In the past, a slew of "tycoon" games found their way onto the market and offered gameplay revolving around everything from amusement parks to pizza artistry (because it's become politically incorrect to simply make pizza; it's now an art). But what if the object of a game was to perfect a taste, or provide a variety of tastes to achieve a certain goal? Envision the possibilities of crafting in certain role-playing games, where you are given the ability to create herbal remedies and the like, but the only way to make sure they're perfect for consumption is to taste them yourself. No longer would you simply rely on game mechanics, but also your own intuition and the millions of taste buds that instruct you on what tastes identify with what materials. It may sound like nothing more than a simulation or some sort of scientific experiment, but in the end it adds a level of realism to a game's experience, while not decreasing imaginative value.
Touching is Good
As the potential of our senses are pushed beyond what is thought possible, the manner in which we already utilize them will be seen in a separate light. At this point in time, our sense of touch is the control element for gaming, but its prospective attributes shroud our current realization of gaming and offer an endless amount of possibilities. We don't feel games, we control them. We press buttons and we move analog sticks to achieve a desired effect. There is no immersion, other than being the controlling factor of the events unfolding before your eyes and ears, and for some this is enough. At some point in the future, however, this will fail to entice and a higher level of immersion will come into play. Virtual reality has attempted to eliminate the need to touch, and institute the need to feel, but has not garnered a wide acceptance among gamers due to a number of pressing controversies, namely the price it costs to operate a virtual reality simulation.
As technology advances, controllers and input devices will inevitably cease to exist and one will be subjected to the game's nature through the sense of touch. Our imagination will come into play and our experiences will define our environment. Imagine the ability to overcome the need of controllers and use your mind to not only control your interactive destiny, but also feel it. It is typical of horror games of the day to induce fear through shock factor, but with a more expressive method of touch, a more fearful method of fright is capable. Place yourself in a dark corridor, a hallway of sorts, with doors on either side of you. As you begin to traverse to your hidden fate, you feel something brush against your arm, raising the hairs on your neck until they stand on end. You are genuinely scared, but at this point you need to remind yourself: It's only a game.
Scientists have only just begun to unlock the mysteries of the mind, and as time passes, gamers will get a hold of their knowledge and exploit it to provide new entertainment value to their passion. Today's science fiction is tomorrow's science fact. Gaming will evolve with technology and each of our senses will be shown equal attention. Prepare yourself for total immersion, as your eyes, ears, nose, mouth and "touch receptors" receive digital acceptance in tomorrow's interactive entertainment.
