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This article comes from the official account of Wechat: ID:chuappgame, author: etc.

"in all aspects of life, this generation is really better adapted to the influence of technology."

When Mike Sime is not designing digital features for the car dashboard, he is probably sitting in a homemade racing simulator.

Simei, who has worked at General Motors for 30 years, is now responsible for building a "digital cockpit" experience, including developing software for on-board displays and providing drivers and passengers with ways to interact with touchscreens. As a player, Ximei has been playing games even longer: he grew up in the days of arcade and Atari 2600, and later played modern racing simulations such as "iRacing" and "Divine Power Khosa".

Ximei believes that cars and games have more in common than people think. "Games are like a mixture of virtual and physical, and so are cars, both of which have many different display interfaces and functions. If you get into a car and find that you can use the steering wheel to manipulate the menu on the display screen, you will often think that there is a similar scene in a game."

The cockpit details of "Cyberpunk 2077" are rich in the types of vehicles in the game. today, generations of automotive engineers, designers, product planners, programmers and car executives have been playing video games since childhood, many of whom are still passionate about games as adults. As cars become more and more complex, they hope to optimize the user experience through some games, find ways to integrate VR and AR into driving, and learn from the technology of the game industry to improve hardware and software performance. In the process, they also meet the more needs of young drivers for future cars.

Player designer "in our team, each member has his or her own interests and has accumulated some experience." Said Madalin Yudi, creative designer of GM's Ultifi software platform. Youdi plays games almost every day, and works such as Ultimate Speed, quality effect, Ace Air Battle and Cyberpunk 2077 all have an impact on her work. "what does a heads-up display (HUD) look like? how do players feel when they play? sometimes I even get inspiration from quite old games."

GM began exploring "virtual cockpit" technology as early as seven or eight years ago, and the influence of video games was everywhere at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. For example, BMW first unveiled the "i Vision Dee" concept car, a minimalist electric car that uses augmented reality display screens throughout the windshield and allows drivers to create their own virtual avatars; Sony announced that it will enter the car market in partnership with Honda to launch an electric car with in-car entertainment functions such as playing games and watching movies as its main selling point. Nvidia also announced that a range of future models from Hyundai, Polar and BYD will feature its cloud gaming service-many automakers are already using Nvidia's driving software suite.

In-car games seem to be on the verge of explosive growth, especially given that both drivers and passengers need entertainment when electric cars are recharged. At the CES show, Cadillac demonstrated a racing game developed with Microsoft for the electric car Lyriq EV, which allows players to play with the steering wheel and pedals. Tesla is clearly moving faster. In December, after launching the Tesla Arcade in 2019, the electric car maker officially launched the Steam platform in its new Model S and Model X models, allowing passengers to use Bluetooth controllers to play thousands of games while parking.

"on the whole, this generation is really better adapted to the influence of technology in all aspects of life." "I think this trend will also be reflected in the auto industry," said Jessica Caldwell, an executive at auto trading site Edmunds. "

The "i Vision Dee" concept car does not have any screens or physical buttons, and all operations rely on the "mixed reality slider bar" on the center console to complete the relationship between video games and the car for a long time. In the 1970s, pioneers such as Space Race, the Atari video game, and Wipeout, which appeared on the Magnavox Odyssey, the home console, marked the birth of racing games. Nowadays, series of games such as "extreme Speed", "GT Racing" and "Mario Racing" have become popular all over the world. Many real racing drivers also like to play games, often take part in virtual races, and automakers even promote new cars in the games.

Many modern cars have functions similar to video games. In recent years, from mid-and low-end car brands to luxury cars such as Porsche, many performance-oriented cars allow drivers to test product acceleration, maximum speed and other indicators, and display them digitally. It feels like playing "extreme speed". A good example is the Mercedes-Benz EQS, which offers a 56-inch-wide super screen: three screens spread across the dashboard, including one for passengers. For example, Cadillac's upcoming electric sedan, the Celestiq EV, also features a 55-inch built-in oversized screen, while traditional buttons and switches are rare.

An interesting question to learn from the game is, how should drivers operate various key functions, especially when the vehicle is driving at high speed?

Some people think that it is very important to improve the intuition of the operation, and in this regard, automakers can learn from some design methods of the game industry. Peter Huang, a former product designer at Argo AI, a self-driving technology company, points out that the game is designed to allow players to learn quickly and keep their eyes on the screen all the time, without often thinking about how to operate with a handle. If carmakers want to design features that do not distract drivers, or try to build a semi-autonomous driving assistance system that ensures that drivers stay focused while driving, then many of the practices in the gaming industry can be used for reference.

The Mercedes-Benz EQS uses the Nvidia Xavier AI chip, which includes an 8-core Carmel CPU and an enhanced Volta GPU display chip. "Design should be people-oriented, you have to design functions for users, rather than taking it for granted what users should do. I often communicate with engineers, and although they are not necessarily user experience experts, they also refer to video games when studying how users interact with the product."

Ximei said that in terms of visual design and interactive experience, the game industry should learn from the automotive industry. "our chief graphic designer goes to the E3 game show every year. When he returns to the company, he will tell us the latest trends in the game industry. In the next few years, these trends may affect our design of the in-car display screen."

Simee said, for example, that several newer GM models, such as the Cadillac Reege, GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Kurod, have a menu screen that displays a model of the vehicle that can rotate in any direction, and when users click on different areas of the body, they can view details such as tire pressure. He revealed that the feature was inspired by the garage system of Ultimate Racing and other racing games.

At the same time, some game development tools have successfully crossed the border and have been widely used in the fields of film, TV series production and car design. For example, Epic Games's "illusory" engine is used to develop a variety of car-related applications, including design tools, in-car software, and so on. In Epic's Fortnite game, players also have the opportunity to drive many different brands of cars.

Getting players to test-drive a Ferrari 296GTB in "Fortnite" is an excellent marketing method. Haike Wenzel, director of cars and man-machine interfaces for Epic "Unreal" engines, said Epic's tools can turn data into high-fidelity 3D images and interactive visual effects, making them more and more useful in car design, sales and driving. He said, for example, that automakers such as Volvo, Ford, General Motors and Rivian all use "illusory" engines to provide drivers with real-time, immersive images. "this makes it easier for drivers to understand important information, resulting in a safer and more enjoyable driving experience."

"I think the technology transfer has been going on for many years, and now a lot of car companies are trying to take advantage of the potential of technology in the gaming industry." "from the perspective of the use of game-making tools in the automotive industry, we are still in the early stages of learning, but the development of this trend is worth watching," Wenzel said. "

Auto industry analysts and executives generally believe that as the post-90s and post-00s gradually become the main consumers of the car market, they will pay more attention to the overall user experience of the car, rather than traditional indicators such as horsepower and mechanical functions. Compared with their parents' generation, these young people are not only more interested in electric cars, but also more interested in various digital subscription functions.

In addition, many practitioners in the automotive industry expect further integration of gaming technology and automotive technology. Ximei said that some young car owners often compare the update of the in-car software with the content update of the game. Gaming technology companies such as Epic are also looking forward to a new moment, Wenzel said. "in the future, as cars become more automated, cars will become the next-generation destination for entertainment and social interaction."

This article was compiled from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/ video-games / 2023-02-07 / cars-video-games-future-automotive/

The original title: "What will the future of cars be like?" Video games may have the answer "

Original author: Patrick George

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