Adding a real-time weather system to my favorite online game, like in "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt," could revolutionize the gameplay experience. Imagine playing a battle royale game where sudden weather changes, like a thunderstorm or blizzard, affect visibility, strategy, and movement. This feature would not only increase the realism but also require players to adapt their tactics spontaneously, making each match unpredictable and thrilling. Furthermore, this dynamic weather could interact with the game’s environment. For instance, heavy rain could cause rivers to swell, altering the landscape and potentially trapping players or creating new obstacles. This layer of strategic depth would significantly enhance the immersion and challenge, keeping the game fresh and exciting for longtime players. As gamers look for more realistic and engaging experiences, integrating such natural phenomena could be a game-changer.
Procedural generated large worlds. As someone who played all kinds of games in the past 30 years, I have to say open world titles are my favorite. There's nothing like a good story that happens in a universe of possibilities. And that's the promise of open world games: you can do what you want, when you want, at your own pace. One trend in open world design to keep an eye on is procedural generation of worlds. At the scale game maps are getting it's impossible to have them manually designed. Of course, manual tweaking at the end is crucial, but the advancements in procedural generation, coupled maybe with upcoming game design AI tools will surely make current open world games fell small compared with what's coming.
I once worked closely with a gaming client who taught me the importance of user customization. I believe an option for personalized game interface, akin to what we enabled for a women's fashion retail client, will notably enhance the gaming experience by making each player's journey more unique and immersive.