Into Another Dimension

I hated 3D. I hated the concept from the very beginning, wearing the classic blue and red specs, through to wearing the tinted sunglasses that seem to dull colour. The concept that an optical illusion that creates a little depth and awe as things jump out of the screen seemed to me as a passing phase. It isn’t, 3D seems like it’s here to stay and well, change isn’t all bad.

In comes Nintendo, changing the game once more with glasses-free 3D. I could try my very hardest not to sound like a Nintendo fan but in this instance it really wouldn’t work. The 3DS has changed my perspective on 3D (excuse the pun). The glasses-free experience really does seem different, something new when really it isn’t all that new.

It wasn’t all that long ago, around Christmas time infact that I went for a trip to the local cinema to see Tron. The choice was that we see it in 2D or 3D. This was a time where I still disliked 3D but rumour had it that the 3D used in the film was the best ever, considering most of the film is visual spectacle we opted for the 3D version. It was to me, a disappointment, the 3D was inconsistent. Some scenes were completely 2D which is great, there is no need for an entire film to be 3D as the current status of 3D still puts it as a novelty. Novelty when trying to portray a father son relationship gets somewhat distracting. What really disappointed me about it though was the actual lack of depth in the film, at many times I thought I must be one of the few who can’t see 3D properly because it just didn’t seem to work, rather it was quite a blurry mess with only slight depth.

The Tron experience coupled with the previous distain for 3D left a very bitter taste in my mouth. So why on earth did I buy a 3DS on launch? The answer is simple; the 3DS has many other features I love about it that no other console offers. Streetpass is a fantastic innovation I hope catches on soon, and it should be given that walking around offers a currency to spend in games, another feature I love (here’s where I start sounding like a fanboy). So with these and other features coming as standard with the 3DS, why not keep up with the market and get one? I did, and I shall never look back.

3D is different on the 3DS, how? well the answer isn’t “you don’t have to wear stupid glasses” whilst that is a plus it isn’t why I see it as different. Whilst playing ‘Super Street Fighter 4’ on the 3DS I made a simple conclusion: 3D on the 3DS is like looking inside of a box and seeing your game acted out by real figures. I haven’t had anything try and jump out at me, it’s all just nicely arranged in layers and the 3D models just work in 3D there is no other way to describe it. It is like having your very own puppet show in your hands, its there, it seems physical and like it isn’t just rendered representations. This apparent difference has made me change my opinion, not to I LOVE 3D, but to this has great potential as the next standard of gaming, like the Wii before it with motion control, the glasses-free experience is probably the next trend in gaming. So with heavy emphasis on the past-tense I’ll end the same way I started: I hated 3D.