"True" 3D in gaming

[Shoeberto]

At CES this year a bit of buzz has come from companies like Sony and nVidia about true 3D in gaming, like old 3D movies and such that required the use of special glasses. What do you guys think about it?

I think that true 3D interactivity in gaming is something we're fast approaching. 3D motion has shown to be incredibly popular with the Wii, despite its implementation being flawed. 3D visuals are still at the stage of being gimmicky, but I could see in five to ten years it being considered a new standard.

Standard visuals are really pretty close to hitting a wall as to how real they can get. It won't be long before it's less what the hardware can handle and more what artists are capable of producing. The next logical jump, in my opinion, is for actual 3D immersion.

[Wolf Kanno]

I'm having flashbacks to the Virtual Boy, and a migraine due to its use of "3D Graphics".

As a person who gets very little satisfaction or immersion from graphics, I can't say I have a real opinion about this. (That's a first :rolleyes2) I welcome new attempts but I agree that 3D glasses type fair may not go over so well and stay in the realm of retro nostalgia rather than technological innovation. Still, we can only try and see what the future brings.

[black orb]

>>> I wonder how 4D is like..

[Loony BoB]

Someday? (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qTnnJR-hS7k) :p

[Depression Moon]

like old 3D movies and such that required the use of special glasses.

I wouldn't want that, that's too much of a distraction and it might give me a hear attack if I'm playing something like Resident Evil 8 or Silent Hill 7.

[Shoeberto]

Someday? (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qTnnJR-hS7k) :p
Well, I meant like for users at home. I know there's been lots of VR with motion tracking and such, but it's all really expensive and not intended for consumer use yet.

[LunarWeaver]

It has a lot of potential. I'd root for it if they went in that direction. Seems logical and all.

[Wolf Kanno]

>>> I wonder how 4D is like..

The game can be finished instantaneously but goes on eternally until completion?

[Slothy]

>>> I wonder how 4D is like..

The game can be finished instantaneously but goes on eternally until completion?

No, no, no. This (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blinx) is true 4D gaming right here.

Anyway, unless they can up the refresh rate on monitors, and preferably build the tech right into it (it's been done already actually but I don't know how well it works to be honest), as well as come up with standard software solution (for example, making the 3D functionality a built in part of Direct X or Open GL), I can't see consumers or developers jumping on board that quickly. Especially when most people don't have graphics cards that support it or the desire to buy $200 glasses on top of a card that can.

They'll also have to deal with the fact that the settings on most games have to be lowered to use it since it effectively renders everthing twice from a slightly different angle. It'll be interesting if they ever work these bugs and adoption hurdles out, but it'sa long way off even then.

[Shoeberto]

From the looks of it, Sony's trying to create a standard solution to it with the PS3. Not that the PS3 is necessarily going to be the console to make everyone do it with its relatively poor adoption rate, but from reports I've read, the demos were pretty impressive.

I don't think that graphics quality will necessarily need to be lowered. I could see the next generation easily having more horsepower than devs could harness (much like what people say about the PS3, but more). It's not something that'll likely be all over the place even a year from now, but maybe in five or more.

[Necronopticous]

http://static.gamesradar.com/images/mb/GamesRadar/us/Features/2008/06/Consoles%20of%20the/90s/Finished/VirtualBoy--article_image.jpg

[Slothy]

I don't think that graphics quality will necessarily need to be lowered. I could see the next generation easily having more horsepower than devs could harness (much like what people say about the PS3, but more). It's not something that'll likely be all over the place even a year from now, but maybe in five or more.

I wasn't meaning to say that graphics quality would have to be lowered over all, but on games that are run in 3D like this you have to lower the settings on them as compared to if you ran them normally. The graphics card has to render everything twice from two slightly different perspectives. For most games, especially recent ones, even brand new high end graphics cards have trouble keeping up at their max settings because there just isn't enough horsepower under their hoods to render in stereoscopic 3D and render all of the effects it could without doing that. I doubt this is something that will ever be fixed unless all games specifically develop with stereoscopic 3D in mind and it just becomes standard as opposed to an option.

[Bolivar]

I'm glad Sony's at least messing with it, I'm sure something interesting will come of it eventually.