Tim Sweeney's Crystal Ball - D.I.C.E. 2012

Tim Sweeney has a bright outlook on the World of Tomorrow. He began his talk by stating that the human eye operates at roughly the equivalent of a 30-megapixel camera, and cannot perceive frame rates beyond 72 frames per second. In about two hardware generations, he estimated, we're going to see gigantic resolutions to the tune of 8000x4000 that offer huge fields of view. And as those canvases get larger, so will the quality of images within. The technique behind a realistic image, he said, is light. Understanding light's reflection off smoke, skin, oil, fog, and the like is how you build a more convincing setting.

Sweeney also spoke about some new technologies that have caught his eye. GPS and other location-tracking technologies open up interesting possibilities, especially when combined with augmented reality. Kinect on the Xbox 360 and the iPhone's Siri application are likely to be built into more and more products. Cloud computing, virtual goods, and the end of the console wars were touched on as well. His final point was connectivity. People will become more and more connected, at all times, in more intimate ways--a notion both "terrifying" and "interesting."

The D.I.C.E. Summit (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) is a once yearly conference dedicated to exploring approaches to the creative process and artistic expression as they uniquely apply to the development of interactive entertainment. It is organized by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences and hosts the annual Interactive Achievement Awards, which celebrate the best games of the past year, as voted by AIAS members. Comedian Jay Mohr will return to host the awards show, which takes place on February 9.

For more, check out GameSpot's coverage page, which will feature full video of every panel and keynote address from the 2012 D.I.C.E. Summit.