A pivotal moment in browser-based games

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I’m sorry to bang out about Unity, I really am.

But back when I was a callow youth, I remember a moment when I thought the computer game business would change forever.

It was an ECTS in 1996. I saw Ridge Racer on the PSOne. Lush graphics, fast framerates, it looked like you were actually driving! None of this suspension of disbelief problem.

I remember my jaw dropping, and thinking “This is it: from this day on, games will go mainstream, and it’s all thanks to Sony.”

I had my first jaw-dropping moment in over a decade this morning. I checked out an online demo of a tropical paradise in Unity’s browser engine.

It’s almost as good as Crysis. In a browser. In my view, the world has changed again.

OK, so there is no collision mesh. There’s no physics integrated into this tech demo, and I’ve yet to see how AI responds.

But load it up and (this is important) right click and choose “Go Fullscreen”. Wander around, look at the stork fishing in the lake, and tell me this isn’t the future of games.

http://unity3d.com/gallery/live-demos/tropical-paradise

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