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They were around long before the advent of the survival horror, the arcade racer, and the beat-em up. Nintendo made them and their characters into household names, and SEGA tried to make them cool (trendy blue hadgehog anyone?). They were by far the biggest grossing genre of video game in the 70s, 80s and early 90s. But are they a dying breed?
I am, of course talking about the humble platformer (you probably figured that out by the title though), and the problems it has encountered in the recent evolution of games consoles.
There used to be nothing I enjoyed more than helping a little italian plumber get back his girlfriend, by bouncing on baddies heads (or even helping guys calles willie assemble their space rocket). There used to be a real challenge involved, and even though there was practically no storyline, you really wanted to complete the game.
The first problems the platformer encountered was the leap to 3D (which made the jumping bits that bit more fiddley). Everything boded well when the first ever true 3D platformer came out - Mario 64, which was a trully excellent game. However what followed was a long line of crappy second rate (crash bandicoot, spyro, banjo-kazooie, jak and daxter, etc) kiddies games which managed to amuse but not amase the gamer.
There is another factor that is causing the death of the platformer - The cartoon movie tie-in. Ice age, shrek, and every sodding disney film for the past 10 years, are all just making us fed up of platform games and wishing that they would just go away and die.
Well I for one hope that they don't, and am really hoping that someone (probably nintendo) does something to reinvent this aging dinosaur of a gaming genre before it becomes extinct.
thanks for readiing my rant
Smokey
I am, of course talking about the humble platformer (you probably figured that out by the title though), and the problems it has encountered in the recent evolution of games consoles.
There used to be nothing I enjoyed more than helping a little italian plumber get back his girlfriend, by bouncing on baddies heads (or even helping guys calles willie assemble their space rocket). There used to be a real challenge involved, and even though there was practically no storyline, you really wanted to complete the game.
The first problems the platformer encountered was the leap to 3D (which made the jumping bits that bit more fiddley). Everything boded well when the first ever true 3D platformer came out - Mario 64, which was a trully excellent game. However what followed was a long line of crappy second rate (crash bandicoot, spyro, banjo-kazooie, jak and daxter, etc) kiddies games which managed to amuse but not amase the gamer.
There is another factor that is causing the death of the platformer - The cartoon movie tie-in. Ice age, shrek, and every sodding disney film for the past 10 years, are all just making us fed up of platform games and wishing that they would just go away and die.
Well I for one hope that they don't, and am really hoping that someone (probably nintendo) does something to reinvent this aging dinosaur of a gaming genre before it becomes extinct.
thanks for readiing my rant
Smokey
I'm not even sure if nintendo can bring back the platformer from the dead. I've seen some pics of the new mario game on the GC and it looks more rpg/action based than platformer. And louigis mansion doesn't look that great either.
I'd love to see a new, inovitive platformer, but there seems to be only so much you can do with the genre. The majority of programmers seemto be too lazy to think up new ideas, so we just get the exact same games dressed up in different graphics. the genre shouldn't die but perhaps the programmers should!
I'd love to see a new, inovitive platformer, but there seems to be only so much you can do with the genre. The majority of programmers seemto be too lazy to think up new ideas, so we just get the exact same games dressed up in different graphics. the genre shouldn't die but perhaps the programmers should!
Cinnamon wrote:
> If wish a developer out there would make a *BIG & BEAUTIFUL* 2D platformer/adventure, with a deep storyline - a bit like Abe's Odyssee but more "serious". I think it would work.
Great idea - but hardly anyone would buy it because they'd think of 2D as a step back. - remember Flashback & another world though - they were great adult orientated platformers.
boblin brown wrote:
>There is a new Duke Nukem platformer coming out soon, called 'Duke Nukem: The Manhattan Project'. It's gonna rule.
hmm. dukes going back to his roots is he? It could just work....
> If wish a developer out there would make a *BIG & BEAUTIFUL* 2D platformer/adventure, with a deep storyline - a bit like Abe's Odyssee but more "serious". I think it would work.
Great idea - but hardly anyone would buy it because they'd think of 2D as a step back. - remember Flashback & another world though - they were great adult orientated platformers.
boblin brown wrote:
>There is a new Duke Nukem platformer coming out soon, called 'Duke Nukem: The Manhattan Project'. It's gonna rule.
hmm. dukes going back to his roots is he? It could just work....
If wish a developer out there would make a *BIG & BEAUTIFUL* 2D platformer/adventure, with a deep storyline - a bit like Abe's Odyssee but more "serious". I think it would work.
well i never liked them in the first place.
They were around long before the advent of the survival horror, the arcade racer, and the beat-em up. Nintendo made them and their characters into household names, and SEGA tried to make them cool (trendy blue hadgehog anyone?). They were by far the biggest grossing genre of video game in the 70s, 80s and early 90s. But are they a dying breed?
I am, of course talking about the humble platformer (you probably figured that out by the title though), and the problems it has encountered in the recent evolution of games consoles.
There used to be nothing I enjoyed more than helping a little italian plumber get back his girlfriend, by bouncing on baddies heads (or even helping guys calles willie assemble their space rocket). There used to be a real challenge involved, and even though there was practically no storyline, you really wanted to complete the game.
The first problems the platformer encountered was the leap to 3D (which made the jumping bits that bit more fiddley). Everything boded well when the first ever true 3D platformer came out - Mario 64, which was a trully excellent game. However what followed was a long line of crappy second rate (crash bandicoot, spyro, banjo-kazooie, jak and daxter, etc) kiddies games which managed to amuse but not amase the gamer.
There is another factor that is causing the death of the platformer - The cartoon movie tie-in. Ice age, shrek, and every sodding disney film for the past 10 years, are all just making us fed up of platform games and wishing that they would just go away and die.
Well I for one hope that they don't, and am really hoping that someone (probably nintendo) does something to reinvent this aging dinosaur of a gaming genre before it becomes extinct.
thanks for readiing my rant
Smokey
I am, of course talking about the humble platformer (you probably figured that out by the title though), and the problems it has encountered in the recent evolution of games consoles.
There used to be nothing I enjoyed more than helping a little italian plumber get back his girlfriend, by bouncing on baddies heads (or even helping guys calles willie assemble their space rocket). There used to be a real challenge involved, and even though there was practically no storyline, you really wanted to complete the game.
The first problems the platformer encountered was the leap to 3D (which made the jumping bits that bit more fiddley). Everything boded well when the first ever true 3D platformer came out - Mario 64, which was a trully excellent game. However what followed was a long line of crappy second rate (crash bandicoot, spyro, banjo-kazooie, jak and daxter, etc) kiddies games which managed to amuse but not amase the gamer.
There is another factor that is causing the death of the platformer - The cartoon movie tie-in. Ice age, shrek, and every sodding disney film for the past 10 years, are all just making us fed up of platform games and wishing that they would just go away and die.
Well I for one hope that they don't, and am really hoping that someone (probably nintendo) does something to reinvent this aging dinosaur of a gaming genre before it becomes extinct.
thanks for readiing my rant
Smokey