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Are you ready to experience a true feeling of being doused with icy water as you go over the waterfall in the next incarnation of tomorrow's gaming experience. I'm not even going to guess how you will simulate the conditions that you encounter or exactly when such questions are going to be germane but it's where we're headed and not so long hence.

The vendors are already hard at work with the senses of touch and smell as well as well as sight and hearing. When can you expect to detect the brand of scent worn by your favorite actress in her next bedroom scene or to experience the shock wave from a terrorist bomb triggered two streets away from the world capital in which you are traveling?

We are already on the verge of being able to create a virtual environment by donning a helmet. How long will it be for us to experience three dimensional visuals without the use of either glasses or a piece of headgear? A company called Digiscents is already in the production phase of a "speaker-sized computer peripheral device that attaches to the serial or USB port of your personal computer and plugs into a standard electrical outlet". The device emits naturally-based vapors into the user's personal space. Of course there has been little discussion about the effects of those scents on individuals, the misuse of such technology and the measures which have to be taken to rid yourself of the odors produced and to counter the effect on you or your furniture and draperies!

Of course, much of this brave new world has been explored by writers and movie directors already from Aldous Huxley's Brave New World through George Orwell's 1984 down to Michael Crichton's 1973 film Westworld.

The move towards this technology in entertainment may be prohibitively expensive for the average consumer at first but as novelty wears off and competition thrives, the possibilities for abuse abound and the moral implications of some of the aspects of terror, violence and brutal sex being so much more readily available and in such a dramatic and realistic manner that even those who have had little qualms about the rising call for censorship up to now may want to reevaluate their position.

Think about the leaps we can expect from technology in short order. The processing speeds we now call lightening fast are going to fade in to antiquity a lot faster than we are ready for or expecting. The plasma screen HD TV which you just brought home for wall installation will be a museum piece before you know it. Keyboards will be obsolete. (Remember the floppy disc?). Just go through everything that you are currently using. Will it be around in 5 years? 10?

Will gaming itself change much? It would seem that the basic human needs, fears and the tried and true things that amuse and delight us will be the same. The techniques and gear designed to enhance our experience will certainly be different. But surely the artists who devise and portray our lives will find novel and exciting ways to present their talent for our enjoyment. I'm not going to stop gaming because I can't stand the thought of the technology outstripping my ability to participate. Bring on the next wave! Do you need my credit card number?

Tim Moss is an ardent gamer. He writes exclusively for http://www.worldofpcgaming.com The World Of PC Gaming, a site devoted to all varieties of gaming and games

posted by atomxxfa  # 6:03 AM