TriOviz posts

3D gaming is supposedly the next big thing, according to a number of pundits. But the kind of 3D gaming that's being pushed by Nvidia's 3D Vision technology requires special graphics cards, monitors and expensive glasses. Another company, Darkworks, has been pushing their own solution, TriOviz, which requires no special hardware on the PC side and only the ultra-cheap red-blue 3D glasses for the gamer.

This week Epic Games announced that TriOviz's 3D gaming software will be offered for all licensees of its Unreal Engine 3 game development tools starting in November. Since Unreal Engine 3 is used by so many developers and games that could mean 3D gaming on the PC could be getting a big boost. The TriOviz tech has already been used in the Unreal Engine 3-based game Batman Arkham Asylum Game of the Year Edition.

If you haven't picked up Batman: Arkham Asylum yet, you might want to hold off for a couple of extra months. Square Enix-Eidos has just announced that the Game of the Year edition of the acclaimed super hero action game will ship to the US in May (the Game of the Year edition is already announced for a UK release in late Match).

In addition to the original game developed by Rocksteady Studios, the Game of the Year edition will add four new challenge maps. It will also come with 3D gaming support via TriOviz. As we reported last week, their 3D method revolves around putting a software wrapper around the game which enables 3D gaming without the need for special monitors. The game will come with two 3D glasses.

Nvidia has been pushing its 3D Vision technology for 3D PC gaming for a while now. The problem with their set-up, though, is that it requires a compatible 3D capable monitor and expensive shutter 3D glasses. Now game developer Darkworks (who developed the survival horror game Cold Fear a few years ago) has announced at GDC 2010 their plans for Trioviz, a software wrapper that can convert any 2D game into a 3D experience. The technology does not require a special 3D monitor and the effect can be seen with passive (and cheap) 3D glasses.

Our sister site Engadget got to see the technology demoed at GDC 2010. Their verdict? "Not bad." They state, "We could very clearly see the 3D effect, and even though it was subtle, it definitely enhanced our experience." We are betting that a lot of game developers could be interested in using this tech for their own games.