Programming standards for effective S-3D game development
Neil Schneider, Alexander Matveev · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 2008
When a video game is in development, more often than not it is being rendered in three dimensions - complete with volumetric depth. It's the PC monitor that is taking this three-dimensional information, and artificially displaying it in a flat, two-dimensional format. Stereoscopic drivers take the three-dimensional information captured from DirectX and OpenGL calls and properly display it with a unique left and right sided view for each eye so a proper stereoscopic 3D image can be seen by the gamer. The two-dimensional limitation of how information is displayed on screen has encouraged programming short-cuts and work-arounds that stifle this stereoscopic 3D effect, and the purpose of this guide is to outline techniques to get the best of both worlds. While the programming requirements do not significantly add to the game development time, following these guidelines will greatly enhance your customer's stereoscopic 3D experience, increase your likelihood of earning Meant to be Seen certification, and give you instant cost-free access to the industry's most valued consumer base. While this outline is mostly based on NVIDIA's programming guide and iZ3D resources, it is designed to work with all stereoscopic 3D hardware solutions and is not proprietary in any way.