Is It Possible To Create A 3D, 2D World?

[CuriousNeko]

With the exponential rate at which technology is advancing, i'm thinking that full dive Technology may happen within our lifetime. However, if full dive technology is created, then the programs that it would simulate would have to be some rendition of our reality which is 3-Dimensional. My question is: Is it possible to create a 3-Dimensional world that looks like a 2-Dimensional world. To put it into perspective, imagine you're everyday life, as it is now, but you would view it as an anime; Would that be possible?

[GAHD]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cel_shading

[CraigD]

As the Wikipedia link GAHD gave shows, rendering 3-dimensional graphical data in a way that makes it look as if it was drawn by a human artist is a well-known, technology used in many present day video games, so the short answer to what I think CuriousNeko is asking is yes.

 

But I think there’s more behind this question than just the graphics “look” of a deeply immersive virtual reality game. The arguably most popular animated TV series about VR, from which this forum takes its name, Sword Art Online, uses the same art shading style for characters in their “real” and computer-generated virtual worlds, from which we could conclude that the VR technology it depicts is photographically realistic, not altered to look like a cartoon. The main difference between the real and VR worlds in SAO are their physics – in the real world, the characters are bound to the ordinary laws of physics, while in the VR world they can leap many times their heights, swing huge swords, use magic, etc.

 

So, in the fictional world of the SAO anime, we can assume that players of its eponymous “Fulldive” VR game prefer the in-game physics unrealistic. This agrees with the present-day video game market, in which games with unrealistic physics outnumber and are more popular than ones with the most realistic possible physics.

 

People interested in VR should be mindful that 2 of its commonly stated goals, being so realistic players are unaware they’re not in the real world, and being fun in the way most video games are, are conflicting. The unrealistic physics of fun VR video game guarantees the player remains aware it’s not real, while many, possibly most video gamers would find an VR game nearly or entirely indistinguishable from real life not fun.