Okay, so we all know that being green is the in thing these days. It’s all “carbon offset” this and “recycling” that. Not even gaming consoles can escape the environment’s gaze, as studies have been done to examine how much electricity each one chews up during an average gaming session.
It’s a concern that’s not lost on the part of game developers, who are trying to squeeze as much performance from a console as they can, while at the same time keeping those power-munching CPU cycles down. It’s not an easy task, but one industry source thinks he has the answer. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, he informed Kotaku that when it comes to post-processing effects, next-gen games will harness the power of the gamer rather than the machine.
“We’re exploring every option available to us,” he said. “One of those options is to bundle each game with a keg of beer. Post-processing effects take away CPU cycles that can be dedicated to things like AI, but if a player intakes a sufficient amount of beer, effects such as motion blur and depth of field are handled at the player level. Given the proper dosage, there’s no need for the machine to render those effects at all.”
It’s a bold initiative, and no doubt a controversial one, but in the times when the health of our planet is gaining increasing attention, every idea needs to be considered. If it ever gains momentum, this is certainly one we’ll drink to.
This post was reader Darren’s entry in our Heineken Keg competition. Stay tuned for more.
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