As usual, the first people to be publically excited about new innovations in the entertainment space are the manufacturers of said innovations. This year’s electronics shows have borne many 3D gadgets, from the long array of televisions announced at CES to Nintendo’s promise of a 3D handheld this E3. In response to all of this beating of drums the overwhelming gamer response I keep hearing in regards to 3D is a growing chorus of groans.
I get it. 3D is expensive. It means new hardware, goofy glasses and the ridicule of your peers. Perhaps, like me, you have only just bought a giant HD TV and aren’t very eager to buy yet another. Yet, it’s important to temper concerns with a little thought. Before complaining about 3D, it’s important to be certain that such complaints are for the right reasons. Hype trains travel in both directions and most people who refuse to hop onto one don’t realize that they’re just taking a different route and that the Hate train is far, far uglier than the Hype train. The best place to be is in the middle station, watching the others circle back and forth in the whirlpool of opinion while some guy plays the saxophone for quarters and dollar bills. I only want to offer a little food for thought.
I suspect that, like most people, red and green glasses are the first thing that comes to mind when someone says “Now in 3D!” Back in the day the red and green glasses were not only required, they were wicked cool. Making a movie with 3D in mind meant that at some point the actors would be jabbing things in the direction of the camera for a quick ‘oooh’ and maybe even an ‘ahhhh’. When I was nine these things were fantastic but I find that my tastes have changed just a bit and, until very recently, I had not realized that 3D actually had changed with them.
When used for good, 3D can add an incredible amount of immersion. Avatar (the little known James Cameron movie) was made from the ground up with 3D in mind and is a perfect example. The most memorable effect from the movie, for me, came during one particular scene where there countless little bits of ash falling across the landscape. It wasn’t a spear, or an arrow, or a sword, it was smoldering ash. It was so subtle and well implemented that more than once I found I had to consciously refrain from lifting my hand to brush away some of the glowing clumps. It didn’t take a whole lot of time to find an example in the gaming space that I would have loved to experience in the same way.
Uncharted 2, being as immersive as it already is, would have greatly benefitted from the 3D treatment. There are fantastic vistas and genuinely thrilling moments, such as the collapsing building, or the alley-way moment with the car, where the extra dimension could have drawn me in more than they did without, which is saying something since they are some of my favorite moments in gaming – ever. Perhaps most importantly, I want to have a 3D head-tracking cockpit view inside of a giant stompy robot from the Mech Warrior universe.
People fear, perhaps rightly, that 3D is just a gimmick and I would be remiss not to point out that we all thought two screens were a gimmick, and waggle was…well, let’s not go there. A gimmick is a crutch that carries an experience through scrutiny. While 3D can certainly be used that way, it is more rightly just a top layer means to display things in a different way; an optional element that will elevate the medium even further.
For all the cheap “flying sword! ” moments that are bound to come there is a great chance that we’ll have studios that will dare to do it right. More importantly, as new control methods are experimented with we could see some more truly unique experiences. Take, for instance, the obvious and overused example of Minority Report. Combining Natal’s camera input with a 3D TV should easily let developers cook up interfaces to capture that feel.
I certainly do not want to play an entire game by waving my hands in front of my face, but there is a very good chance that the future will be more about hybrid control schemes. The best games are already those that vary up the play style and varying up the controls and the display mechanism is the natural extension of that. If the future will find us with 3D TVs by default and gadgets (like Natal) hanging out – watching us walk around naked in our living rooms – there can’t be that much harm in being cautiously optimistic about this pesky third dimension invading our lives.
The author Vassi, is still waiting for a good sci-fi game that isn't Star Wars.
Nice article Vassi, but as Tom Hanks says in BIG – I just don’t get it. I don’t want to join the Hate train, but I really don’t fancy sitting for hours in front of my TV with some daft glasses on, and it’ll ruin the already diminishing idea of local co-op in gaming. Am I the only one who remembers the staggering failure of 3D on the Sega Master System? OutRun 3D was just terrible, mainly because what is meant to be immersive ends up having the opposite effect. Of course the tech now is much better, but I still think the idea remains that once you realise the eye is being tricked your interest in the action/story takes second place. Avatar is the perfect example – an awesome cinematic spectacle but a long-winded and weak story.
I reckon the only time I’m likely to take an interest in 3d is when it’s so cheap its standard. By that time the novelty will have worn off and people will be judging games on gameplay and storyline again.
Your last paragraph is kind of my point. If it’s not for you, now, that’s fine, but chances are we’ll all take an interest once it’s built-in or just part of our homes.
Where we differ is that I don’t think it has to be a novelty. I think – in time – it will be another form of expression and another tool in the developer’s toolbox.
So, how do you feel about the 3DS? No glasses, and you can adjust the “depth” of 3D that you want.
I think that it looks very cool. I’m glad that they have the option to “tone it down” if you want. And the no-glasses aspect is amazing! I can’t wait to get my hands on one and actually see the 3D, but I’m hopeful that it will lead to bigger and better things, like Star Wars-esque holograms
I couldn’t have said it better than Adam, I think it’s an important step in the right direction. The more exposure people get to it, with as little frustration as possible, the more they’ll come to want it in the future.