I got to have a go with NVidia’s 3D technology at the Expo, and even though the PR guy said that it wasn’t finished yet, it still was fantastic.
Almost hidden in plain sight, NVidia had set up a small, 4 PC size 3D gaming showcase in the middle of the showfloor. Surrounded by some of the biggest games on platforms, and with the other PC showcases being in corners of the rooms, NVidia weren’t going to be the biggest thing there. Shame, because what they had to show was, if not a leap in visual technology, certainly a step in the right direction.
NVidia had brought with them, as well as some incredibly powerful PCs built with very high powered graphics cards, their 3D technology, in the form of Geforce 3D vision glasses. These glasses had the ability to sync to the PC they are being targeted at, as well as adapt to different lighting conditions. I evidently don’t know very much about the technology, but to contrast, when playing Avatar 3D with the RealD glasses given to me, the Geforce 3D glasses were much more impressive.
I got a chance to use them to play NFS Shift, and there was definitely an improvement in visual quality. When you start the race, the red lights and the green light stick out right in your face, and the layering of the visuals really was evident in a good way, detail jumping out at you more, with sharpness increased.
The game was easy to play, me only needing the four directional keys for the entire race, but I wasn’t interested in the gameplay. The visuals were what was on show, and I was impressed.
I questioned one of the PR guys about the technology, and he said that at the moment, they’ve only got as far as layering the textural structure via the graphics card, and that it won’t be until next year before developers start implementing the technology into the development process. Well, that’s what I got from what he said. Don’t take that religiously.
The technology was very impressive, and while the glasses seemed a little too flashy, they were very cool, and I had fun while playing the game, so that’s a good thing. I do like 3D gaming, but as I stated in the Avatar 3D coverage, I don’t see it taking off just yet. It’s very nice, but HD gaming is the way forward for me at the moment.
