I’ve been sceptical of the big push for 3D in TVs and movies. But I just played the first 45 minutes or so of Metro 2033 on a top-of-the-line 3D-enabled gaming rig and, well, wow.
Playing games in 3D right now requires a lot of work on your part, or at least a lot of money. An Nvidia rep told me that you could get a decent 3d-capable tower for $US800-$US1000, but it was telling that the setup they had me playing on at the press preview for the game had a to-be-announced Nvidia GPU inside a 1m-tall tower with a plexiglass side to show off the water cooling inside. Sure, it’ll work with a slower computer, but if you want a great experience, expect to pay top dollar.
That’s because 3D gaming will basically require a doubled framerate to get video as smooth as we’re used to with 2D games, as it’s processing a frame for each eye instead of one for both.
But that’s fine. Unless you’re a hardcore PC gamer or a serious early adopter, I wouldn’t suggest running out and dropping $US4000 on a tower. What was exciting about this was that it felt like a glimpse into the near future.
PCs, after all, aren’t where the majority of players get their gaming done. They play consoles. The PS3 is getting 3D capabilities this summer through a couple of firmware upgrades; it’s not clear if the Xbox 360 will be able to be upgraded in the same way, but the next console from Microsoft has been rumoured to come with 3D for some time now. In any case, even when the PS3 gets 3D support you’ll need a new 3D HDTV that supports HDMI 1.4 to run it, so it won’t suddenly make 3D gaming mainstream.
And since 3D requires a doubled framerate, you shouldn’t expect to be able to play the current crop of console games in 3D even when the PS3 gets that ability, because most of them are already pushing the console hard to hit its framerate as-is. Doubling that will not work out very well.
Post-Apocalyptic Moscow in Three Dimensions
The graphics of Metro 2033 are very good, to be sure, but they’re nothing better than any other major release from the past year. What made the experience great was the 3D. It was amazing how much was added to the feel of the game.
Each level of depth stood out completely and made the screen feel like a window. Aiming was easier, as I could immediately tell just how far off an enemy was, even when I hadn’t seen it before and was unsure of its scale.
Back underground in the subway tunnels that make up 70 per cent of the game, everything was much closer. But I could pass a cracked-open doorway and peer inside at the people sitting there, and it felt like I was really looking into someone’s private room.
When You’ll Be Able to Get In on the Fun
In short, 3D makes games feel more real than ever before. And this is just the beginning. With Natal, Microsoft will be able to do head tracking, which when combined with 3D really looks like the future of gaming to me. A next-gen Microsoft console with Natal and 3D built-in, complete with the guts to make 3D run smoothly, will completely change the way we play games.
And while 3D tech will take a bit of time to become affordable, if you really want to experience it now, you can. Games today are created in 3D already, so it’s just a matter of processing to turn those 3D spaces into something you can see with glasses. A gaming rig with a good enough graphics card hooked up to a 120Hz monitor can run many games in 3D right now, but Nvidia’s 3DTV Play, just announced today, will let you hook up a gaming PC to a 3D HDTV in your living room. So if you’ve got the motivation and the money, you’ve got the ability to enjoy 3D gaming on the couch right now.
Really, this isn’t going to hit the mainstream until consoles are pushing it. And that probably won’t be for a couple of years, at least for console AAA titles, which is a bummer.
But if you’re an early adopter looking to buy a first-gen 3D HDTV and Blu-ray player, you’d be crazy to not also think about grabbing a gaming PC that can handle 3D games. Because trust me, you’ll use that a lot more often than you’ll watch Avatar.
Lorcan
March 16, 2010 at 11:15 AM
The future will hopefully happen really soon – PS3 supports head tracking with the PSeye, and is obviously getting 3D support in the summer too.
We’ll see if it the horsepower is there for impressive and smooth 3D gameplay, but GT5 will have headtracking, and is rumoured to be supporting 3D too. It’s been demoed in 3D in fact. If that game, looking the way it does, can support 3D, there’s really no excuse for other PS3 games not to!
I’m very excited for headtracking and stereo3D in racing games. I hope GT5 sets a standard here.
Report PermalinkHarold
March 16, 2010 at 11:37 AM
“With Natal, Microsoft will be able to do head tracking, which when combined with 3D really looks like the future of gaming to me. A next-gen Microsoft console with Natal and 3D built-in, complete with the guts to make 3D run smoothly, will completely change the way we play games.”
Whay wait for Natal or the next generation of consoles? Sony has already shown off Gran Turismo 5 in 3D at CES (among other places) and has confirmed that head tracking using the PS Eye will be incorporated as a feature in the final game. Sony will have this tech on the market in a matter of months!
Report PermalinkBen
March 16, 2010 at 12:04 PM
What’s this Play Station thing all you people are talking about? I’ve never heard of that.
Is it some kind of Xbox360 FPS that I haven’t played yet?
Report Permalinkglennc
March 16, 2010 at 1:24 PM
how does head tracking work on a TV? when i turn my head does the tv move to the side of the room? it works fine with 3D goggles but TVs???
Report PermalinkNamarrgon
March 16, 2010 at 7:00 PM
It tracks the position of your head, not the angle of your eyes. Of course you still need to keep looking at the TV, but it can adjust its picture according to where your heard is, as demonstrated in this video.
Not as good as fully tracked, but it can still add a lot to the perceived realism.
Report PermalinkShane
March 16, 2010 at 12:26 PM
You know, what would be really nice, if game developers and (more to the point) publishers point as much effort into creating a rich and rewarding game play as the developers for the next big hardware push seem to, then we wouldn’t need to keep trying to re-invent the industry every couple of years.
Now, if they could tell me that when playing a 2d game, all the extra processing power could be used as well, then that might actually be worth some interest, but honestly, shit in 2d is still going to be shit in 3d!
I have no doubt about the merit of the idea (I’d love to see a 3d flight sim!) but I think we get to carried away with “tech” and forget what gaming is suppose to about…having fun, immersion, story – not pretty effects for pretty effects sake (we don’t need lenses flare people!)
Report PermalinkSteve
March 16, 2010 at 1:42 PM
Anyone seen the movie screamers?
Take a look at that kid in the screenshot again…
Report PermalinkR3D
March 17, 2010 at 1:23 AM
total win.
Report Permalinkscreamers would be a great game
StevoTheDevo
March 17, 2010 at 8:16 AM
A friend of mine who works in game design hates the 3D push.. He says that so much money is being pushed into the 3D aspects that the games are suffering in quality as a result. Budgets have stayed the same, they’re being distributed through the project differently.
Report PermalinkI suspect there will be a lot of crappy 3D titles and very little quality. Even more disappointingly, because of the 3D push, that means 2D games will suffer as well!