James.R.Tyrrell

From Science to Sci-Fi
The progress of video game graphics

The progress of video game graphics

by | Jan 29, 2021 | Articles, Technology


Sometimes it is simply easier to see graphics in the games we play to realize the incredible progress we’ve made in terms of cheap accessible computing power. This is a bit of a homage to an image I saw 6 years ago.

38 years of progress in one image
38 years of computer graphics in one image


This picture represents nearly 40 years of progress in video game graphics. I am 41-years-old next month it blows my mind how far we’ve come in my lifetime. On one side, we have Indiana Jones in the video game version of Raiders of the Lost Ark on the Atari 2600. On the other side, we have Operative Frank Wood from Activision’s Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War on the PlayStation 5. I’ll let you guess which side is which.


Of course, Call of Duty: Black Op 4’s in-game graphics won’t always look that good. The picture above is taken under ideal conditions but still, the graphics in the video game are going to be pretty damn impressive. Check out the official launch trailer below!

Progress in Computer Graphics is not just about games


While games may not seem all that important to most people, the forms of entertainment we can have in our homes are a great litmus test of progress. We live in a period of history where technology progresses so fast that it’s hard to keep up. The more we can bring technology and improvement to the masses, the more we enable them. in a few years, the home computer will be capable of producing such astounding images and run such complex software that it will open a new chapter in creativity and invention.


Just a glance at Youtube, TikTok, and many other platforms will show you how computer graphics progress has allowed individuals to create stunning videos, VFX shots and even produce better images than significant production studios. Expect that trend to continue. When the next Spielberg, Lucas, or Jackson emerges onto the world stage of media, it will be from behind a fantastic imagination and computer in their home that allowed them to realize their vision. Like authors self-publishing, their productions will enter a golden age of entertainment creation, can’t wait to see it happen.

Finding my Theme, again. – Technology and Society

Finding my Theme, again. – Technology and Society

by | Jan 6, 2021 | Life, Writing

Your theme will take the form of a rant that begins with any of these four sentences.

  1. For as long as I can remember I’ve felt there is something exciting at the intersection of _______ and _______
  2. I deeply believe that the world needs _______
  3. Never in history has there been a better time for _______
  4. My whole life I’ve been fascinated by what happens when you mix _______ and _______
So I did this once before, it’s an exercise from the book “Entrepreneur Revolution” by Daniel Priestley . The idea is that you can use the four questions to try and find what your theme or passion is in your life.

Last year my business was crushed under by the global pandemic of COVID. Leaving me with nothing but debts and angry creditors who once were friends. While I am lucky enough to have some work. I am taking this time to try and find out where I want to be before starting off again.

So here is part 1 of 4, trying to answer the questions above and maybe from there I’ll move onto a plan and finally a business venture.

So I did this once before, it’s an exercise from the book “Entrepreneur Revolution” by Daniel Priestly. The idea is that you can use the four questions to try and find what your theme or passion is in your life. 

Last year by business was crushed under by the global pandemic of COVID. Leaving me with nothing but debts and angry creditors who once were friends. While I am lucky enough to have some work. I am taking this time to try and find out where I want to be before starting off again. 

So here are my answers to the 4 questions above and maybe from there I’ll move onto a plan and finally a business.  

1. For as long as I can remember I’ve felt there is something exciting at the intersection of technological progress and society.

The rate of change in technology is exponential, every day a new system, technology or breakthrough is opening the doors to a whole new potential place of innovation and growth.

Society and culture as a whole lag behind the rate of change. This is pretty standard for almost every form of tech, partly because it takes 20 to 30 years for a tech to really make it into mass usage.

Part of this is due to the problem of getting buy in from the majority which requires a typical a period of convincing (and collaborating with) Innovators and Early adopters. You can see this with cases of companies resisting moving to the Cloud or avoiding developing their sites for a mobile/tablet audience. 

The adoption of products graph

Of course while there are technical examples everywhere social change and legal fights follow similar trajectories. Battles for GLBTQ rights have been an ongoing struggle for years and are only starting to gain traction in what you might call the “early majority”.

But I really like seeing how technical change impacts society in a more tangible way. For example AI is in its nascent phase right now. But already it’s starting to make it’s impact felt in biotechnology whether it’s identifying cancer 1 or creating superior ways to understand the nature of our biology 2. 

Automated cars and trucks will be (already are) driving the streets long before the lawmakers are ready. Deepfakes and faceswaps create horrendous personal rights and authenticity issues. Space travel while a slow start has gone from prices at $10k per Kg to LEO in 2006 to $970 per Kg in 2020 3. Which is allowing the emergence of global satellite internet constellations.  

While there are bad sides to every technology its transformative power is undeniable, we are liberating data, information and reducing labour at an unheard of rate. We, as a society, need to try and see where that impact will be in an active way rather than a passive reactive manner. 

Current interests in this domain

Space, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence are set to revolutionise the world in the coming decades. Not just in what is possible but also in how it will impact our everyday lives. The confluence of high-speed, low latency, global broadband from satellite constellations combined with ever improving AI and the constant refinement and improving of robotics, will upend massive parts of our current labour, production and supply chain.

Thats a bit out of the scope of this blog post so I’ll leave you with Boston Dynamics New Years offering to wet your appetite. 

  1. https://nypost.com/2020/01/02/google-ai-spots-breast-cancer-better-than-doctors-study-finds/[↩]
  2. https://deepmind.com/blog/article/AlphaFold-Using-AI-for-scientific-discovery[↩]
  3. https://www.futuretimeline.net/data-trends/6.htm[↩]