GDC Canada: Zargarpour On Gaming’s Key Role In Popularizing 3D
by Simon Carless
Much discussion has followed the rise of stereoscopic 3D in the home entertainment space as a possible major next-frontier for gaming. At GDC Canada this week, Microsoft’s Habib Zargarpour suggested that the success of stereoscopic 3D in the home is “up to the game content… much more so than film and broadcast.”
The creative director is a two time Oscar-winner and veteran of ILM and 3D effects for over fifteen years, working on visual effects for Star Trek and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. He went on to work at Electronic Arts, and recently joined Microsoft Game Studios to help their 3D gaming initiative.
Compared to the anaglyph ‘early days’ of 3D, Zargarpour pointed out, game developers have it easy – “we’re already in a digital medium, we’re already displaying it on a digital device.”
This ‘naturally digital’ approach for video games makes creating games a lot simpler than shooting a live action film — where the 3D is not so easy to include from a shooting point of view, he explained.
In fact, the 3D veteran hopes that games may be the ‘killer app’ that helps 3D take hold in the home. “People aren’t going to buy those TVs unless there’s stuff to do with it”, he said. While Blu-Ray 3D may be somewhat interesting, playing major interactive games in stereoscopic 3D will be a lot more tempting for consumers, he added.
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