5 Companies That Did Video Games Differently in 2019

1. Surrogate

Is a video game really a videogame if it's taking part in the real world? Well, if you're controlling the game on your computer screen via a WiFi connection, then yes, it is.

Surrogate blends the real and digital world by allowing users to control physical games, such as RC racing and Batman pinball, via an online connection. That means that someone can play a real pinball machine in Stockholm from Tokyo, with minimal latency, simply using their keyboard inputs.

The company, founded in 2018, recently announced it's teaming up with some of the world's biggest esports teams alongside its first major game release, the SumoBots Battle Royale game.

For SumoBots, as players are eliminated, sections of the arena (below) are removed. The Fortnite-like concept has a special twist though — viewers vote and choose which arena sections are removed as the game is played.

Surrogate has developed its own real-life game-development engine in order to enable anyone to build their own real-life online game and seamlessly play it on the web.

As Surrogate COO Stan Dimitriev told Interesting Engineering, "we built our own low-latency streaming technology SurroRTG, which allows near-zero latency streaming, while also letting users control robotics and real-life over the internet."

We can imagine the applications for this going wild with the advent of 5G. Be sure to check it out now. Surrogate's games are completely free to play.

2. Nomada Studio

Nomada Studio took the concept of video games as art to a whole new level this year. The company was co-founded by Barcelona-based artist Conrad Roset, who started out doing designs for clothing outlet Zara, alongside game developers Adrián Cuevas and Roger Mendoza.

 

 

 

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I'm thinking I want to release new prints on my shop. Which one of these you like the most?

Una publicación compartida de Conrad Roset (@conradroset) el 7 Abr, 2019 a las 4:21 PDT

While the company's first videogame, GRIS, was released on the 13th December 2018, it has picked up accolades throughout 2019, including The Games for Impact Award at this year's Game Awards.

The side-scrolling platform adventure game has you control a young woman who has lost her voice due to a traumatic event that occurred in her past. As you progress, the protagonist gradually recovers her voice. 

Color, in the form of splashes of watercolor, is also gradually introduced back into the game world, signifying her coming to terms with her past. 

The indie game's narrative expertly progresses to an emotional, cathartic climax. Proof, if people still need it, that video games can be so much more than the stereotypical shoot-em-up. We can't wait to see what Nomada Studio has to offer in 2020 and beyond.

3. Nintendo

While this article is about companies that are doing something new and original, we'd be remiss not to mention the way one of the most established videogame companies in the world continues to push the boundaries in different ways to their competition.

While Sony and Microsoft aim to keep upping the technological prowess of their consoles, Nintendo sacrifices graphical capability for unique and original designs. They did this with the Nintendo Wii's motion controllers, and this year, they continue to push their incredibly popular Nintendo Switch console with new outside-the-box ideas.

Games like this year's RingFit Adventure fitness game utilized a circular motion-detecting controller that allowed gamers to work out and break a sweat while controlling their in-game character. Continued support for Labo, meanwhile, means that Nintendo's console is the place to go for alternative titles that aren't scared of being different.

This year, the Nintendo Switch made it into TIME Magazine's list of top gadgets of the decade. On a list largely dominated by Apple, Nintendo's hybrid console was the only gaming console mentioned. No one does gaming innovation quite like Nintendo.

4. Tender Claw

2020 is set to be a big year for VR games. There's just the little matter of a new Half-Life being released exclusively as a VR game.

In 2019, a year in which VR gaming has made great strides, The Under Presents by Tender Claw showed how the medium could be used to give gamers a wholly unique experience.

The game isn't only a VR experience, but it is also a form of immersive theatre. It blends, gaming, cinema, live acting, and immersive theatre, meaning that, if you enter the game at the right time, you will see improv actors forming a seamless part of the virtual world.

We, for one, could imagine this concept becoming huge in the future. Imagine being able to step into a virtual world where you're not sure who's an actor, who's another player, and who is simply an NPC. What's more, characters within a video game will actually interact in a lifelike way, rather than repeating the same script over and over.

 5. Kojima Productions

It takes guts to take a multi-million dollar budget and make a video game about being the equivalent of an Amazon delivery man in a post-apocalyptic future, but that's just what Hideo Kojima did.

The company, created after Hideo Kojima was asked to leave Konami, released its first game, Death Stranding, in 2019. Despite being so different, it actually put some gamers off, Death Stranding gave gamers an experience they had never seen before. The game became the PS4's second-biggest launch day release in the UK in 2019.

2019, and indeed the decade, has seen a lot of incredible, immersive, and innovative games released. However, it's the games that really dare to be different, and that strive to push the boundaries of the medium, that really get us excited about what's in store for 2020 and beyond. Here's to another decade of gaming and the companies that make it happen.