Trine 2

If you ever wanted to try 3D gaming while being too lazy to install 3D driver software, Trine 2 will be a really nice surprise. It's a true native! And it's well prepared for most existing 3D setups.

Prototype

 If you wondered why did I put a download link for HEX editor (in "Useful links" section), you will find the answer here. We're fixing Prototype for fullscreen crosseye 3D.

 There are some games which can't be tweaked through config files, registry keys etc in order to obtain custom resolutions. Prototype seems to be one of those games that need a slightly complex fix (commonly named - hack). The information we need to edit is found inside a compiled file and editing such info as a text would be near to impossible. The linked HEX editor is freeware (XVI32).

Portal 2

Awesome sequel of an awesome game, Portal 2 is one of the few games where the aspect ratio fix is a straightforward.

 Once you have the 8:9 (960x1080) desktop custom resolution already created, just enter the game, go to OPTIONS / video.

Avatar: The Game

  Since this blog's subject involves stereoscopic 3D, I couldn't miss a native 3D game like Avatar: The Game (2009).

 Being a native, the game does the stereo by itself and it doesn't need any 3rd party driver.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

 A really nice 2009 game, with lots of spectacular action scenes which gave me the reason to try it in fullscreen freeview 3D. This is one of the games with all the settings stored in config files, a highly appreciated feature in this case.

 Similar to Fuel, X-Men Origins: Wolverine doesn't recognize the custom 8:9 resolution, therefore it must be tweaked from outside the game. This game has lots of configuration files everywhere and it's very easy to get lost in settings, so a bit of caution is necessary.

FUEL

Since I've posted a tasty picture with FUEL (2009) in preamble, it would be fair to explain what needs to be done in order to play this game in "fullscreen" freeview 3D.

Even though we created the custom 8:9 desktop resolution, this game refuses to use it. Therefore, a workaround is needed and, in this specific case, the registry is the answer. Here are the steps  (Windows 7 - might as well work on other versions), please read carefully:

Aspect ratio in crossview 3D

 Let's say we're playing a game in 1920x1080 resolution. This is 16:9 aspect ratio, probably the most common for displays nowadays. If we want to play in crossview 3D at this resolution without changing anything else, the resulted resolution will be 3840x1080. As an example, Dirt 2:

Nice looking picture indeed, but on which display? The aspect ratio is 32:9. There are 2 possibilities:
          1. two 16:9 identical displays, but this is already expensive and difficult to crossview 3D
          2. shrink to fit on a single display.

Preamble

 There are several years already since I first started playing in 3D (around 2002). The 3D technologies were then almost nonexistent compared to today's possibilities. The 3D materials were also very limited. I tried and studied almost all possibilities (shutters, anaglyphs, mirrors) and every single affordable 3D method has its pros and cons: price, ghosting, color reproduction, brightness, ergonomics, size etc.

 It would be a lot to discuss about all the methods, but I will focus on the simplest of all: the FREEVIEW 3D aka cross-eye 3D aka cross-view 3d. I know a lot of  people (with healthy vision) think they cannot use this method. Well, they can.

The only requirements are: 2 healthy eyes and the ability to clearly focus on close-up (e.g. 20cm). There are lots of "how-to" sites (example) with tutorials for learning to view 3d with this method. I think the "focus on pen" method works fastest.

 I tried to find medical warnings about using this method and I couldn't find any real awareness. So all I know is what happened to me. Like most people who first tried cross-eye 3d, I had difficulties focusing and I thought I'll never be able to master the technique. When I finally started to gain focus, I was completely stunned by the picture's quality (light, color, crispness, 3d depth).

Here's a very nice sample from the well-known FUEL arcade racing game: