Named 3dSen, this special application was developed by Trần Thức Vũ – a Vietnamese programmer currently residing in Hanoi. According to Kotaku, the 3dSen application was actually developed by Trần Thức Vũ five years ago under the name 3DNes. After a long period of testing and refining features, 3dSen was released on Steam on June 19 as an Early Access title.
Recently, the famous gaming news site Kotaku has given a lot of praise to the 3dSen application in a recent article, as they conducted an interview with the author Trần Thức Vũ.
The 3dSen application currently has 168 reviews on Steam, most of which are very positive from gamers.
Transforming 2D 4-Button Games into 3D
Like other NES emulators, 3dSen can play most games from this console. However, this is not the most attractive point of 3dSen. Instead, 3dSen has drawn special attention from the gaming community due to its feature of ‘3D-izing’ NES games with 2D graphics, giving them a completely different appearance.
For gamers who love classic NES games, experiencing beloved titles like Super Mario Bros. 3 in 3D graphics brings a feeling that is both novel and nostalgic.
To date, about 70 NES games of various genres have been converted from 2D to 3D by Trần Thức Vũ. Compared to the library of thousands of games that were released on the NES, this is not a large number. However, in reality, converting a simple NES game’s graphics into voxel, polygon, and skybox takes a lot of effort. This is the main reason why the number of games that have been ‘3D-ized’ is still limited to just 70.
“The amount of work required depends on the complexity of the graphics, the length of the game, and whether the game has any 3D elements in its gameplay,” Trần Thức Vũ shared with Kotaku. “For example, simple games like Mario Bros, Dr. Mario, Donkey Kong, and Galaga only take a few days to convert. Meanwhile, games like Super Mario Bros. 3, The Legend of Zelda, and Excitebike take about a few weeks or months to complete the conversion.”
Attention to Detail
According to Trần Thức Vũ, the task of converting 8-bit games with 2D graphics into 3D is currently not common. During the development of 3dSen, Trần Thức Vũ continuously had to learn and improve technically and artistically. With regard to 2D NES games, understanding the pixel graphics, which are inherently low resolution, is a real challenge.
“I often struggle to understand the pixel graphics that are typically used in NES games,” Trần Thức Vũ shared. “The graphics of these games are highly abstract, so sometimes it takes a lot longer to figure out what these graphic details represent.”
In the early days of the 3dSen project, Trần Thức Vũ experimented with an algorithm to automatically convert games from 2D to 3D. However, he quickly realized that manual conversion yields the best quality.
In fact, all the smallest 2D details of Super Mario Bros, Castlevania, or Super Mario Bros. 3 have been successfully converted to 3D by 3dSen. This is because Trần Thức Vũ has dedicated significant time to perfecting the conversion for each game. In other words, 3dSen elevates the conversion of NES graphics to an art form. Anyone else could attempt to convert an NES game themselves, but the results will certainly differ from 3dSen, as noted by Kotaku.
Despite having a lot of experience, Trần Thức Vũ also faces many obstacles in ‘3D-izing’ certain games, especially those with 3D graphics.
“Games with 3D/ pseudo-3D perspectives or those that have 3D elements in their gameplay are often very difficult to ‘3D-ize’ using the 3dSen application at this time. 3dSen will need further technical improvements to handle these games,” Trần Thức Vũ admitted.
Due to the considerable effort and time required for conversions, Trần Thức Vũ often carefully selects the games he intends to work on. These games must meet criteria such as being popular on the internet, requested by many users of 3dSen, and most importantly, must be games that Trần Thức Vũ loves.
In the future, more 2D games are expected to be converted into 3D. Notably, 3dSen will also integrate new control methods alongside the familiar controller/keyboard controls.
Currently, the virtual reality (VR) version of 3dSen supports standard VR devices on the market. Many gamers have commented that playing Duck Hunt in 3D graphics with VR devices (in place of the classic Zapper gun) provides a uniquely refreshing experience.
In the future, 3dSen will also support controllers with motion simulation features, allowing players to experience games like Punch-Out (a famous boxing game on NES) in a completely new way.
Source: Kotaku