Shell Screens

[Dario D.]

Here's an idea... I just want to see if anyone "buys it".

Personally I have always wanted something like this, and I would willingly pay thousands of dollars for the chance to be so immersed in my games.

What do you think?

Update: the head-tracking technology already exists. Here's a video with it in action:
http://media.naturalpoint.com/video/6dof/vector-commercial-640x480-1mbBitRate.wmv


Here's a quick description:

Shell screen - A monitor, based on bright "CRT" technology.

(what I mean by this [CRT] is it's very bright, and doesn't flicker, lag, or bleed, or display low FPS like plasma and flat screens)

A webcam watches the position of your head to make sure it properly adjusts for curve distortion if you move around, to make sure all lines stay straight, so that nothing looks curvy. You could use PS, Illustrator or CAD for technical drawings and not have to worry about the lines being curvy, due to a correction algorithm that watches your head to properly adjust.

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Update: The head tracking technology is only really needed with games where you don't have a strict crosshair, because with shell-screens (unlike current technology), you can see to your left and right. With a shell screen, the FOV goes from 90 to 160, so you don't need head-tracking for looking left and right. Wanna see your sides? Just turn your eyeballs or your head and see what's really beside you. It's so much more natural to turn your "real" head, without the screen moving all crazy when you do, making it hard on the eyes.

Mostly the head-tracking with shell-screens is for curve distortion, and, as demonstrated in that video, games where you might WANT to move your digital head around a bit without turning your vehicle/character, incase you want to peek over your cockpit controls a little better, or look out your side/rear windows without sending the plane into a roll.

Otherwise, with shell-screens, you can already see out your side windows, because it covers your entire natural Field of View.

 

[lePobz]

I'm pretty sure that technology already exists, I remember reading about it a couple of years ago.

I don't see why you're knocking flat screens, theres some very nice fast TFTs that put CRTs to shame. Technology moves on, CRT is surpassed already.

 

[B-MAn]

yeh theres something liek this out already. the name is on the tip of my tongue! DAMN! great now this is going to annoy me for the rest of the day....

 

[Dan]

I wonder if having to adjust the curve would slow things down very much

 

[Dan]

I once did a school project on something like this. How to project 3d images onto a curved surface. It was pretty cool. I rigged up a board like that, only with a static image. And it wrapped 180 degrees around your vision and when you position your head right it looks quite real. Then when you move away you realize that all those straight lines are really curves. It took some math to figure out the new perspective lines. Straight lines become sinewaves

 

[CREMATOR666]

That lookd pretty cool, does it come with a surround speaker? :O Hell, I even once heard about an LCD screen that's as thick as paper!!! No more notepads in the future, then

 

[Tr0n]

No...I wouldn't waste my money on that.

A CRT/LCD does just fine.

 

[Asuka]

Thats interesting.

 

[Dario D.]

The main advantage of shell screens, is, say you're playing Half-Life 2... you can see EVERYTHING, covering your whole vision, as if you were really there. Forget wide-screens that still only have 90 or 110 FOV. Shell-screens are about being "inside your game," with 160 natural FOV, covering every inch of your vision, with no curve distortion.

The reason I'm interested in such technology is because there's nothing better than being "inside" the game, and that's how I want to kill Combine and play HL2DM - with my whole vision, so that it's like I'm actually there inside the game.

Viva the future of technology! Standard monitors will not be around forever. The future inevitably is in favor of immersion, and strange ways to get you more into what you're doing. Flat computer screens are naturally an ideal work surface, but not for gaming and tasks with a wider scope than just text and simple applications.

Imagine being inside a shell/dome screen with several web pages before you in a half-circle, all facing you, with nice squishy Mac buttons. Such is very likely in the future.

I like the idea of those computers in Minority Report... they're pretty dumb and look flaky to use, but it's a good stream of thought.

Here's another little pic;
http://www.deefrag.com/images/blogs/shellscrn_B2sm.jpg

Shell screens can get even more imposing if you're willing to fork out the cash.