Tag Archives: gdc 2010

Virtusphere’s virtual reality hamster ball put to the test

For eons we've wondered what it would be like to walk around in a bona fide Virtusphere , and at GDC last week we finally got our chance. The large plastic cage can turn and roll in any direction, and once replete with a wireless head-mounted display and fake gun, we were ready to take on some polygonal alien baddies. Getting into the cage is surprisingly easy, but unfortunately once we had a screen strapped to our head our well-honed sense of balance was right out the window, and we found ourselves staggering around a bit as we got used to the motion of the cage. The real military versions have a motion sensing gun controller, but we had to do all our aiming with our head, which didn't help. After a minute or so we got used to the "momentum" involved in moving the cage, which felt pretty great, but we'd say our favorite part about the experience was just being able to turn in place to confront baddies -- there's something about a few well placed steps that really blows away a left or right tug on our 360 controller's analog stick.
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Microsoft’s Game Room for Xbox ‘rewinds’ the hits in our hands-on demo

Microsoft showed off its new retro-tastic Game Room UI for Xbox 360 in playable form at GDC last week. While the "make a virtual representation of a gaming space" idea might seem ripped straight from Sony's Home , there aren't really any actual similarities -- outside of the fact they're both in 3D, at least. You dive disembodied through the different game rooms pretty intuitively, with different company collections on the bottom "level" of the mall-like UI, and upper levels set aside for your own collections of the games. Unfortunately, once you actually select an arcade cabinet, the UI gets rather overly complex, with all sorts of modes you can play the game in, sorts of scores to be tracked and an indecipherable menu tree that makes it a real chore to exit a game.
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AMD lays out Open Stereo 3D Initiative at GDC

NVIDIA has certainly been more active in 3D than ATI / AMD has as of late, but it looks like the situation may be starting to change, as AMD has taken advantage of the just concluded GDC to lay out its new Open Stereo 3D Initiative. While the company isn't yet drumming up too much fanfare about it (or even issuing a press release), it does seem to have gotten things started on an ambitious note, with the initiative promising to provide consumers with "more choice, more innovation, and lower cost." In the nearer term, that will apparently translate to products like 3D-enabled ATI Eyefinity technology, 120Hz displays, stereo 3D notebooks, and various bundled solutions and shutter glasses. Of course, any actual product announcements are still a little ways off, but it looks like AMD does already have quite a few partners lined up. AMD lays out Open Stereo 3D Initiative at GDC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .
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Unreal Engine 3 adds extra dimension with NVIDIA 3D Vision

Epic Games has announced that its wildly popular Unreal Engine 3 has now added NVIDIA's 3D Vision to its list of supported technologies. We've already come across Batman: Arkham Asylum being played with NVIDIA's signature shutter glasses so this isn't a huge surprise per se, but it does put a stamp of compatibility on the vast catalog of games -- both current and future -- built upon Epic's graphics engine. Those include Borderlands , Mass Effect 1 and 2, Bioshock 1 and 2, and that all-time classic 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand . The Unreal Development Kit -- a freeware version of the Engine for non-commercial uses -- is also being upgraded to make the addition of stereoscopic 3D effects "easier than ever," while other small improvements (covered by Gamespot ) show that the Epic crew isn't standing still on its core product. Good news for all you mobile mavens wanting a taste of Unreality on your iPhones or Pres
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OptiTrack mixes motion capture with a virtual camera for delicious, Avatar-esque results

We knew virtual camera systems are starting gain traction, particularly in the world of cinema and within James Cameron's little set of toys, but it's pretty wild to see one in action. NaturalPoint is showing off its OptiTrack motion capture system at GDC, a budget-friendly multi-camera setup (if $6k is your idea of budget-friendly), but it also has a prototype of sorts of its upcoming virtual camera system. The camera's orientation and movement is actually tracked in the same way a motion capture suit is, and if you're in the same tracking space as a motion capture actor you can do "real" camera work with a live 3D rendered preview of the action. The shoulder-mounted camera has controls for virtual tracking and dolly moves, along with zoom, and has zero problem delivering that shaky handheld look that's all the rage in visual effects these days
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Darkworks SDK transforms 2D games into 3D games, no 3D TV required

Well, wouldn't you know it? 3D seems to be the topic of conversation here at GDC , and Paris-based Darkworks is making a splash by announcing the availability of its TriOviz for Games SDK. In short, this magical software concoction is a post-process effect that allows standard 2D games to be transformed into 3D masterpieces... and you don't even need to buy a 3D television
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Sony Answers Wii Remote With PlayStation Move

Sony has named its forthcoming PlayStation 3 motion controller “PlayStation Move.” The controller is Sony’s answer to Nintendo’s Wii Remote and Microsoft’s Project Natal for Xbox 360 — a way to use motion to play video games instead of (or at least in addition to) buttons. The controller was originally announced at the E3 interactive entertainment conference last year, but it was not named. Since then people have simply called it “the PlayStation motion controller.” It’s good to have a name to work with even though it’s a straightforward one. Move is expected to launch in Fall of 2010, right next to Microsoft’s competing Project Natal peripheral for the Xbox 360.
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Seven45 Studios ups the ante for music games, intros fully functional six string controller

We've seen "real" guitars made to "work" with existing music-band titles, and we've even seen MIDI guitars play nice with Rock Band, but we've yet to see a company design a game from the ground-up to work with a legitimate six string. Until now. Here at GDC, Seven45 Studios is making a name for itself by introducing Power Gig: Rise of the SixString (for PS3 and Xbox 360) along with a bona fide axe.
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Sony files for ‘PlayStation Arc’ trademark in Japan — all but a done deal?

Sony's PlayStation Motion Controller has gone through a few different names during its development, but "Arc" has cropped up far more than any other over the past few months, and it's now looking increasingly like a sure thing. While any official announcement will likely have to wait until GDC next week, the folks at Siliconera have discovered that Sony recently filed to trademark the name "PlayStation Arc" in Japan, which is just the latest form of confirmation of the name following a domain registration, and some noticeable name-dropping from gaming CEOs seemingly in-the-know. Of course, Sony could always pull a surprise out of its hat, and we'll be there live at GDC to report on whatever happens.
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