SubRoc-3D
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''SubRoc-3D'' (サブ・口ック3D ''SabuRokku-3D'') is a first-person
arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...
shooter game Shooter video games or shooters are a subgenre of action video games where the focus is almost entirely on the defeat of the character's enemies using the weapons given to the player. Usually these weapons are firearms or some other long-range ...
released in 1982 by Sega. It is the first commercial video game in stereoscopic 3-D, using a
periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...
-shaped display with a different image for each eye. It was jointly developed by Sega and Matsushita Electric (now Panasonic), who developed its active shutter 3D system. The game has stereo sound, and also changes the backdrop to reflect day, night, dawn, and dusk. The game was a commercial success for Sega in arcades. It was adapted for
ColecoVision ColecoVision is a second-generation home video-game console developed by Coleco and launched in North America in August 1982. It was released a year later in Europe by CBS Electronics as the CBS ColecoVision. The console offered a closer exp ...
, as ''SubRoc'', with simulated 3D effects, by Arnold Hendrick and Philip Taterczynski of the Coleco game design staff, with programming by David Wesely of 4D Interactive Systems.


Hardware

The
stereoscopic 3D Stereoscopy (also called stereoscopics, or stereo imaging) is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stereoscopic image is ...
effect is achieved with an active shutter 3D system. It uses a special eyepiece, a viewer with spinning discs to alternate left and right images to the player's eyes from a single monitor.Bernard Perron & Mark J. P. Wolf (2008), ''Video game theory reader two''
p. 158
Taylor & Francis Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 (publisher), F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa ...
,
The player's face is pressed against the eyepiece, which is shaped like a submarine
periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...
and attached to a controller below. The game's pseudo-3D visuals are created with scaled sprites using the VCO Object hardware, previously used in Sega's 1981 racing game ''
Turbo In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pr ...
''.


Development and release

The game's active-shutter 3-D technology was developed by Matsushita Electric (now Panasonic) for a 3D television they had developed in the late 1970s and unveiled in 1981. The game began development around 1980, when Sega and Matsushita began discussing a "Stereo Viewer System" to adapt Matsushita's 3D television for video game use. Sega's director of technology for the project was Shikanosuke Ochi, who previously led the development of 1966 arcade
electro-mechanical game Electro-mechanical games (EM games) are types of arcade games that operate on a combination of some electronic circuitry and mechanical actions from the player to move items contained within the game's cabinet. Some of these were early light gun ...
''
Periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...
''. At the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) show in 1981, 3D images from the game were demonstrated on
video tape Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassett ...
. Sega held a press conference on February 20, 1982 and demonstrated the first trial unit at the NOA Expo on March 1, 1982, the date when the game was first published. Several game changes were made before it entered mass-production in Japan on July 2, 1982, in North America in August 1982, and in Europe by January 1983.


Reception

The game was a commercial arcade success for Sega in 1982. '' Computer and Video Games'' magazine gave the arcade version a generally favorable review, for providing a "3D feel" and further advancing the "3D look" of ''
Zaxxon is an isometric shooter arcade game, developed and released by Sega in 1982, in which the player pilots a ship through heavily defended space fortresses. Japanese electronics company Ikegami Tsushinki is also credited for having worked on the de ...
'' (1982). Ray Dimetrosky of ''Computer Games'' magazine gave the
ColecoVision ColecoVision is a second-generation home video-game console developed by Coleco and launched in North America in August 1982. It was released a year later in Europe by CBS Electronics as the CBS ColecoVision. The console offered a closer exp ...
port a B rating, stating that the graphics are "particularly impressive" but otherwise calling it "an above average
shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of charac ...
".


References

{{reflist


See also

* ''
Periscope A periscope is an instrument for observation over, around or through an object, obstacle or condition that prevents direct line-of-sight observation from an observer's current position. In its simplest form, it consists of an outer case with ...
'', Sega's electromechanical submarine periscope game of the 1960s 1982 video games Arcade video games ColecoVision games Sega video games Sega arcade games Submarine simulation video games Video games with stereoscopic 3D graphics Video games developed in Japan