[Philip Lelyveld comment: this is a lengthy, well written story about their 3D process.  This website has many more case studies and tutorials.]

[3D Roundabout]

The Blackpool Tower is an iconic structure and long-standing visitor attraction in the seaside resort of Blackpool, England. It is now owned by the Merlin Entertainments Group, whose portfolio includes Tussauds, Sea Life, Alton Towers and the London Eye amongst others. In fact Merlin is the market leader in Europe for visitor attractions, and worldwide, is second only to Disney.

As part of the refurbishment and re-opening of the Blackpool Tower, in January 2011 Merlin commissioned production company and brand agency, Sharp Cookies, to provide an exciting 4D-experience film. This was to comprise a 3D film, 7.1 surround sound and physical effects such as snow, rain, smells, a vibrating floor and more, with a public opening date of the 1st September 2011.

The 4D experience is provided to visitors to the Tower immediately prior to their ascent to the Tower top. Sharp Cookies also provided several other 2D films for the attraction for screens situated in ‘front of house’, the 4D cinema waiting area and the queue area for the lifts to the top.

The brief

The original brief for the 4D film was to create a sophisticated yet fun 4D film that captures the essence of Blackpool and the northern coastline through aerial views and creative storytelling. The idea was to build on the success of the London Eye 4D film and create a more enhanced 4D visitor experience.

…..

Conclusion

The 4D Experience opened to unanimous approval on the 1st September 2011. The first showing was to invited members of the press, who ended the viewing with spontaneous applause.

The creative process was very easy between Merlin Studios and Sharp Cookies. Both teams had an open dialogue to help meet the brief and come up with new ideas to enhance the film. It was an excellent collaborative process, resulting in a film with its own original personality.  …

[Philip Lelyveld comment: this article addresses 3D game creative and technical design issues]

[IT Business Net]

High-definition gaming is on the cusp of a visual evolution. The past year’s introduction and slow proliferation of 3D-enabled games, displays and laptopssuggests that the next major frontier is on the horizon.

Whether 3D moves beyond a stylistic evolution and becomes a revolution, though, has yet to be seen. As somedevelopers and players note, the unique visual effect of 3D — with the initial disorientation of viewing a scene with an illusion of depth and then continuing to direct the action — can take some getting used to. However, the PCgames that have made the jump to 3D run the gamut, including StarCraft II, Call of Duty: Black Ops, World of Warcraft and Duke Nukem Forever.  …

Getting the Basics
A common misconception is that 3D only works for certain genres of games, like shooters that require judgments in depth, or slow-moving games that afford players more time to enjoy the view. But it’s more about figuring out how the specific aspects of 3D can be best applied to a given game.  …

Moving Into the Next Dimension
PC monitors have an advantage over TVs in being able to display 3D at 1080p60. Although glasses-free monitors and televisions are emerging, and passive polarized glasses present a less bulky option, the current standard is set by combinations of active shutter glasses and 120Hz 3D displays.  …

3D as an Art Form
3D presents a number of creative challenges and questions, which will only increase as more developers use it. Convergence — where the focal point of a scene is, determining its range of depth — affects both gameplay and cut scenes. The specific camera implementation in a game — whether it’s a fully controllable first-person camera, a third-person camera with a fixed distance to the avatar, or a static isometric camera — naturally makes this more or less complicated.  …

It’s a common sentiment that 3D game development, as a creative approach, is in its very earliest stage. Experts and developers speculate on using 3D to deliver a true sense of vertigo by controlling the rate of change of convergence planes or amplifying its shock value in survival horror games. In one innovative use of 3D technology, Sony is experimenting with allowing active shutter wearers to play together on one screen by having one player view the 2D left image and one player view the right. When it comes to 3D development, the horizon’s the limit.

Read the full story here: http://business.itbusinessnet.com/article/Getting-Acquainted-With-the-3D-Generation-1765771