Get your specs on!
WOULDN'T it be nice to be able to create games in real three-dimensional
space instead of on a boring, flat, two-dimensional television
or monitor screen?
Just imagine what a future version of Space Invaders might be
like, with the alien craft advancing from far out in deep space
as your own short range strike craft weave in and out through
the asteroid belt preparing for the last defence ...
Unfortunately, we are still waiting for 3-D TV and the closest
we have come so far is to fool the brain into thinking that it
is viewing a 3-D scene which is in fact made up of two superimposed
images, one for each eye.
A necessary part of the deception is for the viewer to wear
a pair of specially tinted glasses, usually with one blue and
one red lens.
This is what Postern Software have attempted to do for the BBC
computer with a simpler version of the scenario that I imagined
earlier, entitled 3 Deep Space.
The game is supplied with one pair of 3-D glasses, so while
it is being played only the person at the keyboard can see the
correct stereoscopic image.
As far as I could see - no pun intended - this seemed to make
the bystanders even more anxious to play!
It is important that this game is played on a colour TV set
or monitor, otherwise the 3-D effects would not be visible.
The scene is the surface of the home planet, on which, to enhance
the three dimensional effect, two rows of pyramids recede into
the depths of your television.
In the foreground, a few other, less discernible, objects are
visible. Above these, and to the left, your own craft is positioned,
ready to defend against the approaching waves of aliens.
These advance in twos and threes from the opposite side of the
surface, very much like Space Invaders turned on its side.
However, this game is in 3-D, remember, so you have the added
complication that the alien craft can move in and out across the
planet surface as well as towards you.
That is, they move in and out of the television as well as moving
from right to left.
To combat the alien movements you, too, can move in a similar
fashion and of course you are armed with the obligatory laser
which is used to shoot down the approaching ships.
You should avoid their ships, as you're destroyed if a collision
occurs.
If things get too hectic you could always use one of your limited
supply of smart bombs to clear the screen of the marauding invaders
and give yourself a brief respite.
In the early stages of the game, the aliens appear as diamond
shaped craft which harmlessly fly past if you do not shoot them
down.
These are then followed by successively more aggressive ships,
beyond which, I'm afraid, I've not progressed.
I think that the game represents the first commercial step into
the third dimension and is a playable and interesting idea. The
provision of some instructions on how to play would be a enhancement!
I don't believe that 3 Deep Space will take the games world
by storm, however, as there are currently more enjoyable games
available in two dimensions, which have advanced beyond the ageing
concept of Space Invaders.
Phil Rubini
