Virtual Boy is what it is. A standalone device producing real 3D display. Kind of a first step on the road toward true virtual reality, which of course is still very far away.
I was very happy being among the first ones back then when I bought my Virtual Boy. Despite that by that time I had LCD stereoglasses for my PC and very playable and enjoyable games, also in quite real 3D (Descent 1,2, Whiplash [fantastic in 3D] and later when DirectX came to the picture, many others). If VB didn’t fail in the market the way it did, perhaps today we would be a lot closer to virtual reality products.
For me it is an interesting and puzzling phenomenon that the 3D concept didn’t become a lot more popular a lot faster than it did. Interesting, because I tested it on many people and it is true. I showed both on my PC (when there was no flicker anymore), on the Virtual Boy, and only a small percentage reacted with a WOW, most people just shrugged their shoulders and asked me:”what’s the big deal?”. I guess people these days are just surrounded with so many high-tech miracles that something what simulates the real world better just not enough. I don’t know, even today I don’t have an answer. 3D TV came to the market and most of the media reaction is “….nice…but you need to wear those dorky glasses…”. Big fat deal. Half of the population wears glasses anyway. Even a significant percent of the young people. So, what’s the big deal to spend 5 seconds to put on a glass and then participate in a mind-blowing experience? Because the new 3D TVs are really fantastic. There is this weird and unexplainable resistance against 3D. As a physician by profession, I am trying to figure out a perhaps physiological explanation, but so far I didn’t find any, perhaps other than people who are not yet aware of poorer than average vision (they got used to it) don’t see in real 3D in real life either.
So far I have not seen a single newspaper article in the main stream media which would have celebrated the new 3D products without reservations. Weird…..
Interesting interview. Even more interesting that some people make simply wrong statements. Such as:
“Itoi:
Can you also adjust the three-dimensionality of the video of natural imagery we saw earlier?
Iwata:
No, you can’t change the three-dimensionality of something recorded beforehand. You can turn the stereoscopic display on or off, though. In other words, you can only select whether you want it to look three-dimensional or not.”
I am saying: it is not true. For example, the nVidia driver with an LCD Stereoglass (aka shutter glass) on a PC allows the degree of three dimensionality to be changed, in fact gradually (default=CTRL-F3 and CTRL-F4). The change is clearly noticeable. So, along that line, the statement above “…. you can only select whether you want it to look three-dimensional or not.” maybe the way they will make it, but not because it is not possible to change it gradually.
What IS true however, that one of the downfall of VB was indeed that the games made to it themselves were not up to par of the gaming world at the time. I am here, I am obviously a VB fan, but I must be honest, out of all the games came to the market for VB, only a very few I could call a really good game.
I wonder how the lenticular 3D system will work out for the 3DS. I have a lenticular 3D camera which produces worse 3D pictures than anaglyph.
Space Squash
Mario Clash
Nester’s Funky Bowling
Wario Land
It would be Galactic Pinball (in fact, it would be first), if I haven’t learned it, so I can play hours and hours on on set of 5. This way it became boring. So, it is…….
Mario Tennis
Space Squash definitely. Some guy on Ebay sells a bunch for 60 bucks each. Well worth it.
I got Nester’s Funky Bowling just for the heck of it, because it was a few dollars. Pleasent surprise. Not a great game, but okay and allows one to play a round of “something” on the VB in a few minutes, during tv commercials or whatever. Due to the very low cost, definitely suggested.
If you like puzzlish arcade games, Mario Clash a definite good choice.
Yes, I know these glasses.
Look at the specs, look at the price. You get 30 degrees FOV (field of view)
at 800×600 resolution for almost 800 dollars. All the extras cost a bunch more. Who do you think will take the risk to create another VB with this kind of price range? Nobody. Especially after the failure of VB.
Just look at the LCD stereoglass market. For less than 100 bucks you can have beautiful and perfect stereo on your computer monitor. When they came out, I thought they will sweep the game market and every kid will buy at least one of those. Nada. They are still nowhere on the major markets, despite that 90% of all game programs are totally compatible with those.
The V-real viewer technology cost a lot more, because it is still a technological challenge to manufacture those very tiny LCD screens insire the HMD. Any of those with decent resolution and FOV still costs tens of thousands of dollars, literally.
Well, written. I don’t have the patience to play any game for 6 days. The only game I’ve played nearly that long is when I played Ocarina of Time for 3-5 hrs. whenever I got home from school when I was in 4th grade. It took me 3 months total to beat that game. I think I’m going to try and beat the Mater Quest sometime….
Anyways, I too congratulate Undead for his insanely high score. Holy shit.
I like games a lot, but this is ridiculous. I think I could go 999,999,999 on Alien, but 6 days? Give me a break. On top of it, I am afraid to leave on VB, for more than one reasons.
1. It has a moving part (the oscillating mirror) and to leave it on this long surely can’t be good for a part like this.
2. Imagine if after day 4 (for example) there is a momentary powerout and I already had 4 days of “work” in it. It would drive me mad.
Like I said, I’ve done OpenGL stuff, and it’s in 3D, but do you know anything about controlling the shutters manually from a program (like talking directly to the nVidia driver to control the shutters)?
Sorry, I don’t.
My programming knowledge stopped somewhere between QuickBasic and some other versions of basic compilers (Dark Basic, etc.).
I am not a computer programmer, but a doctor (:-).
I think it’d be cool to be able to add 3D to some programs, but not redo them with OpenGL or DirectX.
I am afraid that would not be possible (and I am saying that without the programming knowledge, but having knowledge about the way 3D works).
Why? Because the entire concept of 3d vision is based on having a different picture for the left eye, from the right eye. Unless that is somehow present, there can be no 3d. Some of the old PC games (Descent), all the Virtual Boy games were originally written in such a way, that both the left eye picture, as well as the different right eye picture was included in the programs.
The OpenGL and DirectX works differently, but still provides a separate left-right eye picture. How? Well, the programs are written in such a way, that what you see on the screen, within the program itself, contains the three dimensional coordinates for every pixel on the otherwise two dimensional screen. The stereo driver “grabs” those coordinates and mathematically calculates a left eye viewpoint and a right eye viewpoint, then creates a separate picture for each. Which then being flashed on the screen alternately (page flipping) and blocks the view by the other eye via the LCD shutterglass. That way the left eye and the right eye can see the appropriate picture for each eye.
There can be no programming trick (or even hardware trick) which can substitute the generation of the separate left-right eye picture. Because that what makes 3d what it is, 3d.
it looks like some games have the depth inverted or something so I have to wear the glasses upsidedown………..hat I would prefer to do would be to send a signal to the nVidia driver to tell it to swap the LCDs when I’m changing the image.
It depends which glass and which dongle (the one connecting the glass to the computer) you have. Also, which nVidia stereo driver.
Some dongles have a hardware switch to flip the left-right eye picture. If you have one of those, just press the buttom or throw the switch.
If your dongle doesn’t have such hardware flip option, again depends on the rest of the setup. Most of the time a hotkey (CTRL-whatever) flips the left-right and corrects the setting.
Until you can figure out the above, try to untoggle-retoggle stereo, sometimes that works fine.
Unfortunately the wireless glasses sometimes have this problem, the wired ones don’t.
Finally, eDimensional have a tiny program which is labeled to use to “turn on stereo”. But if you download it (free) it also contains a flip-softswitch.
Holy crap! I doubted that anyone would guess that.
C’mmon. You have Syd’s picture as your avatar, your name is Barrett, how difficult is that to guess :)?
Have you ever heard the Piper At The Gates Of Dawn Album?
Of course. There is no PF song I haven’t heard. And guess what…..I have been two of their live concerts. Not with Syd, but I was at a live concert in 1988 and in 1994. I chose not to participate in the “which Floyd is better” nonsense. I love Syd’s music, Roger’s and David’s as well. They are all great musicians.
First off, Vertical Force does have a score, so one can walk away with how much they could gather on one play
The problem that in Vertical Force, as soon as Game Over, the score vanishes and never comes back. Thus, the only way to know the score, if you peek your score just before you die.
I think some of our differences in opinions can probably be explained in age difference. You seem to be in your 20’s or possibly 30’s, so you were playing games when the main objective was to get as high as of a score as possible. However, I am 14…..
Hehehe….yeah, I guess our differences in opinions can be explained in age difference. All that 44 years ! Guess what, I am 58 years old. For real.
How come I still love games? I don’t know, I just do. Additionally, I am a physician, obstetrician-gynecologist, I do every day what you would like to (sticking my fingers you know where)
My first games were Donkey Kong Country and Super Mario World.
Super Mario World is great. I played that over and over again. I still have it. My original Gameboy broke, but I got a Gameboy Color which is compatible with the early Gameboy games. On Super Mario World I went all the way three times, getting the selection menu (on the real one, not the emulator where you can save the game).
Shutter glasses typically work with all games which use DirectX and have a full screen (non-windowed) display. If the game requires DirectX, the chances are heavily in favor working with the shutter glasses.
For the shutter glasses, as I just wrote:
need nVidia video card
CRT monitor
Both are a must.
But once you have those, a fantastic ride with the 3d world is waiting for you. I have various shutter glasses (aka LCD stereoglasses) for the last 15 years, I used it with many games. You can consider me the “professor” of that technology and ask any question you like.
Yessssss…………shutter glasses are fantastic.
But careful, because they work only with nVidia based videocards (Geforce X,Y,Z) and real CRT style monitors. They don’t work on the LCD flat screens, or with ATI cards, despite some outrageous claims from eDimensional.
My favorite game…..hmmmm…..that’s difficult, there are so many.
Now, let’s see….
VB: Galactic Pinball, Mario Tennis (yes, yes), Mario Clash.
Gameboy (original): Super Marioland 2, Metroid II (my best on that is 1:50, can anyone claim better than that?)
But I do most of my gameplaying on my PC, since for the last 15 years I am rigged up with true 3d, just like VB has it. If I scan my memory:
Perhaps my top favorite was Descent I and II in true 3d. I played some endless number of hours, totally spellbound by the spectacular 3d effect and the great game together.
I used to like the PC adventure games, but they went out of fashion totally (Under a Killing Moond, etc. style games).
Today I use Microsoft Flight Simulator perhaps the most and dug up lately Star Trek Elite Force I and II, also mindbogglingly good 3d action with the stereoglass.
From the arcade category: AirXonix, a totally unknown russian spinoff of the arcade game Xonix. Again, the stereo 3d makes it plain fantastic.
And yeah, I must brag, I just must. On the old Apple II computer I learned how to write programs, I wrote one with the title Intellectual Decathlon and back in the 80’s MUSE Software accepted it for publication. I am not a computer programmer, just a roadside gynecologist (doctor), and yet, I had the rare opportunity of a game player to see his OWN creation on the shelves of computer stores.
That is still one of my favorite, although in emulated form on the PC.
Get one on Ebay. It is definitely one of the better VB entries.
I am a large fan of the original Mario Bros, which Clash is based heavily upon,
I too used to like the original Mario Bros, but Clash is significantly better with far more depth (pun intended) and variations. If you liked Mario Bros, you will be addicted to Clash.
The technology is perfected enough for a satisfactory experience, but no one really cares anymore.
You know what the interesting part of this story? That there is no question in my mind, that the next logical step in gaming, is 3d. No way around that. Once they reach the max graphical capabilities (ie: looks perfectly real), there is nowhere else to go (improve), but to make it 3d, to start manufacturing some kind of virtual reality setup. Except nobody will sink large sums of monies in such technology, before some “early versions” would succeed. That, can’t be anything else, but a cheap HMD (head mounted display) with stereo sound and some virtual game controller.
It just has to be this way. Yet, nobody dares to jump into it for some reason. The first company with guts, will make heavy billions on this.
True, the score resetting could be annoying, but really that only applies to certain gamers. It’s comparable to Super Mario Bros. on the NES: There is a score, but most would simply strive to defeat the game.
I respectfully disagree. Arcade style games always should have score.
An arcade style game should never end, only recycle faster, more and more difficult. The score is important emotionally, since if the player can’t point blank defeat the game (as it happens more often that otherwise), the player doesn’t have to walk away with the empty feeling that “I achieved nothing”. I didn’t beat Mario Clash, yet I am “proud” of achieving higher and higher scores. Otherwise I would find it infuriating, just to play and play for nothing. Also, don’t forget, Super Mario did have a real story (sort of).
And lots of rare games are really crappy (Virtual Lab, anyone?). However, there are exceptions to the rule: Space Invaders ~ Virtual Collection, Space Squash, Jack Bros, Virtual Bowling
I am a player, not a collector, and because of that I am not planning to cough up hundreds of dollars for a questionable quality game. Some of those go for hundreds of dollars on Ebay. Not a chance……..(:-), despite that I could afford it (its a matter of principle). Space Invaders? Why? It is not even a game which would allow respectable 3d. Space Squash is neat, judging from the emulator. Virtual Bownling sucks (emulator). Since when a needed skill in bownling that a thingy, like a
windshield wiper moves across and you must get it just right to release the ball. That is silly. Why didn’t they just make it like so many other bowling games? You set the starting position (left to right), the throwing angle and the throwing strength? You see, that’s where the gamedesigning suffers, and in case of the VB, that was a major factor of killing the whole idea.
I love Insmouse No Yakata. I am one of the few, but I love it.
Seeing in the emulator, you’re right, you must be one of the few (:-).
Another game I will buy only, if I can ever get it for under 20 bucks.
You see, it is difficult to like a game, if similar ones exist in far superior form. Heck, just the very first FPS ever, Wolf3d was a superior game in that class (and exists in 3d!!!, although with the old LCD stereoglass technology)
I think that all VB owners should learn about the LCD stereoglass and get one. Some of them are even compatible with the VB emulator (RB)
thus you can play your working, but not owned VB games in 3d.
Unfortunately however, there is no sound. Oh well…..but so many PC games can be played in spectacular 3d.
