How the Internet of Things Can Enhance the Gaming Experience
The Internet of Things, or IoT, describes the collective network of connected devices with sensors and also refers to the process in which they connect with each other and exchange data.
While this term is widely used, you don’t actually need the Internet in order to connect with devices and exchange data; the devices simply must be in a network. Everyone who has played multiplayer games in the late 1990’s or early 2000’s can tell you that.
Still, in this article we will only use examples involving the use of Internet, such as popular multiplayer online games and even games from slot sites, to show you how the Internet of Things can improve and enhance the gaming experience.
Examples of IoT
If this is the first time you hear of the Internet of Things, you might find the term confusing, so we will give you a few everyday examples to show you how it works.
There are, for instance, products which require the use of IoT. These products include, but are not limited to, smart TVs, smart watches, cooling and heating systems, fitness machines and so on.
Of course, devices such as computers, laptops, mobile phones and tablets also heavily rely on IoT. The types of network connection they use, which is considered IoT, include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and near-field communication (NFC). These connections allow for data exchange between devices.
An everyday use of IoT can be scanning a QR code or playing an online multiplayer video game.
How that works with online games is that your device (laptop, computer, console, phone, tablet) sends and receives data from its Internet server (represented as download and upload in speed tests), as well as from the game server; this data is then used to connect you to the game and to other players in the game network.
How the Internet of Things Can Make Gaming Better
As we already discussed, IoT technology is used widely in gaming. Every multiplayer online game you play is an example of IoT use because it requires the use of Internet and it connects you to players in the same network.
By contrast, games such as GTA San Andreas are single-player games which don’t use the IoT. While these games can be fun to play, multiplayer games such as GTA V, which has a single-player (offline) mode and a multiplayer (online) mode, rocked the gaming world as they allow you to team up or fight against other players, rather than non-existing NPCs.
Still, we gave you examples of IoT in gaming which have long been implemented (GTA V came out in 2013 and it wasn’t even the first online multiplayer game), so how can the IoT improve gaming even more today?
The answer is in the way that these connected devices interact with each other and the technology implemented in games.
VR, AR, MR
One example of the latter is VR (virtual reality); you can connect your VR set to a game and play with other players who use VR sets. While this technology is relatively new, there are now multiplayer VR games such as Pavlov and Population: One.
VR allows a new type of IoT connection between people that feels much more realistic than ever before.
The innovative VRChat allows you to create a character and inhabit fantastical worlds with other player-characters; you can do all sorts of activities from watching a film, learning a language in a course offered by a real person and even play games. We highly recommend the documentary We Met in Virtual Reality (2022) which is entirely filmed within VRChat.
AR, or augmented reality, also improves gaming but it works in a different way than VR; while VR allows you to enter a new world, AR intertwines the fantastical and the real world. An example of an AR IoT game is Pokemon GO which uses the sensor in your phone to create Pokemon characters around you and it navigates you through GPS.
MR, or mixed reality, works in a similar principle to AR. It intertwines the real and the game world but in a way that they interact with each other and blend.
Gambling Games
An example for the former, or the new ways in which devices can interact with each other, can be found in online gambling.
A few years ago, the software developer Evolution created the first functional live casino game and now live dealer games can be found at many casino sites. Live dealer games connect you in a network to other players and you all bet with a live person dealing your cards which recreates an authentic experience at a land-based casino.
Another way in which online casinos use IoT to enhance the gaming experience is through tournaments. Players gain points by playing certain games and they get higher up on the leader board with the top players receiving prizes.
However, both of these examples are not interactive enough; while live dealer gaming allows you to interact with a real dealer, it doesn’t allow for player interactions. Casino tournaments don’t allow you to interact with players either, you just see their names.
One way in which IoT can truly improve online gambling though has just been implemented. A few of the best slot sites, such as Lucky Dreams, now have a gaming mode called “Bet with Streamers”.
Slots are the least interactive casino games as they are by default, single-player. Still, these casinos found a way to make them interactive through IoT. A player can connect to a live stream where a streamer plays various slots; if the player bets on the streamer and the streamer gets it right, the player will be rewarded as well.
Additionally, the player can directly interact with the streamer and with other players by using the available live chat. Things like that show that the Internet of Things is constantly improving and providing new ways for people to connect.