The state of gaming in 2020

It is the year 2020.

Over a decade ago in 2008, Suzanne Seggerman gave an emotional talk about the state of social or serious gaming and the momentum it was gathering. The problem which faced 'games for change' was that not enough people were actually making the games that benefit society most.

Luckily, what was once a grass roots movement has become a fully realised facet of the games industry.

The advent of 3D gaming was a short lived phenomena, as we saw a dramatically negative impact on vision as a result of fooling the human mind into seeing depth with only parallax perception. Extended exposure through gaming led to serious health side effects, and heavy regulation enforced on production quality standards by government drove many developers out of the space and onto the 'next big thing'. Entertainment companies started looking further afield to develop their games portfolio, and naturally social gaming became a key area of growth.

The motion control battle was won by Microsoft, with Natal beating out Nintendo's Wii Motion plus and the Sony Move as the must have console in the family home. This led to a massive increase in the popularity of active games that were actually fun, with fitness and health industries clamoured to get a stake, splurging their advertising all over the gaming products. Interactive gyms starting cropping up around the place, encouraging social fitness activity, and have since formed a strong niche market appealing to the growing Gen Y numbers in the workforce.

The gap between traditional and digital media has almost completely closed, with gaming being an integral part of any businesses marketing and communication strategy. The acceptance of micro-transactions by the wider market has shifted the retail model for gaming completely, opening up new opportunities for businesses to monetise their products through game technology.

I am a co-founder of a games business, using games technology to promote and foster learning, creating a positive impact produced by the players. My flagship game was created to benefit charitable organisations around the world. It is no longer a 'novelty' to have a positive impact through gaming - it is a reality.