Richard Lewis shares his derailed train of thought with the wider world in his regular column feature, Gonzorreah.

Read Richard's last column "Courtside "HERE

This column is the sole opinion of the author and does not represent the opinion of Heaven Media Ltd or the opinion of any affiliates.

The life of an e-sports journalist is a tough one. When you’re not lurching form one deadline to the next, you’re out in the field at a LAN surrounded by all sorts of examples of human life that makes the exit door look tempting, even if it is just to get away from the stench of body odour. When you’re at home, you’re never really off work, the instability of the scene in general meaning breaking news can happen even as you’re putting the finishing touches on what the previous instalment of whatever saga is dominating the headlines. That, and you generally spend your time battling with the mentally ill on Twitter about how they could do your job better, or, if they are particularly delusional, how they can get you fired with a simple e-mail. Tiresome, tedious and torturous all come readily to mind.

Always a sea of reprobates to fight through, every LAN...

So, it was a welcome surprise then when I was sent an invitation to an event being hosted by Alienware in London… It wasn’t the usual fare where people hoping to get your endorsement ply you with free drinks and gifts in a bid to hijack your copywriting ethics. No, as much as I like those, this was something a bit more out of the ordinary. I was to attend a debate about the future of 3D Gaming held by a round table of luminaries from the world of technology, gaming and even e-sports. Journalists, managers, players and executives would all present their views about the importance of 3D Gaming and Alienware would then allow those attending the Games Night afterwards have a bash on their latest series of products.

Now, I’m in the opinions business so the prospect of having yet another platform through which to voice mine hardly leapt out at me as something to be pursued. However, once I saw that the meeting was to be held in a top sushi restaurant, and that there’d be a free bar at both the debate and the gaming session afterwards, the decision did become a lot easier. I’m not one for London in general but I guess I could make an exception this time…

I’m not one for 3D Gaming as it stands. It feels like some tacked on gimmick, in much the same way that a William Castle movie would have a few segments where your seat might electrocute you or other such nonsense. There’s not one title out there I can see as a truly definitive 3D Gaming experience. When new gaming technology comes along there has to be that title that showcases it… Who can forget seeing the drab 2D world of Mario brought redefined on the Nintendo 64? The first time you took in the sites of Liberty City, Grand Theft Auto no longer limited to the birdseye view thanks to the power of the PlayStation 2? The implausible levels of fun a drunken game of Wii Sports can generate, thanks to technology that had already once been discarded by games developers?

The debate rages on in the Kyashii restaurant

There is currently nothing like that for 3D despite the technology being there and I can speak of it first hand. My employers kindly sent me everything I needed to have a dabble sometime ago and once the novelty of getting past Left 4 Dead 2 being that fraction more shit-your-pants scary then it already is with a headset on, I couldn’t really find anything that wowed me. Which is sort of a bit of a bummer for the those, like Alienware, pushing the boundaries of the technology… It seems the creative aspects of the gaming world have let them down so far.

That is a running problem with games developers in general. The trend in the industry seems to be to wait for someone to strike it lucky and then throw all their resources into developing the “next” big title in that genre. You’d only have to look at the huge number of derivative Call of Duty clones to realise that the preferred marketing approach currently is to replicate rather than innovate. It’s usually the more financially savvy way of doing things. Yet in the absence of bold innovation 3D Gaming is sort of on the shelf as it stands, consumers stuck in a halfway house of knowing it probably will be the next big thing but for the moment remains an expensive luxury.

As we sat around the table stuffing ourselves with a seemingly never ending buffet that seemed, for the most part, to be the consensus. With journalists assembled from across Europe both the French and German contingent even went so far as to say that 3D wasn’t being pushed in their respective markets, even in the cinema. Two of the UK’s leading technology journalists also seemed sceptical, with Patrick Goss of TechRadar concluding that 3D Gaming was still a long way off being ready to justify the outlay for all the bells and whistles you need to experience it, and Adam Oxford (who some of you might know from PC Gamer) was sceptical of 3D technology as a whole. If Alienware had hoped for people espousing a more positive outlook they may have come away a little dismayed.

The competitive gaming contingent, represented by Team Dignitas in the form of Michael “ODEE” O’Dell and David “Zaccubus” Treacy also told of their experiences with 3D. Ultimately it’s what we all already know – that competitive players are always resistant to change as it means adaptation and a potential decline in skill, standing and status. However, there have been some positive contributions that the pursuit of 3D has given for us all. For example, most FPS players can heap praise on the development of the 120hz monitor and at E3 Sony announced a creative solution to the old “split-screen” issue that will doubtlessly please console gamers. Still, it seems to have little place in the competitive arena as things stand.

The 3D split screen solution

And yet the technology is there to be exploited, even if people seem to be lacking the imagination and the all important balls to have a stab at making their slice of gaming history. While the boffins might be able to come up with ways to push the boundaries it takes a special kind of mind to come up with not only practical applications but something out of the ordinary. Even Nintendo seem to have struggled to put it together if the fairly underwhelming response to the 3DS is anything to go by. The round table concluded that after thirty minutes and a brief bout of motion sickness even the masters of making novelty essential seem to have faltered.

And so after the discussion we went on to the Games Night where the press, public and prize winners alike all had the chance to win an M11x by competing against Team Digintas. I’m not one for public humiliation, and in truth nor am I one who can control his competitive streak, so I elected to keep well out of it. I used the time to check out the range of laptops that had been spread out to showcase how Alienware were pushing the boundaries. And yes, it’s all extremely impressive stuff once you can get beyond the fact you probably look like a bit of a tit in the glasses.

Yet it was here amongst the fun and the actual gaming itself that what the world of 3D was missing was most evident. All the games that were being played were existing titles, nothing new and fancy about them, even if they were compatible with this new technology. They stand up as a gaming experience in their own right without the need for anything else and no-one, even the staunchest defender of 3D, could suggest otherwise.

Maybe I'm just too primitive for 3D technology

It’s a crying shame because the mechanics of it all are extremely impressive and they are likely only to get better as time marches on. Still, it has hard to see it as THE future of gaming, but instead just a temporary reality, an alternate dimension in which to explore momentarily until the portal closes. Not that it has to be like this but who will step up? Creativity is king, undeniably so. Like oil paints sat waiting to dry out, what can come from the mind of a Rembrant, a Picasso, a Van Gogh… It is these people that go on to push the boundaries with the tools at their disposal.

Sadly, for the immediate future, the round table consisted of too many people with opinions and little in the way of ideas. Hopefully Alienware can give a gentle nudge in the ribs of a few developers, allow them to explore the realms of possibility. I certainly felt that I was lacking when it came to the discussion at hand and maybe they got nothing from my contribution. Hell, I’ll stick to playing the games and spouting rhetoric about why they’re bad or good. Other than that, and clearing a plate or two, I’m probably not that much use for anything else in this field.

What are your thoughts on the future of 3D Gaming - a fad or the next logical step?