Going 3D in 2010 and beyond

Back in the early nineties around the time when Wolfenstein was being copied onto every floppy disc in the house and Sega was on the verge of releasing it’s Saturn home console, people all over the world were starting to experience 3D gaming for the first time. Later on the Playstation was released which really brought “3D games” home and was adopted by millions around the world. Either way, this 3rd dimension to the usually flat entertainment medium was a paradigm shift for gaming. While developers were still experimenting with the technology, gamers marvelled at the depth they were able to experience on a flat, though slightly bevelled screen. The TV or PC monitor became a window to a virtual universe which made us believe that the world behind its glass truly existed.

I’m catching up on news pouring in from the endless hall that is the Consumer Electronics Show 2010 in Las Vegas. Among the announcements of Google’s Nexus 1, was another buzz going through the show. “3D” was the word on everyone’s lips yet again. It feels like I’m back in elementary school, hearing the rich kids talk about the 3D games they played on their dad’s computer. “Three Dee”, it was so cool to say and legitimately so, as those early games were a glimpse into the future of gaming.

Having the images of James Cameron’s holiday hit, Avatar (yes, in 3D!), still fresh in my mind I’m contemplating whether this technology will be the next paradigm shift in gaming; the breakaway from “flat” and the ascension of “depth” so to speak. Will we, the average Joe be wearing 3D glasses to watch reruns of Seinfeld in a few years? Let’s be blunt here, probably not. Let’s think objectively: Will all gamers be “going 3D” and buy into the technology in say 5 years? That’s another question.

A few things need to be considered here: Does it have mainstream appeal? Will it be affordable? How well does it actually work? What about software and hardware compatibility and requirements?

I can see companies trying to ride the wave of the slew of summer movies going 3D and promising the same experience at home in an effort to sell this tech to the rich dads, but I don’t see this replacing the way we look TV or play games any time soon.

Going by what I’ve experience in Avatar I can say a few things on how well it actually does work. Looking at it completely from a consumer’s point of few and ignoring the technical side of things, I can say it does work quite well… for the most part. The sense of depth feels almost unreal at times and the jungles of Pandora really come alive during the movie. Minority Report-style computer HUDs pop up right in front of you and spears or debris from an explosion feels like it’s going to hit you at any moment. It’s surreal and, this is more a comment on the movie, beautifully realised.

But it’s not perfect. Trying to focus on something that’s not intended to be focused on will strain your eyes. Your brain is thinking “This is real right? I should be able to focus on anything.” And this is just not the case. In some scenes of the movie I could tell that the technology is in two minds as to where which objects should pop out or back.

Another problem with this tech in a home setup is the equipment required. Every person intending to watch the movies cannot do so unless he/she is wearing the glasses. Say you only have two pairs and someone else comes into the room, he won’t even be able to watch the movie without getting a headache caused by the blurred images you see without the glasses. Would we all need to buy new TV’s?

It just feels gimmicky. Very much like the Wii’s motion controls: it works well when it should but it’s, in my humble opinion, completely unnecessary. Look at games such as Uncharted 2, how much more real do we really want games to become? Do gamers really care about this? I hardly think that this technology as it is will be the way we’ll be enjoying all our TV, home movies and games in the next 10 years or even ever. There are just too many points to fault it by. As a cinema experience it’s a super fun way to enjoy movies but I personally believe it should stay at that. Let the cinema companies pay for the setup and let us enjoy it with the price of a movie ticket.

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