Dev Says 3D, Not Move, is the “Big Thing” For Shooters

Blacklight: Tango Down Project Lead Jared Gerritzen says the PlayStation Move is cool but the real “big thing” in the FPS genre is 3D.

When you come home from a hard day at the office with nothing more on your mind than a brief escape from the inhumanity of humanity, do you really want to spend the evening jumping around your living room like an over-caffeinated Ed Allen? Of course not. You want to plop down and mash some buttons.

“Games are a way to escape. Having someone moving around to play is great but it’s very tiring,” Blacklight: Tango Down Project Lead Jared Gerritzen told Eurogamer. “Most people work a full day and then they come home and want to sit on their comfy couch and just move their thumbs, not their whole body.”

Move and other motion controllers might be good for some genres but when it comes to the shooter, Gerritzen said the way of the future is 3D. “Move is definitely one of the cooler motion controllers just because it’s really easy to track. It’s cool, but I think if anything Sony has is going the right direction, it’s 3D,” Gerritzen said. “We have that working on some of the graphics cards for the PC. Other than the fact it gives me a splitting migraine after half an hour it’s just so awesome. Actually looking into a screen and having it feel 3D is absolutely the best way to make a player feel like they’re in that world.”

“That right there is the big thing,” he added, “not waving my arms around.”

I agree with half of that sentiment; I don’t think that motion controllers are going to bring much to the FPS table. But I’m not sure that 3D is either, and I’m even less convinced that Gerritzen’s admission that 30 minutes of 3D gaming gives him a debilitating headache does his argument much good. I could be off-base on this one but “For gamers who would rather suffer with indescribable pain than get some exercise” doesn’t strike me as an overly-effective ad slogan.

Blacklight: Tango Down is available now on the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live, Games for Windows Live and Steam.