Stereoscopic Masks for Video Games - Text 1
In the summer of 1994, Nintendo unveiled Virtual Boy, a virtual reality project initially known under the code name VR32 and developed by the company’s Research and Development Team 1, headed by Gumpei Yokoi. Known for several famous and much-loved products, such as Ultra Hand (Nintendo’s first toy), Game Boy, Game & Watch, Dr. Mario and Metroid, Yokoi was the person for the job. Yokoi became interested in the technology developed by Reflections Technology Inc. (RTI), a company based in Massachusetts, mostly because it was capable of better encouraging the creativity of video game developers.[1] Despite some hesitancy – the console had only one colour – Nintendo and Gumpei Yoko went ahead with this bold console project.
Unlike headsets today, that of Virtual Boy could be described more as a mask, given the lack of a harness for wearing it on the head. To use it, the player had to place his or her face against the console, attached to the top of a support, giving it the appearance of a microscope or a droid right out of Star Wars.[2] Once in place, the focal length and distance between the two eyes could be adjusted so that the image was as sharp as possible. With respect to the sound, the headset was equipped with stereo speakers located on each side of the head, in addition to providing players the option of connecting up their own headphones.
Inside its red shell, Virtual Boy was powered by a 32-bit RISC chip which projected a monochrome red image onto each of the player’s eyes. The illusion of three dimensions was created by technology developed by RTI using two LED screens, two oscillating mirrors and two lenses. The mirrors vibrated slightly, forcing the brain to interpret the image with a degree of depth.[3]
