The Power Of 2D: How Stepping Back A Dimension Works

Sean Halliday of Pixel Gate writes:

''With all the improvements in technology, all the leaps and bounds made in the previous years, it’s odd that going backward has led to some fantastic video games. 2D has been embraced by both the indie developer and the big-budget developers in the pursuit of creating emotional video game experiences. While 3D is still hugely popular, 2D has become the conduit for some of the most thought-provoking, atmospheric,and emotional titles released in the last ten years.''

[DualWielding]

Platforming in particular simply does not work on 3D.. 2D is much better for platforming

[Volkama]

<looks around cautiously to see if Mario 64 enthusiasm has finally died down>

I think we're OK here.

[LightofDarkness]

There have been plenty of 3D platformers that "work".

[3-4-5]

Your idea of "work" is odd. Mario 64 is fun.

[TheWow]

I quite like isometric 2D games. Fond memories of Boktai, a pretty awesome game by Hideo Kojima.

[Volkama]

Funnily enough, the isometric perspective is one thing that hasn't really changed with the prominance of 3D games. They work equally well with sprites or polygons. You are more likely to be allowed to spin the camera and/or zoom in now, but otherwise the gameplay hasn't really evolved through the change.

Isometric games were sometimes called "pseudo-3D". Sonic 3D Blast being a pretty good example.

[TheWow]

That was a pretty fun title. Thanks for the comment btw.