3-D Gaming Is Waiting for Its Avatar

[metalqueen]

3-D Gaming Is Waiting for Its Avatar
by Chris Kohler

With manufacturers rolling out 3-D television sets, the promise of videogames that transport players into deeply immersive 3-D worlds is inching closer to reality.

Emphasis on the inching. The burden of 3-D glasses, the cost of a brand-new 3-D TV, the paucity of programming — all the reasons that adoption of 3-D television will be slow as molasses also apply to games. But there’s one more treacly trap: Creating compelling games that drive players to buy expensive new 3-D setups.

Designers say it’s easy to drop 3-D into an existing game, but that’s where the work begins. As a result, it could be quite a while before consoles get their Avatar — a blockbuster title that fundamentally changes gamers’ experience and expectations in the same way James Cameron’s sci-fi smash has for movies.

“Since so many games are built on 3-D engines, run on ever-more-powerful machines and are displayed in HD, it’s becoming easy to make them stereoscopic,” said game designer Heather Kelley in an e-mail interview with Wired.com. Still, “stereoscopy is almost always just an enhancement to the image and the sense of ‘immersion,’ rather than a true game-changer,” she said.

To create a killer game that makes 3-D a must, designers need to start from the bottom up.

“I think you have to design for stereoscopy, even if it’s just for a superficial spectacle that in no way affects the gameplay,” said Fez designer Phil Fish in an e-mail. “Even just getting the ‘wow’ factor right is going to mean changing the way we do a lot of things.”

Read the whole story here: http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2010/01/3-d-games/all/1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[cybereality]

Actually the Avatar game came out last month.

[fildubek]

yes but avatar the game was just an other boring movie adaption into a game, the 3d was done nicely but the gameplay didn't offer anything spectacular so that it would change gaming.

[gicko]

when someone says AVATAR game is boring then he is not a fanatic for STEREOSCOPY and this site is created for people who really love stereoscopic vision!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BlackShark]

The Avatar game is boring, period.
It looks great, i still play it just for admiring the scenery, but i don't have any fun with the gameplay.

[cirk2]

Jop gaiming needs its killer-app... Something like Risen but with stereo support like Avatar.
Let's hope crysis 2 will introduce te engine for that... Or some possible UT4... The unreal engine is often also used in other games...

[koshien]

I don't find it boring...I guess it might depend on how much you liked the movie.....?
Sometimes I don't even shoot at things, but just walk around...really wonderful.

[gicko]

i am terribly sorry you dont understand what AVATAR has to show, and it is really a pity that someone finds interesting RISEN that very boring game...

i agree with you KOSHIEN and i hope you found the solution to see AVATAR in 3D.



zalman+ :polar

[Likay]

I don't find it boring...I guess it might depend on how much you liked the movie.....?
Sometimes I don't even shoot at things, but just walk around...really wonderful.

I recognize myself here as well. But i also have to agree that Avatar as a game (not counting the stereoscopic aspects) doesn't really have anything new to add for gameplay itself. This is a pity since this is one of my most favourite game the last decade just because of the beautiful scenery and awesome athmosphere.
I guess it's difficult to come up with new and at the same time good ideas for gaming over all these days.
No matter what: Cameron took a really simple story and turned it into a masterpiece. The same could be made with games right? At least avatar as a game is more than halfway there imo. It's not able to give the same impact for 3d as the avatarmovie though. Let's see what happens when more games have native stereosupport in the future. I imagine that in a "developertimeaspect" isn't too difficult to implement.

[cybereality]

Forget about 3D for a second. When was the last "game-changer" game to come out period? Not very often. Most games are sequels or derivatives of other games/genres already out. I can say for sure that the original DOOM was a game-changer. World of Warcraft was a game-changer. But what else can you think of, I don't know. And with the amount of games that currently work in 3D, its not like we need it. We just need people to wake up to what is already here.

[Gae43]

Well I don't play many games but I'm absolutely loving playing Avatar in 3D. As was mentioned before, sometimes it's enough to just walk around and enjoy the 3D visuals and atmosphere. If I never play another game again, I'll always have Avatar to keep re-visiting in the future. It's not just a game...it's an amazing 3D environment to roam around at your own leisure.

Gae43

[Kamus]

The title should say "Hollywood is waiting for it's World of Warcraft"

WoW is far more profitable than Avatar will ever be, they make about 100 million a month, for about um... 5-6 years now? (not sure on the date)
That's not even counting the sales of the game itself, and the two expansion packs that were #1 in sales for a long, long time.

Oh, and by the way, WoW looks amazing in 3d.

[Anthony1]

Regarding the Avatar game, just because it features maybe the best Stereo 3D of any game out there, doesn't mean the underlying game is actually any good. Look at the review scores all around the internet. 99.9 percent of those reviews are from people not playing the game in Stereo 3D, so their viewpoints aren't biased because they are enjoying the beautiful 3D scenery. Erik Brudvig of IGN gave the Xbox 360 version of the game a 6.8 score, which is considered "passable". Game Informer, notorious for having higher scores than average, gave it a 6.5, calling it mediocre. 1up.com gave the game a C+, calling it very "average". GameSpot gave it a 5.5, calling it mediocre.

Now, can all these reviewers be totally off the mark? Yes they can. However, I think in this case, they are right on the money. I've been playing this game for a few weeks now off and on, and I can tell you that if it wasn't for the 3D factor, I wouldn't be bothering with it. The only reason I continue to play the game is because my only other Stereo 3D option on Xbox 360 is Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tau, which is even worse than Avatar. Playing Avatar, reminds me of playing Haze for the PS3, and also of playing Turok for the Xbox 360. Both, very average at best games. In fact, both games were actually pretty lame, just like Avatar.

Now, having said all of that, I also must admit that beggars can't be choosers. Since I'm starving for any "true" Stereo 3D content, I'll take it in whatever form I can get it. I just wonder how awesome it would be, if a Game of the Year type game, like Uncharted 2, or Modern Warfare 2 had Stereo 3D support. Then I wouldn't have to deal with such a middling title.

[koshien]

I just wonder how awesome it would be, if a Game of the Year type game, like Uncharted 2, or Modern Warfare 2 had Stereo 3D support.

For that, you'll have to wait for Gran Turismo 5

[taz291819]

Forget about 3D for a second. When was the last "game-changer" game to come out period? Not very often. Most games are sequels or derivatives of other games/genres already out. I can say for sure that the original DOOM was a game-changer. World of Warcraft was a game-changer. But what else can you think of, I don't know. And with the amount of games that currently work in 3D, its not like we need it. We just need people to wake up to what is already here.

Far Cry was a game-changer game. If we could get something that looks that pretty (Crysis 2) and with Avatar's 3D, it would be the killer app.

[gicko]

HI anthony1
i play MODERN WARFARE 2 in stereoscopic vision with my ZALMAN and it is a war game just like the others!
it has nothing to do with AVATAR which is A PIECE OF ART. NOT A SIMPLE GAME...LIKE THE FILM!!!!!
FINALLY AVATAR IS THE STEREOSCOPIC ART OF TODAY.

[Anthony1]

HI anthony1
i play MODERN WARFARE 2 in stereoscopic vision with my ZALMAN and it is a war game just like the others!
it has nothing to do with AVATAR which is A PIECE OF ART. NOT A SIMPLE GAME...LIKE THE FILM!!!!!
FINALLY AVATAR IS THE STEREOSCOPIC ART OF TODAY.

Wow... The only thing I can say is that the PC version of Avatar must be worlds different than the Xbox 360 version that I'm playing. The 360 version is lackluster in just about every single way. (not counting the 3D factor). I'm still playing the game, but I'm playing it in spite of the game itself. I'm playing it specifically for the 3D factor, because it's the only thing that actually shows off the 3D capabilities of my plasma.

As for Modern Warfare 2 in stereoscopic, yeah, I know that there are drivers on the PC that allow virtually any game to run in Stereo, but it doesn't mean the game was designed to run that way. When I mentioned games like Uncharted 2 and Modern Warfare, and other game of the year contenders like Assassin's Creed II, none of those games were specifically designed with Stereo 3D in mind. Eventually, there will be a game of the year candidate that was designed specifically with Stereo 3D in mind, and then we can all rejoice, but until then we will just have to make due with what we are being force fed.

[JungleBobb]

I registered to say Avatar is a helluva game. I saw the movie, then bought the game on PC. The setting is perfect. The single player is fun, but I play multiplayer most of the time and do very well in 3d. Combat is simply enjoyable. The weapons are detailed and unique. Explosions are crisp and the tracers look incredibly sweet for instance. It's refreshing to see Avatar in 3d on the bigscreen. Nothing else compares.

[Likay]

Concluding: 3D adds incredibly much more for a game when 3D is perfect with just no anomalies. Something we're not too spoiled with though. I hope native stereoscopy catches up for other games as well since avatar is my best 3d-experience with stereogaming so far. So even if gameplay or the layout itself isn't original or special the perfect stereo makes it top notch for a stereogamer. Well, at least for me.