The purpose of Meant to be Seen is to make stereoscopic 3D gaming successful through the demonstrated demand and influence of consumers.
When Meant to be Seen was founded in March of 2007, we began an experimental certification program based on the original NVIDIA stereoscopic 3D driver solution so customers would know which games are S-3D compatible before they made their purchases. Our measure of success was determined by just three things: separation, convergence, and the number of anomalies on the screen.
At the time, we had a handful of stereoscopic 3D solutions including LCD shutter glasses, the occasional dual projector, small prototype 3D monitors, and low resolution head mounted displays. To make our jobs easier, we also had only one mainstream stereoscopic 3D software solution which was made possible by NVIDIA.
In a single year, the world changed. We now have 3D HDTV solutions in the home, a selection of high resolution 3D monitors, HD Head Mounted Displays coming to market, and graphics card compatibility with both NVIDIA and AMD solutions. The other side of the coin has enhanced as well: in addition to NVIDIA, DDD and iZ3D have their own stereoscopic 3D driver solutions. Both sides of the GPU fence are now 3D Ready, and in all cases, we are seeing enhanced features like post processing effects and developing DirectX 10 and DirectX 11 support. We are even seeing game engines natively supporting stereoscopic 3D solutions without the need for an S-3D driver altogether!
Unlike 3D cinema, steroescopic 3D gaming carries a very proprietary mindset. DDD, iZ3D, and NVIDIA all have their own standard for quality control and visual expectations. Our position is that customers and game developers alike need a unified quality expectation to aim for. We also think that a stamp of approval should be determined and rated by disinterested parties whose only motivation is product quality and consumer experience – not proprietary product sales.
If handled properly, certified games would offer the benefit of being compatible with most stereoscopic solutions, and would be considered safe purchases for S-3D customers.
MTBS’ certification process and its criteria was independently developed, and is not reflective of an endorsement by DDD, iZ3D, or NVIDIA. With industry input, we would very much like to reflect a ratified quality standard that the industry can join forces on via The S-3D Gaming Alliance (S3DGA). Non-profit and non-proprietary, S3DGA is considered the official voice and industry body for stereoscopic 3D gaming.