Neil Schneider from MTBS3D made a useful guide on different stereoscopic 3D technologies that you should check out especially if you are new to S3D. The following material should server as an introduction to modern stereoscopic 3D equipment for both the home 3D movie and video game consumer along with an explanation of technology used in the professional 3D cinema space. It is intended to make things easier and simple to understand without going into too much technical details, just to give you a brief idea and they you can start digging for more specific stuff on each solution.
Gunnar Optiks is a well know company that even produces specially designed glasses for people that use computers quite long each day, but it seems that this is just not enough for them. It seems that iZ3D made a deal with Gunnar Optiks to have a premium version of their polarized 3D glasses (designed for their stereoscopic 3D monitors) with the added benefit of ergonomically correct and distortion free optics. You can currently see demo units will on the Gunnar bus at CES if you happen to be there. The first production models of Gunnar eyewear with i-AMP 3D specifically compatible with iZ3D gaming systems is expected to be available in Q2 of 2010 with prescription eyewear to be available in Q3 this year. Ready to wear versions of the new stereoscopic 3D glasses will be priced from $89 to $149. So far, so good, but unfortunately after searching for a bit I could not find any partner that offers Gunnar Optiks’ products in Europe, so this was a bit of a disappointment as I became interested in testing even the current line of their computer glasses…
It seems that the era of 3D in gaming and in movies is coming back again, but then again it never ended… just that it was a bit forgotten and now as the interest is back, only good things should come (probably). There are some good news especially for gamers having 3D Vision or still using anaglyph 3D glasses as new games with official 3D support are coming very soon, so here is some brief information about 4 new titles…
G-Force
The game G-Force is based on the 2009 action comedy film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer for Walt Disney Pictures in Disney Digital 3-D. The film revolves around a team of trained secret agent animals: guinea pigs Darwin, Juarez, Blaster, mole Speckles, and fly Mooch. The team takes on a mission for the US government to stop evil billionaire Leonard Saber, who plans to destroy the world with household appliances and the game seems to follow the same story. The game G-Force has a 3D option and will come with red and blue (anaglyph) glasses, but if you are not using the built-in 3D mode it should also work with GeForce 3D Vision.
Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao is a hand-to-hand action video game being developed by Blitz Arcade and published by Namco Bandai Games. The game tells the story of Han Tao, aka General of a Thousand Victories, who attempts to rescue the Star of Destiny from the foul clutches of the Evil Overlord. As Han Tao, players must fight their way through the Evil Overlord’s throngs, using a number of hyperbolic hand-to-hand combat techniques, ancient weapons, and Zen-powered attacks. The game is expected to be released this summer and it suggests that it will be playable in 3D, with anaglyph and probably shutter glasses like GeForce 3D Vision.
James Cameron’s Avatar: The Game is an upcoming video game adaptation of James Cameron’s film of the same name (it is not related to Avatar: The Last Airbender!). The title is being developed by Ubisoft and is expected to be available by the end of the year. It was announced by Ubisoft that it will be using the same technology as the film to be displayed in 3D. It seems the game will work very well with GeForce 3D Vision, but there is still not much information available, even the official website is pretty empty.
Resident Evil 5 is a survival horror third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. The game is the seventh installment in the Resident Evil survival horror series, where you take control of Chris Redfield and/or Sheva Alomar in a similar fashion to Leon S. Kennedy in Resident Evil 4, with the same over-the-shoulder perspective. The game begins as Chris Redfield is deployed to Kijuju, Africa, to join Sheva Alomar and apprehend Ricardo Irving, who is attempting to sell a bio-organic weapon on the black market. Along the way, they witness a local being fed a parasite, which quickly takes control of his body, turning him into a Majini. From here on, almost all Kijuju locals seen by Chris and Sheva have been turned into Majini… The good thing about Resident Evil 5 is that its Windows version expected later this year (console versions of the game are already out) should be specially optimized for use with GeForce 3D Vision and thus should be able to provide really great 3D effect.
