has gone without a new entry since 2009.

The gameplay looks just as visceral as the Valve series, with the emphasis on 4-player co-op as you try to escape the hordes of the undead. The asymmetrical multiplayer, which puts four people in the role of the special infected, is also one of the game’s best features. It’s sure to be a multiplayer success and exactly what Left 4 Dead fans are after.

 

Gotham Knights

The Arkham series of games showed us that superhero games didn’t have to just be poor tie-ins. In a way, PlayStation’s excellent Spider-Man game (and its Miles Morales expansion) couldn’t have existed without it. So after the release of Batman: Arkham Knight in 2015, we’ve been waiting to see what was next for the caped crusader.

It turns out we’ll be stepping into the shoes of his super family instead, with players taking control of Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin, and Red Hood. Most exciting is that every character has their own distinct playstyle, making each playthrough fresh and interesting. Two-player co-op also allows friends to team up and mix it up on the fly, dropping in and out as they please. It takes a more traditional comic-book approach, giving it a bright style that makes it distinct from the Arkham games. It’s a new direction for Batman games and we can’t wait to see how it goes.

 

Honourable mentions

With lists like this, there’s never enough room to talk about everything. While we can’t wait for these five games, there are plenty of others that make us just as excited. Fans are giddy with anticipation for Resident Evil Village, especially after the excellent Resident Evil 7. This one is bringing witches into the mix, so we’ll see how they clash with the regular zombie aesthetic.

PlayStation also has a couple of games that are sure to make the PS5 an even better purchase. Both Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Horizon Forbidden West are sure to live up to the hype and prove to be excellent sequels. Beyond that, who knows what 2022 holds? The recently announced Indiana Jones game from Bethesda, the ever-mysterious FromSoftware game Elden Ring, and the recently delayed The Lord of the Rings: Gollum game.

The next generation of gaming brings with it an immense collection of exciting new games, with new and old franchises taking advantage of the capabilities of the new consoles that will soon be released. New tech is making the possibilities of game design endless, and these five games only hint at the potential of next generation gaming.

It is far from an exhaustive list, with many amazing games likely to be released this year. But if we didn’t limit ourselves, we’d be here all day! This is just a taste of what to expect, and if you’re anything like us, the next few months couldn’t go fast enough.

At REALTIME, we’re just as excited about the next generation as you are. We are ready to share our experience and want to collaborate with you to access the full potential of any exciting next-gen game ideas you may have. Get in touch with me at [email protected].

How video game technology is breaking into other industries

Video games are one of the most-loved pastimes. To get an idea of just how popular it is, look no further than the PS5’s reveal which has – as of writing – garnered more than 23 million views on YouTube. It’s fair to say everyone’s a bit excited.

But for some, the most exciting aspect of gaming isn’t the new releases or the shiny new hardware. Its uses extend far beyond that. There are people out there who use gaming technology without even touching a video game. For them, it has revolutionised the way they work, learn, or even interact with the world.

Gaming has given us a lot of great moments but we’re here today to talk about the alternative uses you might not know about. Here are three gaming innovations that have found a place outside of our living rooms.

 

Engines

Epic Games has long touted its popular Unreal Engine as a resource for use outside of gaming. That will no doubt still be the case with its recently revealed fifth iteration. And plenty of people have taken them up on that offer.

It’s popular in industries where you need to render a 3D model for one reason or another. The automotive industry will use it to create hyper-realistic recreations of their cars for a configurator. Or the TV and film industry might use it to create pre-vis assets to give the production team an idea of how the finished product might look.

One drug development company has even used it to develop medicines. It came from a need to make the initial discovery and development stage simpler. It’s reasons like this why Epic created their “Enterprise” team, whose job it is to bring the technology to new mediums. Who knows, maybe it’ll play an integral role in creating the next groundbreaking medicine.

 

Motion controls

Opinions on motion controls will vary depending on who you ask. There’s a tendency to view it as “gimmicky” or a “flash in the pan”. And maybe that’s the case; Kinect is hardly in everyone’s living rooms, as Microsoft hoped it might be. But it has found a home elsewhere.

When Microsoft released the SDK for the peripheral, it opened the door for many other industries who could make use of its frankly amazing motion-tracking technology. Here’s a video of it being used to interpret sign language, which could break down barriers in communication.

There were even stories of it being used in surgery. Beyond that, it could be used for mixed reality purposes, such as digitally trying on clothes at a store, capturing high-quality 3D scans, or even in stroke recovery.

 

Virtual reality

VR is slowly gathering pace in the video game world, with games like Valve’s Half-Life: Alyx pushing it further into the mainstream. But such a strong piece of tech was always bound to find a home outside of video games.

In healthcare, it’s become a useful tool for training surgeons, with some using it to hone their skills for complicated procedures, such as brain surgery. You also have the military using it to train soldiers. And you can see museums adopting the technology to deliver a more immersive, educational experience.

Back to the automotive industry, where Toyota is using VR to teach people about the dangers of distracted driving. It could also be used during car production to let people look inside the car in great detail (thanks to a high-quality render) even when they aren’t at the manufacturing facility.

 

And more!

This one is a throwback; remember when the US Air Force made the 33rd largest supercomputer using PS3s? 1,760 of them, to be precise. Not only was it big, but it was fast, too. At the time, it was actually the fastest interactive computer in the entire US Defense Department.

But we’re still seeing more and more examples of how we can use games for good to this day. CCP Games have even integrated scientific research into their massively popular game EVE Online. As part of what they call “Project Discovery” players can take part in a minigame that can help scientists fight COVID-19. By marking groups of cell populations present in blood, they can help scientists understand how different cell populations are altered through infection.

And this list is far from exhaustive! There are hundreds of other uses for video game tech I wish we could talk about but no one wants to read me go on for 10,000 words. It’s great to see video games have an influence on even more lives and show how it can be a force for greater good. With the impending release of new consoles and technology, we can’t wait to see what it’s used for next.

At REALTIME, we’re always looking for ways to improve what we do, across all aspects of our operations not only the video game trailers. We live and breathe this technology and if you need an experienced body for your next project, our team is the perfect pick. Get in touch with me at [email protected].