The return of 2D gaming?

One of the great things about the last couple of years in gaming has been the return of major 2D games. For a long, long time after the advent of 3D gaming technology, 2D was taken to mean cheap, old, childish or simple, in game terms. That all seems to be changing. Over the last couple of years there have been several major games that play in 2D or have 2D gameplay elements. It all started with the success of the DS really, but there are now games on Wii and PS2 with 2D elements, with more coming on both Wii and PS3. Here's a little list of some key parts in the 2D renaissance:

1. The massive, humungous success of New Super Mario Bros.
2. Super Paper Mario
3. The 2D digging sections, and a few more platforming parts, in Okami
4. The formation of a consensus that 2D Sonic rules and 3D Sonic sucks
5. Some glimpses of classic 2D platforming in Super Mario Galaxy
6. Glimpses of the Subspace Emissary single player game in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
7. The huge anticipation for the amazing looking Little Big Planet
8. Amazingly wonderful, hardcore freeware flash platformer N (soon to be N+ on DS)
9. The rebirth of the 2D shooter (Everyday Shooter on PS3 and Galaxy Wars on 360/Wii).

Have we finally gotten over ourselves and welcomed the 2D game back into the fold? Do you really think 2D is back? Do you wish it wasn't? Are there any other big 2D games, or games with 2D elements that I'm missing?

btw, by 2D I don't mean sprites rather than 3D models. I mean gameplay that is essentially 2D, with the camera cancelling out most of one dimesion (i.e. no depth in side scrollers and no height in top down games).

I don't think 2D ever completely left, after all there was the brilliant GBA. I just think game developers have realised that 2D games are a force to be reckoned with, just as much as 3D games. 2D games are excellent, nostalgic, & often tons & tons of fun. With things like Wiiware, DS, PSP & XBLA, 2D games will live on in greater quality than ever before.

Sidescrolling = God in game form.

I have been happy about it's resurgence also, I think it's fantastic. I see no reason why it cannot co exist, it is not a old tired dynamic as once deemed not long ago, it is a dynamic that can be used as a equally great canvas for games as much as the 3D enviromment can be. Long may it continue, videogames were born in the 2D womb.

I don't get how this is a resurgence. It's never been gone.

GRUMBLEMASTER said:
I dont get how this is a resurgence. Its never been gone.

If I were to word it, I'd say that "more consoles with the capability to use 3D games perfectly well, are taking the opportunity to play high quality 2D games"

It might be BECAUSE of the GBA's death, other consoles have to have more 2D games, or they'll probably die, since there isn't a console in production any more that uses 2D as it's sole style, like GBA.

I don't think it disappeared completely, but 3D has dominated the scene for a huge chunk of the time - especially on home consoles.

If we're just looking a home consoles, then I feel that yes - 2D has been hidden away, left for handhelds and mobile devices (in terms of true 2D - i.e. 2D flat sprites)

Super Paper Mario looks teh awesome, and is such a clever bridge between both 2D and 3D - but the young'uns think it looks shite. My lil brother, who grew up with the N64 onwards, laughs at 2D games, he just can't accept it!

With true 2D (i.e. not 3D models running about in a 2D plain) I think with the growth of high capacity media, even DVDs, we can get some sweet 2D games in - with high quality, possibly hand-drawn characters and backgrounds. I'd definitely buy a side-scroller with really crisp drawings and backgrounds, or a beat-em-up with high quality 2D sprites.

With WiiWare on the horizon, it'll be awesome to see a whole bunch of games that can bring new ideas to the 2D format!

So NES could do 3D all along, they just chose not to for years? ZOMG!!

On a more serious note, it only really feels like a resurgence in 2D gaming because 2D games are getting so much attention now thank to services like XBLA and VC. Many people hark back to the days of NES/SNES 2D gaming, but the fact is 3D was a logical and natural step forward, perhaps not such a big leap (in evolutionary terms) as it has been said to be.

3D is far, far less restrictive in getting the original ideas across unless your game is specifically made with 2D in mind, like Geometry Wars (try doing it in 3D and not being completely flummoxed by the entire experience) and Super Paper Mario. Many long running series and just about every new game was now suddenly 3D, and as long as it wasn't held back by sticking too much to 2D ideals or poor execution were probably all the better for it. Original ideas and concepts like Zelda and other open world and epic games were screaming for 3D, but obviously couldn't due to technology.

These days 2D is only if a) Your idea is specifically for, or would work better in 2D, b) Lack of budget (indie developers, especially on XBLA -like services) or c) System restriction.

2D never went away to begin with anyway. It was always kept alive by the handhelds or PC (mainly with the rise of Flash), and the occasional console game. It's just because for years handhelds were the poorer cousin therefore got little attention or fanfare (apart from Pokemon) and hardly anyone pays attention to the swathes of 2D flash games out there, so it just seemed like they disappeared, but thanks to the emphasis now on indies and more mainstream games like Super Paper Mario, it seems like it's coming back.

I assume.

With true 2D (i.e. not 3D models running about in a 2D plain) I think with the growth of high capacity media, even DVDs, we can get some sweet 2D games in - with high quality, possibly hand-drawn characters and backgrounds. I'd definitely buy a side-scroller with really crisp drawings and backgrounds, or a beat-em-up with high quality 2D sprites.

That developer is making a Wii game as well. This.

GRUMBLEMASTER said:
[Yeah, maybe one day someone will make a game like that!(Odin Sphere)(GrimGrimoire)That developer is making a Wii game as well. This.

Looks pretty darn sweet - especially the first vid, no need to be a sarcy though.

SuperLink said:

GRUMBLEMASTER said:I dont get how this is a resurgence. Its never been gone.

Yeah, thats what I thought. If anything its decreasing because of the GBAs death.If I were to word it, Id say that more consoles with the capability to use 3D games perfectly well, are taking the opportunity to play high quality 2D gamesIt might be BECAUSE of the GBAs death, other consoles have to have more 2D games, or theyll probably die, since there isnt a console in production any more that uses 2D as its sole style, like GBA.

With all respect me and the Dr have been playing videogames far longer and have noticed shifts that younger members would not be aware of. I should point out that there have been "3D" games for far longer than you think, it all depends on how you define a 3D game.

( Edited on 11.10.2007 14:57 by Linkyshinks [LS] )

I feel that the DS console has contributed greatly to the resurfacing of great and memorable 2D games. While PSP focused on making complex 3D games, the DS's great games consist of mainly 2D games. Look at zelda phantom hourglass for an example, I just got it and am just loving it. Same went with NSMB. I think 2D will stay, I don't think it'll ever die. Especially when it comes to portable gaming anyway, playing complex and large 3D games just don't work on handhelds. For some reason 2D works so much better. Even if the console can handle 3D graphics, I would prefer a handheld game to have 2D gameplay (ala Phantom Hourglass).
Also 2d games still have their share of innovation and evolution, in my opinion PH has thus far given me an experience very different from other 2D games that I have played. Games like Paper Mario further demonstrate how new things and innovations are still being made with 2D games.

( Edited on 11.10.2007 15:07 by Z )

I think bother Superlink and I are both perfectly aware of the 16-bit to 32-bit 2D-3D shift, i.e. the really fucking obvious one and the only real significant one.

GRUMBLEMASTER said:
I think bother Superlink and I are both perfectly aware of the 16-bit to 32-bit 2D-3D shift, i.e. the really fucking obvious one and the only real significant one.

There has been numerous shifts up and down the years and not just on home consoles. SuperLink is 16, how could he know that if he has not read the history of videogames . You should read it if you have not SL.

I'm pretty well read. I'm not entirely sure WHEN it happened, but some of the first 3D-ish games were games like Doom or StarFox. There were probably quite a few PC games too, & games like Virtua Fighter, & of course isometric 3D games, & games that used sprites in a more explorable environment.

As far as I'm concerned though, thanks to the hugely successful GB line of consoles, 2D gaming has always been there. It might only be because 2D Mario & Sonic games were neglected for ages that people think there was a sort of 2D game death, but really they were always there.

Doom isn't 3D mate. Its gameplay and graphics are both 2D.

But it's an FPS isn't it? Or is it just a shooting range game like Hogan's alley?

Its not 3D, if its an FPS or not doesn't matter. You can't aim or move on the Y axis, only the X and Z.

SuperLink said:
But its an FPS isnt it? Or is it just a shooting range game like Hogans alley?

Nope.

Most of the graphics were 2D, but the fact that you can move forward, back left and right in a fully explorable area moves it into the 3D realm.

iCAME said:
Its not 3D, if its an FPS or not doesnt matter. You cant aim or move on the Y axis, only the X and Z.

Being able to aim up and down has gut nothing to do with whether it's 3D or not.

( Edited on 11.10.2007 16:05 by (B)Ryan )

(B)Ryan said:
Nope.Most of the graphics were 2D, but the fact that you can move forward, back left and right in a fully explorable area moves it into the 3D realm.

I should point out that there have been "3D" games for far longer than you think, it all depends on how you define a 3D game

Early 3D games came around by using 2D textures to mimic 3D effects. Like I say earlier it all depends on how you choose to define a 3D game. Using Doom as a example and a host of others that came before it way earlier you could argue "3D ish" has been around a long while.

Most of the graphics were 2D, but the fact that you can move forward, back left and right in a fully explorable area moves it into the 3D realm.

But you couldn't move on all 3 axes, there was no height.

iCAME said:

Most of the graphics were 2D, but the fact that you can move forward, back left and right in a fully explorable area moves it into the 3D realm.

But you couldnt move on all 3 axes, there was no height.

There was height, considering there were enemies placed above you and the walls and other such things had height. The thing that makes it 3D is depth, not being able to aim up and down.

( Edited on 11.10.2007 16:08 by (B)Ryan )

From Wikipedia:
The use of vector graphics allowed designers to animate many more objects on the screen at the same time at a sharper resolution than raster graphics allowed at the time as well as create better-defined shapes and even wire frame 3D models. Vector graphics were pioneered by Larry Rosenthal, who wrote his master's thesis on Spacewar! and created a vector graphics system that would allow the game to be accurately modeled in the arcade. Rosenthal took his system to Cinematronics, a small arcade game company founded in 1975, which produced his Spacewar! clone Space Wars in 1977, which sold 30,000 units, established Cinematronics as a leading arcade game producer and led to the creation of several important games using vector graphics. These games include Cinematronics own Warrior (1979, a top-down view swordfighting game that was the first fighting game) and Rip Off (1980, a tank combat game that was the first important game in which two players played cooperatively, preceded only by an obscure 1978 Atari game called Fire Truck), as well as landmark Atari games Asteroids (1979 by Ed Logg, a space shooter in which the player must destroy asteroids that became Atari's best-selling arcade game with 70,000 units sold in the U.S. and another 30,000 sold abroad), Battlezone (1980 by Ed Rotberg, a tank combat game that was the first commercial game with 3D graphics and the first with a first-person perspective)

3D CG in general
William Fetter was credited with coining the term computer graphics in 1960,[citation needed] to describe his work at Boeing. One of the first displays of computer animation was Futureworld (1976), which included an animation of a human face and hand

In terms of 3D games, I remember vector graphics classics like Elite on the Speccy and - a true 3D model polygon game - Castle Master on the C64 (which ran at about 2 frames a second). So yes, 3D games have always kind of been there.

But the real point it that for about the last 10 years just about all big games on home consoles have been 3D. 2D gaming was the preserve of indie games and gameboy games, primarily because it cost too much money to make 3D indie games and because the tech wasn't available for decent 3D on a handheld.

With the advent of the PSP, accompanied by Sony's talk of taking handheld gaming out of the (I presume they meant 2D) ghetto, one might have thought that that would be it for 2D games. But the DS succeeded and brought with it a whole raft of 2D games.

Now we have the situation where one of the biggest games coming up on PS3 (Little Big Planet) is in 2D (gameplay-wise). Smash Bros. is essentially a 2D game too. Although that's not unusual in a fighting game, which was one of the few genres that didn't totally cross-over to 3D, the addition of the full single player game gives us the kind of 2D game we've not really seen for a while.

Put simply, we are seeing AAA home console games in 2D for the first time in about a decade. We are also seeing more and more games utilising 2D camera angles for sections where it benefits gameplay. A few years ago developers would have steered clear of that for fear of seeming old fashioned.

To me, that's a resurgence.

Lol, Castle Master, I remember it well, in fact you can play it in java as I saw somewhere recently.

Good post, I agree fully.