Will Avatar And 3D Revolutionise Gaming?

Gaming is moving into 3-Dimensions, is the industry ready?

With Avatar landing a huge nine Oscar nominations and taking the movie industry by storm (currently the biggest film of all time) 3D is the next big thing. With Avatar: The Videogame making a substantially smaller splash, is the industry ready for 3D gaming? We talk to Avatar: The Videogame’s executive producer Patrick Naud to find out a little bit more about 3D and how it’s going to revolutionise gaming in the future…

What is the very basic set up someone will need in order to play Avatar the game in 3D?

First of all, 3D is definitely not a requirement to enjoy Avatar: The Game. Our objective from the beginning has been to develop the best game possible so all gamers can truly enjoy the Avatar experience. The game is a AAA Blockbuster, regardless of the TV you watch it on. You can think of 3D as the “5.1 Surround Sound” for gaming visuals. You can have a great gaming experience without it, but the experience is definitively heightened in 3D. That being said, to play in stereoscopic 3D, you’d need:

-    A 3D‐enabled DLP TV: Several models are already on the market and have been for a while.

-    Some Newer 3D‐enabled technologies: Breaking onto the market now (with even higher fidelity color and 3D.

-    3D Glasses: All 3D‐enabled TVs currently require some form of eyewear for stereoscopic 3D to work.

The stereoscopic 3D feature of the game will be available on multiple 3D‐ready TVs and the objective is to support a maximum number of formats.

The film has been designed from the ground up to fully utilise the 3D technique, has the game?

Avatar: The Game was developed fully‐enabled for stereoscopic 3D from inception. That means that the entire stereoscopic 3D experience had to be taken into consideration in things like level design, interface design, and camera control throughout.   Given how rich the stereo‐3D is in the game, there is no way we could have just tacked this on at a late stage. This was a big undertaking at Ubisoft, to make stereo‐3D as successful as it is. And believe me when I tell you, it will blow your mind. This game has secured its place in history as the first game to successfully pull off true stereoscopic 3D.

Have you run into any difficulties in terms of gameplay while attempting to incorporate this new 3D effect?

We spent a great deal of time ensuring that the player character’s position fit well within the stereoscopic 3D envelope. Likewise, the HUD (Heads Up Display – your life gauge, mini map, weapons selection, etc…) elements were a particularly tricky feature to get just right. We did a lot of iterations on the HUD until we were satisfied that we’d nailed the right mix. Our biggest challenge when making these decisions was to ensure that anything we decided had to work in both traditional and stereoscopic 3D display modes.

I had two specific guidelines I had to consider, the first of which was to follow the movie’s stereoscopic 3D philosophy and try to recreate it within the game. I watched closely at how Cameron handled the cameras in his preview shots to give the sense of depth, and how I could translate that into the game with subtle moves of the camera that still follows the action and mimics an over-the-shoulder feel. The results were terrific. The camera moves drive you more into the game’s space (when viewed in stereoscopic 3D) and give you the impression that you are physically behind your character in the game. The second aspect to consider was in the composition.

It is one thing to stage composition in a single frame, another story when the player can actually look anywhere he wants to. I came up with basic rules for the level artists to make sure we always have nice foreground/background effects, and comfortable sense of depth while guiding the player visually. I think they did a terrific job on all of the different environments we developed. Some levels will give you a sense of height and verticality, while others will make you feel the expanse of an open plain.

What would you say to someone if they accused the game of using the 3D tech as a gimmick?

We had two clear goals in developing Avatar: The Game in stereoscopic 3D: a) to prove to the industry, and more importantly to gamers, that we’re able to do it, and b) to develop the skill set and tools within our studios to continue to work in the medium. For now, stereoscopic 3D is a great addition to an already great game, for those who will be able to experience it. Regardless of how it’s displayed (stereoscopic 3D or otherwise), we’ve always got to keep in mind that the most important thing has always been to develop great games, period.

What works well with the game while it is in 3D, are there any particular stand out moments?

Stereoscopic 3D provides the gamer with slightly more information about the environment they’re in, and the relationship between the objects within that environment. It becomes both a more immersive and authentic experience. Your brain really wants to believe that what you’re looking at is a living, breathing entity. It’s especially compelling when that entity wants to bite, claw or trample you to death!

Do you see this becoming the benchmark for future games? First there was the HD revolution next the 3D?

Modern stereoscopic 3D TV and gaming is in its inception. 3D‐enabled TVs are beginning to work their way into the market and will continue to grow as the technology becomes imbedded in more and more hardware. Content providers (sports, entertainment, broadcast television, etc…) are eager to catch up to the hardware technology and a developing supply of engaging content will drive demand and push mainstream adoption of the technology.   Avatar: The Game is proof of Ubisoft’s commitment to innovation.

How exactly do you turn a game from 2D into 3D? Are there any limitations on the current-gen hardware? What sort of processing power is required?

It’s one thing to take a game conceived for standard display and “amp” it up to stereoscopic 3D, it’s entirely another thing to design the entire game around both of these display experiences. A very quick example is in how the decisions had to be made about things like pop‐up menus, text, and even the targeting reticule. The reticule on a traditional game “pushed” to 3D will appear to float in mid‐space…, a very disorienting feeling. We’ve thought of all of these details to ensure that the jump to stereo 3D brings you a deeper, more authentic experience, as opposed to a traditional game experience that has been dressed up as 3D.

We have had some scepticism from people who did not believe that a regular console could handle stereoscopic 3D but, at E3 this year, we had the game running on a 103” Panasonic 3D TV, and it looked just amazing. We play the game every day on a variety of different TVs, from currently available DLP sets to state of the art prototypes that have yet to hit the market, and the console keeps up without ever missing a beat.

James Cameron’s movie has pioneered some fantastic tech to make the movie possible, have the same sort of steps been taken with the game?

James Cameron has always been dedicated to achieving top quality in everything he’s involved in. We wanted to provide the gamer with the best experience possible by using the best technologies available. This is also why we wanted to create a unique 3D experience tailored to the game I think that bringing Avatar to the gaming world gives us the content that justifies the application of the technology. The entire universe, the story we’ve created around that universe and all that exists within it merges seamlessly with the stereoscopic 3D experience. Avatar is going to be unique, exciting and visually breathtaking, regardless of how you choose to play it.

What sort of experience will someone be getting if they don’t play the game in 3D?

We’d like everybody to remember is that Avatar: The Game is going to be a AAA blockbuster experience whether you play it in stereoscopic 3D, or if you took it home on your current LCD or plasma TV today. You can think of 3D as the “5.1 Surround Sound” for gaming visuals. You can have a great gaming experience without it, but the experience is definitively heightened in 3D.  It’s all about designing a great game.   Avatar is going to be unique, exciting and visually breathtaking, regardless of how you chose to play it.

Is 3D gaming and film the future? What do you think, will you watch or play a game in 3D in your living room, complete with glasses?