2D dead?
Flash!
Why vectors took over sprites, I see well - it's so helluva easier to animate.
But 3D? I wouldn't say that 3D replaces or is any alternative to 2D really. Atleast full, 360-degrees 3D. It's a thing by itsself and everybody played Wolfenstein 3D even at the time when 2D graphics was at its peak and raycasters had no competition in terms of looks. I mean, early 3D games were really UGLY.
But why then? Realistic freedom, I think. Instead of looking at a room at given angle and see what you are meant to see, you can actually move around the room and look things from your own angle. It makes things more interesting, exciting, etc.
See, and out of 10 game developers, how many would choose more interesting over less interesting? Gamers do not really need photorealism, but something interesting and new to do.
Like physics. 2D physics never get even near 3D physics. Half-Life 2, in terms of playability, is actually quite average, has boring and seen-before weapons and mostly generic enemies. But what difference physics makes!
I we'd list most exciting things in gaming world, things that really made difference and are sometimes even loved if rest of the game sucked, it would be something like cursing and flying in Duke Nukem 3D, bullet time in Max Payne, gravity gun in Half-Life 2, etc...
Also, 3D was destined to come. Even if first-person-shooter genre would never happen, every driving/flying/etc simulator is unthinkable in 2D. Without them going 3D, we'd be still in 1980.
Long story short, 3D has more chance to have something exciting in it, and even if not, ability to freely explore game world counts very heavily.
I still enjoy a well-drawn 2D game, and I never erase my NeoGeo roms (2d animation without vectors near it's highest humanly limit). But now it's feeling more like looking at art in a museum, not everyone "gets" that.
3D is more often than not... cheap. No amount of shaders and hi-res photo textures can really make up for artistic 2D drawing. But you see, gaming industry is money industry. And art costs too much to make.
Flash!
Why vectors took over sprites, I see well - it's so helluva easier to animate.
But 3D? I wouldn't say that 3D replaces or is any alternative to 2D really. Atleast full, 360-degrees 3D. It's a thing by itsself and everybody played Wolfenstein 3D even at the time when 2D graphics was at its peak and raycasters had no competition in terms of looks. I mean, early 3D games were really UGLY.
But why then? Realistic freedom, I think. Instead of looking at a room at given angle and see what you are meant to see, you can actually move around the room and look things from your own angle. It makes things more interesting, exciting, etc.
See, and out of 10 game developers, how many would choose more interesting over less interesting? Gamers do not really need photorealism, but something interesting and new to do.
Like physics. 2D physics never get even near 3D physics. Half-Life 2, in terms of playability, is actually quite average, has boring and seen-before weapons and mostly generic enemies. But what difference physics makes!
I we'd list most exciting things in gaming world, things that really made difference and are sometimes even loved if rest of the game sucked, it would be something like cursing and flying in Duke Nukem 3D, bullet time in Max Payne, gravity gun in Half-Life 2, etc...
Also, 3D was destined to come. Even if first-person-shooter genre would never happen, every driving/flying/etc simulator is unthinkable in 2D. Without them going 3D, we'd be still in 1980.
Long story short, 3D has more chance to have something exciting in it, and even if not, ability to freely explore game world counts very heavily.
I still enjoy a well-drawn 2D game, and I never erase my NeoGeo roms (2d animation without vectors near it's highest humanly limit). But now it's feeling more like looking at art in a museum, not everyone "gets" that.
3D is more often than not... cheap. No amount of shaders and hi-res photo textures can really make up for artistic 2D drawing. But you see, gaming industry is money industry. And art costs too much to make.
) and I'm always trying to keep memory-resident software at minimum.
