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Iwata - Learning how to make the best 3D depth in games, sharing that knowledge with 3rd parties

by rawmeatcowboy
01 May 2012
GN Version 4.0
Let me first explain about the principle of 3D viewing. The developers create different images for the viewer’s left eye and right eye, with which the viewer can feel the combined image as stereoscopic. There is a point where the images for the left eye and the right eye are identical, and we technically call it the “base level.” In other words, 3D tuning in game development means deciding on where the base level should be located in the depth of the 3D gaming world, the location of the images which should appear to pop up and come closest to the player’s eyes, and the location of the images which should be placed at the deepest point of the 3D gaming world to represent the depth. If I can explain a little more about what our developers actually did during development, they started to discuss how “Mario Kart 7,” then in development, was able to create the circumstance where the test players felt that the 3D images were very natural, they could play with the prototype software more easily and it was more comfortable for the eyes than for “SUPER MARIO 3D LAND.” They discussed the differences “Mario Kart 7” developers had implemented and eventually decided to make “SUPER MARIO 3D LAND” so that the players could switch between two modes of 3D viewing. We included the two modes because, when we changed the relevant program after learning from the “Mario Kart 7” programing, approximately 20% of Nintendo employees who tested both versions preferred the pre-change mode. We have learned that different preferences exist when it comes to 3D viewing. This sort of learning can be made only after playable prototypes of software with much depth can be prepared and test players can try to understand if they are able to play the prototype in a way that the 3D feels very natural. For the first time, “SUPER MARIO 3D LAND” (thanks to the 3D viewing capability of the Nintendo 3DS) rather naturally represents for the players where in the 3D gaming world each character and object exists in terms of the depth and the height of the world, which was not possible with any other existing gaming hardware system. For example, those who have played “SUPER MARIO 3D LAND” must have had the experience of feeling the sensation of falling from a very high place. The game must have provided players with such simulated experiences as in real life because the company has received such feedback from the players as “I felt weak at the knees!” or “I got chills!” The company has gradually been able to learn and acquire the development know-how and programing techniques relating to 3D viewing by continually developing and playing with the applicable software. Ideally, we should have understood all of these points and launched the Nintendo 3DS with all of these proposals. However, as the history of video game hardware systems has shown, it is not feasible for any video game system to be accompanied by the software that takes advantage of 100% of the hardware system’s potential from its launch period. The actual and full hardware potential can be gradually leveraged just as the hardware expands its installed base in the marketplace. History has shown that what used to be impossible in the first generation of the software lineup for a hardware system only becomes possible in its second or third generation. From that perspective, what our developers have discovered in the process of developing “SUPER MARIO 3D LAND” and “Mario Kart 7” are the first phase of fine-tuning techniques for 3D viewing, which can result in a natural game play experience for the player, I believe.

As to your question on how Nintendo is willing to disclose such know-how, as long as software publishers of the Nintendo 3DS make the relevant inquiries to us, we are willing to disclose what we have done, and we are actually sharing the information with them. Rather than keeping this sort of know-how confidential and trying to leverage upon it to give our software a competitive edge, we believe that it is more beneficial for the company if all players will comment, “All the Nintendo 3DS software looks natural to our eyes and very attractive as we feel that the images are really 3D.” So, when we are asked, we are eager to support our third-party publishers. - Satoru Iwata
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