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Gaming has gone through many phases. From the three-object world of pong right through to the Technicolor magic of Mario World and the realistic simulation of Gran Turismo. Most genres endure such changes in the direction of the industry. Some do not…
In the most recent gaming revolution, the jump for 2 to 3 dimensions, numerous genres have been lost.
Some genres simply won’t work in the 3D eye-candy driven world of gaming. Side scrolling fighters have almost died simply because they don’t work in a 3D environment. Even companies like Square have been unable to revive the genre in “The Bouncer”- it will take a leap of genius to perfect character lock-on and camera angles in such a fast paced genre.
Other genres have just been discarded because mass-market gamers won’t buy games that don’t have the eye-candy they demand. For example, 2D fighters, possibly one of the most perfected genres ever to be created, have died. It wasn’t going too badly until SNK went bust, leaving Capcom as the only people seriously making games for the market. So the years of development in perfecting the genre (it reached this point with Street Fighter II) have become worthless. It’s a real loss to the industry.
Another genre lost because of this reason is the top-down scrolling games. Nothing has come close to filling the gap they have left. Whereas with 3D flying games you can take dozen of hits, the 2d top down flying games were about 100% skill- if you got hit you died. There is a massive rift between the 2 genres.
I wonder what genres we’ll lose next.
Sonic
In the most recent gaming revolution, the jump for 2 to 3 dimensions, numerous genres have been lost.
Some genres simply won’t work in the 3D eye-candy driven world of gaming. Side scrolling fighters have almost died simply because they don’t work in a 3D environment. Even companies like Square have been unable to revive the genre in “The Bouncer”- it will take a leap of genius to perfect character lock-on and camera angles in such a fast paced genre.
Other genres have just been discarded because mass-market gamers won’t buy games that don’t have the eye-candy they demand. For example, 2D fighters, possibly one of the most perfected genres ever to be created, have died. It wasn’t going too badly until SNK went bust, leaving Capcom as the only people seriously making games for the market. So the years of development in perfecting the genre (it reached this point with Street Fighter II) have become worthless. It’s a real loss to the industry.
Another genre lost because of this reason is the top-down scrolling games. Nothing has come close to filling the gap they have left. Whereas with 3D flying games you can take dozen of hits, the 2d top down flying games were about 100% skill- if you got hit you died. There is a massive rift between the 2 genres.
I wonder what genres we’ll lose next.
Sonic
Page:
It's weird in a way how 2D beat-em-up's seem so perfect, probably because they are near the peak of their genre, yet they are the most unpopular amongst the 'beefier' 3D beat-em-up's such as Tekken etc.
Yet i think we can all see why this is.
If a average gamer these days walked into a shop to buy a beat-em-up he would take a look around and look at the back of the cases for the pictures. Now, the pictures on the back of a 2D beat-em-up box won't be so much candy to the eye and so th eboy will put it down and get the better looking game.
It's all about graphics these days and its sad.
Yet i think we can all see why this is.
If a average gamer these days walked into a shop to buy a beat-em-up he would take a look around and look at the back of the cases for the pictures. Now, the pictures on the back of a 2D beat-em-up box won't be so much candy to the eye and so th eboy will put it down and get the better looking game.
It's all about graphics these days and its sad.
Perhaps you're right Bartender, and the genres did burn themselves out. After all, what more could you do with 2D beat em ups- they've been perfected! There hasn't been any major innoavtion in the genre since the early 90's.
Sonic
Sonic
Hmmm, i don't see the point in maing more r-type games, since they offer nothng original (maybe I'm wrong, i just don't see how they could). Sure they are still developed, but they are irrelevant really.
Mega-Man is another example of a genre that burnt itself out. Megaman rocked, but there has been about 10 megaman games, and as many more of almost every other platformer in history.
Mega-Man is another example of a genre that burnt itself out. Megaman rocked, but there has been about 10 megaman games, and as many more of almost every other platformer in history.
True alot of genres have been lost due to the leap from 2D to 3D, Mega Man for example is one of the finest 2D platformers to date but in this day and age not many people give a trout. However I think portable machines such as the GBA is the perfect opertunity to bring back the classics :-)
Cheers for the replies people, but Bartender, games like R-Type and Grandia are still being released... just only in Japan or on the GBA.
It's a shame really.
It's a shame really.
I would say that text adventures offer a distinct experience from graphical titles like Monkey Island. As a genre it was much more 'trusting' of the player, letting your imagination fill in those gaps that just don't exist in point-and-click adventures. I loved the text-only worlds of Zork etc., just as I loved the graphical environments of Sam and Max and Day of the Tentacle. But I don't think that graphical adventures have adequately REPLACED text-based ones: I'd prefer both.
As for 2D shooters not being challenging or unpredictable enough, I just can't agree. I find myself going back time and again to my favourites in MAME or similar emulators. Modern titles may have 'depth' but there are times when I want a test of reflexes, not a graphical set-piece a la Medal of Honour. I'd love to see a graphical update of these sorts of games - like the one Jeff Minter did with Llamatron, giving us a pyschadelic and inventive take on an old title.
As for 2D shooters not being challenging or unpredictable enough, I just can't agree. I find myself going back time and again to my favourites in MAME or similar emulators. Modern titles may have 'depth' but there are times when I want a test of reflexes, not a graphical set-piece a la Medal of Honour. I'd love to see a graphical update of these sorts of games - like the one Jeff Minter did with Llamatron, giving us a pyschadelic and inventive take on an old title.
Well, I would say that text adventures evolved into the adventure games we have today (Monkey Island and such). An improvement, not a loss.
As for other types of games, like top down shooters, it's not that we don't have the capacity to introduce a game like that in a 3d environment, it's more that this genre has nothing more to offer. If a spanking "eye-candy" R-Type game were to be released now, it would hardly sell, because it's too predictable, too old fashioned, and not nearly demanding enough.
IB
As for other types of games, like top down shooters, it's not that we don't have the capacity to introduce a game like that in a 3d environment, it's more that this genre has nothing more to offer. If a spanking "eye-candy" R-Type game were to be released now, it would hardly sell, because it's too predictable, too old fashioned, and not nearly demanding enough.
IB
We have lost a few brilliant genres, that's for sure. Off the top of my head I'd list the text adventure, top-down racing games and anything isometric as sadly missed.
It does seem to have affected twitch gaming quite badly. But there is some hope in modern takes on classic gaming 'feels': Rez, for instance, definitely has its roots way back in lost genres. And - one of my favourite games in recent years - Robotron 64 gave back to the world the coolest shoot-em-up ever. Even State of Emergency, which was given a slating in the press, had a defiantly old-skool survive-in-the-face-of-certain-death feel to it: ignore the terrible mission mode and this is a hell of a good game.
It does seem to have affected twitch gaming quite badly. But there is some hope in modern takes on classic gaming 'feels': Rez, for instance, definitely has its roots way back in lost genres. And - one of my favourite games in recent years - Robotron 64 gave back to the world the coolest shoot-em-up ever. Even State of Emergency, which was given a slating in the press, had a defiantly old-skool survive-in-the-face-of-certain-death feel to it: ignore the terrible mission mode and this is a hell of a good game.
Gaming has gone through many phases. From the three-object world of pong right through to the Technicolor magic of Mario World and the realistic simulation of Gran Turismo. Most genres endure such changes in the direction of the industry. Some do not…
In the most recent gaming revolution, the jump for 2 to 3 dimensions, numerous genres have been lost.
Some genres simply won’t work in the 3D eye-candy driven world of gaming. Side scrolling fighters have almost died simply because they don’t work in a 3D environment. Even companies like Square have been unable to revive the genre in “The Bouncer”- it will take a leap of genius to perfect character lock-on and camera angles in such a fast paced genre.
Other genres have just been discarded because mass-market gamers won’t buy games that don’t have the eye-candy they demand. For example, 2D fighters, possibly one of the most perfected genres ever to be created, have died. It wasn’t going too badly until SNK went bust, leaving Capcom as the only people seriously making games for the market. So the years of development in perfecting the genre (it reached this point with Street Fighter II) have become worthless. It’s a real loss to the industry.
Another genre lost because of this reason is the top-down scrolling games. Nothing has come close to filling the gap they have left. Whereas with 3D flying games you can take dozen of hits, the 2d top down flying games were about 100% skill- if you got hit you died. There is a massive rift between the 2 genres.
I wonder what genres we’ll lose next.
Sonic
In the most recent gaming revolution, the jump for 2 to 3 dimensions, numerous genres have been lost.
Some genres simply won’t work in the 3D eye-candy driven world of gaming. Side scrolling fighters have almost died simply because they don’t work in a 3D environment. Even companies like Square have been unable to revive the genre in “The Bouncer”- it will take a leap of genius to perfect character lock-on and camera angles in such a fast paced genre.
Other genres have just been discarded because mass-market gamers won’t buy games that don’t have the eye-candy they demand. For example, 2D fighters, possibly one of the most perfected genres ever to be created, have died. It wasn’t going too badly until SNK went bust, leaving Capcom as the only people seriously making games for the market. So the years of development in perfecting the genre (it reached this point with Street Fighter II) have become worthless. It’s a real loss to the industry.
Another genre lost because of this reason is the top-down scrolling games. Nothing has come close to filling the gap they have left. Whereas with 3D flying games you can take dozen of hits, the 2d top down flying games were about 100% skill- if you got hit you died. There is a massive rift between the 2 genres.
I wonder what genres we’ll lose next.
Sonic
Page: