Blitz Games Studios has been showing off some in-house technology that can make stereoscopic 3D gaming a reality on the PS3 and 360. Thanks to the tech, game consoles have the ability to replicate the kind of hi-def 3D visuals found in places like the IMAX cinema or that place in the Science Museum where you have to line up for thirty minutes to get in.
"This is an incredibly exciting and huge step forward for videogames," claims Blitz's chief tech officer, Andrew Oliver. "Our BlitzTech technology will prove beyond all doubt that we are already doing what some industry experts have said is impossible on today's game consoles. Our highly tuned engine is capable of producing real-time interactive graphics that are close to offline rendered CG movie quality."
Interesting. I must say that the "immersion" Blitz promises could make for some interesting gameplay experiences, but I definitely can't see it being the industry standard. 3D "pop out" visuals have always been a gimmick, and tend to be a bit too busy to ensure a completely enjoyable experience.
That said, I'd sure as hell play a gimmicky 3D game and probably love it.
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Contest:
9:08 AM on 12.03.2008
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this is nothing new. companies every couple years try to tout this as being their own and "new and exciting" but end up disappearing less than a year later.
Hell, I'd be glad just to see a game in a well-tuned red/blue 3D! We had 3D back with Magic Carpet, one of the best games ever. It had both red/blue anaglyph 3D as well as "Magic Eye" 3D.
IMAX-style, stereoscopic 3D -- that would be fantastic, assuming that the hardware didn't cost as much as the console.
"Many TV manufacturers are already selling sets capable of displaying 3D imagery and we envisage that these sets will rapidly gain popularity as content in the form of movies and games becomes available."
Okay, fuck these guys. They're waiting for the new 3D TVs to come into play. Bullshit. I just bought my HDTV last year. There's no way in hell I'm buying a new "3D" TV just to play one of their fucking games.
ALL TV'S CAN DISPLAY 3D, you stupid oiks! I have a VHS tape from over 15 years ago of "Hondo" in 3D with red/blue anaglyph glasses, and there have been IMAX-style flip-lense hardware out for over 10 years.
These guys can kiss my ass.
this is very interesting though, i won't hold my breath though.
"Many TV manufacturers are already selling sets capable of displaying 3D imagery and we envisage that these sets will rapidly gain popularity as content in the form of movies and games becomes available. Our technology allows for our games to run in both 2D and 3D in one version - by simply flicking a 'switch' between them. It really has to be seen to be believed," he added.
By putting those sentences together like that, he is saying that the new engine is going to be dependent on the new 3D technology that has been recently announced. This new technology allows for "sweet spots" where you can see a stereoscopic 3D image on your TV without special hardware, just like you can now with lenticular 3D images that have been around for decades.
Alternating lens hardware has been out for well over a decade and works with all conventional TV sets. There is no excuse for ignoring that and expecting people to buy new TVs.
I'm a Freddy fan, but I disagree with many of them on which ones were good. The first and third we all agree on, but most people don't give the sixth any credit, which I think it deserves. New Nightmare was also quite good IMO. I also liked Freddy vs. Jason, but then again I'll take whatever I can get at this point.
Tell me about this alternating lens hardware that wouldn't require new equipment purchase. Are you talking about a lenticular overlay? (digression: spell check thinks I misspelled 'testicular'). Those have sweet spots, and not many of them, plus they need to be very precisely calibrated to your television size, pixel density, and screenglass thickness. Then there's interlaces polarization filters combined with glasses. Those have the same calibration problems, but provided you're not too far above/below the screen, there isn't the "sweet spot" problem. I do see home tv's working with glasses very soon.. Everything would run in 1080i, where odd fields are left eye and evens are right.
Until then, it's the good ol' red and cyan approach (which lets you retain a reasonably colored image)
on a lighter note though, i remember playing Painkiller with stereoscopic 3D glasses on my 6800gt. although the glasses were kind of annoying and gave you a headache, the level on the rollercoaser was truly badass.
i personally can't wait to get one of these new displays. the technology is much better than anaglyph or stereoscopic 3D, and 3D gaming really is the next logical step.
@john B
stop whining. 3D gaming will not take off unless it's done properly, and that WILL require you to buy a new TV.
Stereo is finally being applied more subtley. We're making decisions now (in film, at least) to make it less distracting. Compare "Bolt" to "Journey to the Center of the Earth ThreeDEEEE". Soon, we'll start using it for things we literally can't do in a flat image.
3DOMG! is gonna suck for a little while in games. Once you see a 3d image on a small screen and start moving your head side to side, you'll see why: you'll get sick. But pair it with Johnny's kickass head tracking (which makes wearing glasses less of an issue), and well, I'm pretty excited about playing something like that.
Here's a (very quick) example of the stereo + head tracking I just found. look's like it's been out a while
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bfvu7JWAZY
I'm pretty certain that 3d gaming with require both of these effects to be more than a gimmick. This unfortunately hurts the spectator aspect of gaming. If you thought your girlfriend got bored watching you play games _before_, well, now she'll be bored and sick, too.