For reference I play video games on an Xbox 360 and usually Halo 3 matchmaking on Live.

Now, I’m an old graphic designer. I’m also a very old video gamer. I have created documents on an art board with paper, pen, and ink. I remember the Atari and Commodore consoles.

Changing the way I create art from the traditional tools to computer had its benefits and disappointments. While computers today with support for multi-displays have improved my work life greatly, the lack of screen real-estate in today’s games is problematic.

Take getting shot in first person shooter games.  I want to continue working on the target ahead of me, simply turning my head to see where my attacker is—not using an indicator that the shot came from the right, left, or rear.

Current display technology cannot provide the 180° view I am familiar with in real life.

I noticed a post recently on the Wide Screen Gaming Forum that has made me hopeful. Other gamers are finding this limitation frustrating too.

In this post Ergotron Neo-Flex HD & DS100 Monitor Mounts – WSGF Review the author has used Ergotron products to mount his displays for a panoramic view. He modifies the mounting hardware in a fashion not supported by Ergotron, but I would do the same if I had the idea. It makes me want to go purchase Call of Duty 4 for the PC.

Currently set-up of a “surround gaming” system is only available on computers. I’m hopeful that one (or more) of the console manufacturers will take note and find a way to port this type of configuration to their systems. 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 at 3:04 pm and is filed under Video Gaming. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.