3D. 3D. 3D. Final Fantasy XIV? Square Enix has a tech demo for it in 3D.
At the recent E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles, the Japanese based game company was showing off the PC version of the game running in 3D on three monitors. The 3D was powered by NVIDIA's new GeForce 3D. I'm not a fan of 3D and actually felt it distracted by the lush, beautiful environments that Square Enix has created. I was perfectly satisfied with the
The depth created by the game's graphics felt somewhat flat in 3D. It was like looking at a diorama with little pieces of paper cut out and placed in different places in space. NVIDIA's 3D tech, however, is top notch. The problem is, it's top notch and you have to use 3D glasses.
Loads of games have incorporated the tech into their games. Capcom has a whole host of PC titles that sport it.
Square Enix has yet to confirm the 3D version of Final Fantasy XIV and was clear that it was showing a tech demo. However, Final Fantasy XIV producer Hiromichi Tanaka did tell Kotaku, "We are interested in 3D and other approaches to 3D."
Tanaka did add that players might find 3D glasses "comfortable" and the company was interested in ways for players to enjoy 3D "comfortably" in the future.
The idea of a wide expansive game such as Final Fantasy XIV is an exciting one. And sure, watching avatars as they make their way through the FFXIV and the landscape comes hurdling towards you was thrilling. The technology is getting there, close to where it needs to be to offer all players a headache-free experience. But, as the FFXIV demo showed, it still has a ways to go.
That last leap to true 3D will be the biggest.
*Note: The posted image is not an actual 3D screenshot, but a Kotaku Photoshop.