The future of VN's

[gRaViJa]

Some explanation first: Microsoft is opening a new company here in Belgium that will focus on creating "interactive computer communication products". Because of that, a tv channel broadcasted an interesting documentary about what they are planning to do there.Their goal is to make programs that will allow you to have real conversations with your computer. That means the computer will adapt his answer to what you say and how you say it as well, it will be able to discuss with you about politics, or chatter about the weather. They want to produce products for health care and older people first, but plan to expand to other fields as well. Entertainment is of course one of the first thing we think off. This technology has great benefits, but i can imagine some negative stuff as well.

Anyway, will there be an interactive Yamaku in 20 years or so where the story unfolds depending on what you do/say? How will VN's develop in the future? Will technology expand further in simulation etc? Will VN and simulation-stuff gain more popularity with these technologies? I can see some weird stuff being produced in japan in a few decades lol.

Discuss!

[ziamatt]

That sounds like it could allow for some amazing developments. Currently visual novels work almost exclusively like KS: You make choices that set a general mood and the writers tell you how that mood influences that characters and the story. What if you could carry on the conversation continuously? You could have so much more control over your character. It would reward people who get into the game instead of those who seem bored and listless. What if they even introduced a real-time element? Imagine having a dinner date with a girl and actually spending the next two hours engaged in idle conversation.

[gRaViJa]

That's exactly why i think it's such a 2-sided story. It would be an amazing feature for VN's, and would be able to make them even more immersive. It will also expand the possibilities for the devs.

On the other hand, why not having a real dinner with a girl instead of a digital one? I can see thousands of Otaku's diving into a fantasy world and NEVER get out of it. Can't be healthy. But again on the other hand, some people will say they'll never get a chance for that in real life or "nobody is as perfect as my waifu". Also, when i'm like 80 years, old and alone, i wouldn't mind forgetting about the leftovers of my own life and live the rest of it in a digital simulation of Yamaku School, or something alike.

Interesting is all I can say about it, in the end.

[Deadeye]

As amazing as this is, the game will still be limited to an extent, animations and CG's as well as scene's and scenarios take up space. And with an infinite number of possibilities come the risk of infinite memory being consumed. I think it would be really nice, and I hope that the future will allow the software to function like that.

That said people already dedicate themselves way to much into some VN's and the like, to go as far as using pillows with their waifu and etc. Humanity would die out if everyone could get the perfect girl/guy with a realism not found in todays VN's that only have finite options and a set storyline.

[Alexbond45]

This is bad, If you could have a virtual date with a computer, It would be meaningless to go on a real relationship, because you can just restart a game, you can't restart life.

[encrypted12345]

That said people already dedicate themselves way to much into some VN's and the like, to go as far as using pillows with their waifu and etc. Humanity would die out if everyone could get the perfect girl/guy with a realism not found in todays VN's that only have finite options and a set storyline.

Add that to how there is an electronic onahole you can connect to the computer and humanity is definitely doomed.

Hopefully though, this technology will be used for good like work training or something.

[Paddy]

This is bad, If you could have a virtual date with a computer, It would be meaningless to go on a real relationship, because you can just restart a game, you can't restart life.

It's a risk. A big risk.

Nothing new, though. People have been doing that with pornography, dolls, and toys for millenia. It's not smart or correct, but despite our stupidity, humanity will make it somehow.

That said people already dedicate themselves way to much into some VN's and the like, to go as far as using pillows with their waifu and etc. Humanity would die out if everyone could get the perfect girl/guy with a realism not found in todays VN's that only have finite options and a set storyline.

Add that to how there is an electronic onahole you can connect to the computer and humanity is definitely doomed.

Hopefully though, this technology will be used for good like work training or something.

Religion's going to be more useful than ever before. Good Lord.

If it were not for the strong prerogative of the Lord God to command what, why and how we are to copulate, I'd surely have done this.


EDIT: THAT SITE IS PURE EVIL!

[Beoran]

All this is nothing compared to the future development that will be almost inevitatble: the android. Look at http://www.projectaiko.com/ for a primitive example. Of course, the future android will be much more complex, built from a mixture of silicon technologies, nanotechnology and and biotechnology.

To us this may seem unthinkable, but in a (not too?) distant the future, the androids will do all strenuous work at home, on the fields, and in the factories. They will even raise our children and be our first sexual partners in life. And they will protect and serve us and do all they can to make us happy, because that is how we will program them to be. And we will happier for it. We will spend our time creating and enjoying the arts and investigating science. Crime will be quite rare, since the androids will protect humans from harm.

Our main problem will be chasing down maverick androids who went berserk due to a computer virus or malfunctioning brain circuits, but there again the other androids will help us. Of course, the first few hundreds of years there will be problems due to incorrect programming too, but as technology marches on, these cases will be dealt with and occur less and less frequently. The only real danger would be androids that were built explicitly for military goals, those will have to be outlawed universally, lest we risk a "Terminator" scenario.

Of course, there will be psychological problems for humans too. Looking for another human to love and having children with them will become more and more rare, so human population will dwindle. Of course, the female androids will have artificial wombs and artificial milk glands to counteract this. Many people will spend their time playing with their androids, not looking for human friends anymore. But all in all, most people will be happy to live peaceful lives without having to work. I intend to explore the consequences of all this in a sci-fi RPG that I'm very very slowly developing.

[gRaViJa]

All this is nothing compared to the future development that will be almost inevitatble: the android. Look at http://www.projectaiko.com/ for a primitive example. Of course, the future android will be much more complex, built from a mixture of silicon technologies, nanotechnology and and biotechnology.

To us this may seem unthinkable, but in a (not too?) distant the future, the androids will do all strenuous work at home, on the fields, and in the factories. They will even raise our children and be our first sexual partners in life. And they will protect and serve us and do all they can to make us happy, because that is how we will program them to be. And we will happier for it. We will spend our time creating and enjoying the arts and investigating science. Crime will be quite rare, since the androids will protect humans from harm.

Our main problem will be chasing down maverick androids who went berserk due to a computer virus or malfunctioning brain circuits, but there again the other androids will help us. Of course, the first few hundreds of years there will be problems due to incorrect programming too, but as technology marches on, these cases will be dealt with and occur less and less frequently. The only real danger would be androids that were built explicitly for military goals, those will have to be outlawed universally, lest we risk a "Terminator" scenario.

Of course, there will be psychological problems for humans too. Looking for another human to love and having children with them will become more and more rare, so human population will dwindle. Of course, the female androids will have artificial wombs and artificial milk glands to counteract this. Many people will spend their time playing with their androids, not looking for human friends anymore. But all in all, most people will be happy to live peaceful lives without having to work. I intend to explore the consequences of all this in a sci-fi RPG that I'm very very slowly developing.

Interesting read, Borean. But for the same chances, the future of android technology turns out to be entirely different.

@Deadeye: disk space is not an issue for the future, since we won't be using disk space anymore in 10 to 20 years. Everything will be web-based and cloud-based. Our computers will only be a device to reach those programs, we will not use our laptops to save anything on it anymore (apart from the operating System). Thus, disk space is not a problem.

Look like these technologies are starting to reach the market already by now:

computer communication: Siri and Cleverbot
Simulation: 3D-tv's that don't require glasses, Kinnect/PS Move etc, augmented reality already used with smartphones, there are prototypes for interactive holograms, like Microsofts Holodesk! (
Android technology (though i don't see this evolving as fast as the previous 2): Project Aiko (http://www.projectaiko.com/)

[zanger]

I'm not sure how the creation of artificial entities that supplant and replace human activity will benefit human society as a whole. Unemployment will be rampant, and "hate crimes" against androids will be even more prevalent than when it arose out of racial, religious, or ethnic prejudices because in this case they really aren't even alive.

Besides, who can buy an android companion if they don't have a job?

[gRaViJa]

I'm not sure how the creation of artificial entities that supplant and replace human activity will benefit human society as a whole. Unemployment will be rampant, and "hate crimes" against androids will be even more prevalent than when it arose out of racial, religious, or ethnic prejudices because in this case they really aren't even alive.

Besides, who can buy an android companion if they don't have a job?

If society will ever use Androids for all/most work, i'm pretty sure the way people are payed etc. will also be entirely different from todays system.

[zanger]

If society will ever use Androids for all/most work, i'm pretty sure the way people are payed etc. will also be entirely different from todays system.

In a post-scarcity world where money doesn't exist in any form, perhaps.

[gRaViJa]

If society will ever use Androids for all/most work, i'm pretty sure the way people are payed etc. will also be entirely different from todays system.

In a post-scarcity world where money doesn't exist in any form, perhaps.

Probably, that's why i already mentioned in my previous post i don't see Android technology evolving as fast as computer communication and simulation.

--> Stuff that already exists or is already being produced as prototypes:
computer communication: Siri and Cleverbot
Simulation: 3D-tv's that don't require glasses, Kinnect/PS Move etc, augmented reality already used with smartphones, there are prototypes for interactive holograms, like Microsofts Holodesk! ( )

[Alexbond45]

If computers take over music I'm gonna be PISSED.
Because if I lose music.....I can't fathom the idea".

[Tomate]

First things First, if you guys are interested in the subject consider reading Physics of the Future by Michio Kaku and The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil, both books are about the near future, a nice read if you are into Trans-humanism or Science.

If computers take over music I'm gonna be PISSED.
Because if I lose music.....I can't fathom the idea".

There is already a computer capable of writing small poems and novels without human aid*, music cant be far, but i don't think that computers can "take over music", people wont simply stop playing and writing songs just because a computer can also do it.

*Dont remember the sauce, but i can look in my books when i get home.

I'm not sure how the creation of artificial entities that supplant and replace human activity will benefit human society as a whole. Unemployment will be rampant, and "hate crimes" against androids will be even more prevalent than when it arose out of racial, religious, or ethnic prejudices because in this case they really aren't even alive.

Besides, who can buy an android companion if they don't have a job?

Its hard to predict things like this, autonomous artificial entities and fully functional androids belong to the medium-far future, there can be a great number of social and economical changes until then. Who Knows, maybe the poor citizens will have their brains uploaded on a machine where they live a fake reality while their bodies are used as fuel....too much movies, better stop.

Add that to how there is an electronic onahole you can connect to the computer and humanity is definitely doomed.

Hopefully though, this technology will be used for good like work training or something.

Methinks most technologies will be used for training, Military use and medicine at first soon after they will be used for entertainment