3D Gaming and 3D Vision: Curse or Cure?

[Shifty Geezer]

I read an interesting article the other day that went beyond "lazy eye" and was directed at the concern of young children's ability to spatially differentiate depth and that 3D may pose issues with the brain's processing of depth in addition to concerns related to the article.

Doesn't make any difference to 3D's adoption in my cynical opinion. The Stewart report on mobile phones underlined a known and not understood neurological stimulation from mobile signals, particularly the digital pulsing, a different effect to the concerns of localised heating caused by microwaves. The recommendation was to keep developing brains away from mobiles, and yet no-one paid any attention.

The future will be people bumping into lamposts because they aren't spacially aware!

 

[Arwin]

The future will be people bumping into lamposts because they aren't spacially aware!

You mean that now they have a new excuse for when they bump into one because they weren't paying attention ... The size that a lamppost occupies in your field of view is still enough for most people not to walk into one ...

They'll start sucking at sports though, maybe.

Josh, if you have a source for the article that would be interesting. Generally, those kinds of effects only come into play when 3D tv is the only 3D you'll ever see. If half of your waking, eyes open time, you're looking at the world around you rather than 3D, that's normally more than enough for proper development. Again, I would be interested to see if the article measured 3D tv against 2D tv in this regard.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

It's a bleaker future than that. Cross-eyed kids who think the world is flat and only looks 3D. It'll be cured by flickering glasses that make the real world look flat...

 

[Arwin]

It's a bleaker future than that. Cross-eyed kids who think the world is flat and only looks 3D. It'll be cured by flickering glasses that make the real world look flat...

Cross eyed kids will only be cross eyed if they sit too close to the TV, but that's the same with any form of TV. I had my son holding the PSP this morning and he was crossing his eyes because he held the screen to close to his face when I was changing his clothes. It's something you always have to be vigilant about. I still think 3D will help prevent cross-eye rather than the opposite, unless of course you hold the screen too close AND you've got a 3D image that pops out of the screen. But stuff like the 3DS seems to force you to keep your distance and angle to see the image properly, so in that sense who knows it may actually help.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I was being facetious.

 

[Arwin]

Whoops! I do tend to have trouble detecting that kind of stuff on Mondays ...

 

[patsu]

It's a bleaker future than that. Cross-eyed kids who think the world is flat and only looks 3D. It'll be cured by flickering glasses that make the real world look flat...

Well, to be honest, I walked into lamp post, tripped over door frame (when i visited damn ancient Chinese buildings), fell into huge drain a couple of times. I can tell you it's more about the state of my mind than my eyesight (or lighting condition).

So far, most of my friends' children and my own kid (all below 6) were terrified by 3D movies/cartoons. I don't think they'd stick around long enough to suffer from eye problems. They will last about 1 second when the special effects hit them. The problem was further compounded by the dark room, huge sound, and sometimes mist sprinkled into their faces (like the Disney 3D theater). They really did think the world was crumbling below them.

Now in Home 3D, they have to wear relatively heavy 3D glasses. It didn't last long at all for my kid especially when they didn't have children's 3D glasses in the show room. I think it will take considerable more time for the studios to craft a premium 3D experience for the entire population.

At the moment, I reckon it'd be limited to movie buffs, sports freaks, National Geography fans and core gamers first. There is a dearth of 3D content at the moment. I can't wait for them to shower me with more.

I'd be curious to see more independent reports on this "curing" business of stereoscopic 3D. I mean is there a cheaper or better treatment method, as opposed to playing more 3D games and watching more movies. ;-)

 

[Danalys]

Quite interesting information. Also inbefore "3D heals your eyes!".

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/12/29/gaming-3ds-children-eyes-nintendo.html

It makes sense that since childrens' eyes aren't as far apart. Their brain trying to cope with unnatural (for them) separation could be problematic. But with the 3DS' slider allowing separation control I wouldn't think it would be such a problem. That is other than for those using it with the wrong setting, which would be likely for many.

 

[patsu]

Quite interesting information. Also inbefore "3D heals your eyes!".

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/12/29/gaming-3ds-children-eyes-nintendo.html

We already knew 3D is not suitable for kids at and under 5, while their visions are still developing.

It doesn't conflict with the report here:
http://www.virart.nottingham.ac.uk/ibit/index.htm
that it can help to treat children 8 - 12 with lazy eyes. ^_^

EDIT: Whoops, Shifty moved the subthread... Should have moved Nebula's post there too.

 

[Neb]

We already knew 3D is not suitable for kids at and under 5, while their visions are still developing.

It doesn't conflict with the report here:
http://www.virart.nottingham.ac.uk/ibit/index.htm
that it can help to treat children 8 - 12 with lazy eyes. ^_^

6 years old.. and ofcourse it will vary as not everyone matures at the same time.

Also while it can have benefits to cure some vision related problems it is done by professionals in a controlled environment... for persons with... vision problems!

See, healthy people taking medicine for diseases might get sick and/or contract long term illness.

 

[Neb]

EDIT: Whoops, Shifty moved the subthread... Should have moved Nebula's post there too.

He cares about the childrens safety.

http://forum.beyond3d.com/showpost.php?p=1508355&postcount=48

 

[AlphaWolf]

Just want to point out that the supposed 'cure' in the OP isn't random 3D gaming that someone would do on their own time. It's a set regimen of programs, monitored by a health care professional using special equipment.

It actually speaks very little to the net benefit in what might be normal use with a home 3D setup. Which still has the noted health detriments to young children, people susceptible to seizures, people with inner ear disorders, vertigo, prone to motion sickness etc.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

EDIT: Whoops, Shifty moved the subthread... Should have moved Nebula's post there too.

I only left a pointer for contributors to redirect themselves. Someone else moved Nebula's post, so I've done the decent thing and moved everything over.

 

[patsu]

Care about children's safety ? Read more !
http://kotaku.com/5725770/doctors-s...ially-beneficial-to-children?skyline=true&s=i

Nintendo warned that its new 3DS portable gaming system might have negative effects on young children's vision. Now the American Optometric Association steps forward to say that using 3D technology could have a positive effect on children's eyesight. How so?

…

The American Optometric Association still cautions moderation in 3D use, but in a statement issued today says that there is no evidence that suggests viewing 3D in moderation would have any sort of negative effect in children or adults.

In fact, the AOA says that using 3D technology like the 3DS could help uncover undiagnosed vision problems that doctors would miss under normal testing conditions.

A normal eye test checks to see how well each eye functions, but the key to good vision is in how both eyes function together. Subtle problems between both eyes can lead to eye fatigue, losing place while reading or copying, and reduced reading comprehension, resulting in low grades and frustration at school.

Another symptom would be the inability to view 3D properly. If your child has trouble viewing the 3D on the Nintendo 3DS, it might be a sign of a visual problem that is best caught early on.

While Nintendo's heart was in the right place with its warnings, the American Optometric Association says that viewing 3D on the 3DS shouldn't be a problem for children whose visual system is developing normally, as long as the device is used in moderation.

[blah]

 

[LightHeaven]

Not really related, but not entirely OT either:

I watched some 3d movies and absolutely loved it. But my experience with 3d gaming (using nvidia glasses and a 120hz monitor) was a disaster.

I mean, the picture was astonishing, games like Re5 looked almost a generation above just by being in 3d, and while i had no problem during cutscenes, i just couldn't play it. I had no reference to walk or shoot properly and about 15 minutes of gameplay left me with my head hurting for a while.

What's the difference between a pre-recorded scene like a movie or a cutscene, and actual gaming in 3d that made look like i've never played any game before abilities wise, and for a few minutes making me dizzy, while i can take hours of 3d movies straight?

Edit: I also had some issues with upscaled 3d video. It was ok when the upscaling kept the aspect ratio, but when the ratio was changed the image was unbearable to look at.

 

[ERP]

3d vision let's you set things up in really extreme ways, it can take some fiddling to get things right for you. Prerecorded movies are usually pretty mild in their 3d effect, to accommodate a wide audience.

The biggest issue most people have with 3d vision is crosshairs/mouse cursors at screen depth, you have to continuously refocus, which can become tiring. It's a function of games not being targeted at stereo 3d. I think stereoscopic UI is going to take a while to get right, and probably most of that will happen in the console space.