Genres that were improved by the leap to 3D

[mbd30]

Skateboarding. They got much more playable after THPS. Old sprite based skateboarding games seem crude and archaic.

 

Racing games.

 

 

[CatPix]

Adventure/exploration/action RPG games. Hitting an ennemi in Morrowind is much more precise and making sense than in Arena.

 

I'd say flipper games got much more realistic feeling in 3D, but I don't play much of those. Still feel like the physics make more sense.

Edited November 13, 2015 by CatPix

[Reaperman]

I say cockpit flight games are almost always better in 3d. As soon as I saw wing commander armada, I wished privateer looked as nice.

 

I'm not sure I fully agree on racing games, since I feel that the top-down segment of the genre did far better in 2d.

[+GoldenWheels]

Whatever you want to call GTA.

[BydoEmpire]

Flight sims, definitely.

 

I could definitely see "extreme sports" like skateboarding as well, that's a good call. There weren't that many before 3D, but the genre really blossomed in the ps2 era.

 

Personally I prefer non-3D RPGs. While Morrowind is in my top 5 games of all time, pretty much the rest of my favorite RPGs are not true 3D. I tend to prefer turn-based combat, though.

[omegadot]

I think when executed well most genres are better for having 3D games. Certainly FPS and action / adventure games the most in my mind. I prefer 2D JRPGs myself, but there are some nice immersive games in 3D. Platformers seem to be the hardest to get right and other than more intricate combat and puzzles I'm not sure they are 'better' in 3 dimensions.

[Pixelboy]

Looking at such games as Super Mario 64 and Metroid Prime, I wouldn't say the gaming experience is "improved" over the 2D predecessors. I would prefer to say that the 3D games provide new experiences, which do not necessarily overshadow the 2D games that came before.

[omegadot]

Looking at such games as Super Mario 64 and Metroid Prime, I wouldn't say the gaming experience is "improved" over the 2D predecessors. I would prefer to say that the 3D games provide new experiences, which do not necessarily overshadow the 2D games that came before.

 

I agree, they usually don't so much overshadow as much as expand.

 

I have trouble considering Metroid Prime in the same genre as the previous installments. It's a case were the perspective really changed the focus to exploration and learning vice lonely action with some exploration. I really love both, erm, generations of Metroid, though. In fact I picked up a new GCN controller in part to play Prime again.

 

Now Sonic games...those didn't translate well. Fast-pace platformers suffered quite a bit it seems like.

[leods]

I agree with Skateboarding, flight sims and such. On Racing, if it's Simulation focused yeah, sure, but in Terms of pure fun I can't agree 3d is necessarily better at all. But for more realystic racing games yeah, 3D did a very large jump in Quality.

 

FPS did get a lot better with actual 3D compared to sprite scaling stuff.

 

As for the RPG, nope.. And I didin't Play Arena, but man, if hitting things in that was even worse than morrowing that must have been awful. Morrowind was awesome, but the combat and hit detection were pretty bad. But yeah, the potential for better perspective, more Immersion, better hit detection and all that really is there on 3D. Although we have to realyze that hit detection on polygon based games isn't always 100% based on wether the Polygons are touching or not. 3D games can definitely have crappy colision and hit detection.

 

Nice Topic.

[CatPix]

I don't deny that there are poorly programmed 3D RPG games

 

For Arena and Daggerfall, they use the same kind of "3D with flat sprites" that you find in Doom, Duke Nukem 3D and Wolfeinstein 3D (in a way, Arena and Daggerfall are already 3D games, but there is still a leap from 3D environment and sprite based ennemies to fully 3D environment and NPC)

It's good in those games because you have guns and you just aim at the creatures, but in Arena, you swing a blde to the ennemy.

 

As for Morrowind, it's not that the hit detection is bad, it's because Morrowind still use a "paper RPG" system.

That is, if you hit the ennemy (3D wise) then the game first roll a dice to know if your hit actually do damage. Then, it roll a second dice to determine your actual damage.

 

It's the most frustrating thing ever. Thanksfully those days, you can add mods to Morrowind that give you a 100% chance to hit the ennemy if your weapon hit the ennemy hitbox. damage is still based on your skills tho, but it improve the gameplay experience by much, as you're now feel like hitting the ennemy.

Edited November 14, 2015 by CatPix

[+Cafeman]

I would honestly say all sports games, including racing games. The physics and graphics and realism really makes these 3D games more interesting and playable. Potentially at least. Even a perfect 2D racer like Outrun was definitely improved with the 3D Outrun 2.

 

Conversely, I'd say platformers took a step back when they predominantly went to 3D. Everything was now explore-and-collectathons now, with the emphasis off the skill (and fun) you could demonstrate with 2D platformers. Sure you can mention Mario 64 and Mario Galaxy - these were pretty awesome 3D platformers that worked due to the care and time invested in their playability. But from what I've experienced, that usually hasn't been the case.

[AtariORdead]

Driving games without a doubt.

[mbd30]

Driving games without a doubt.

 

Yep. "Super Mario Kart" is good, but that uses mode 7 and a special chip, so it's sort of 3D.

[CatPix]

It's what most people call "2.5D" where there is some part in 3D (here, the ground - same thing in Doom likes games) and parts in 2D (the player sprites and anything that isn't the ground).

2.5D can also apply to early survival horror games, like Alone in the Dark, and Resident Evil : the character models are in 3D but the environments are flat pictures.

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

I have to go with driving games and sports games. Most notably the Gran Turismo series and Need For Speed series put the respective games as the best in the market in their category. And it all is pinpointed perfectly from the graphics to how it is controlling it. Even a lot of sports games as well has been incredible like MLB The Show.

[Cynicaster]

For me, generally speaking, 3D hasn’t improved much of anything except how real the graphics look.

 

I agree with car/racing games being improved by 3D, for sure. You take a game like Rad Racer, and it’s OK I guess, but the shallow physics engine and choppy scaling are drawbacks for me. Bring that into the 3D realm and you have games that vastly improve on these types of things, all while keeping the same basic idea and same basic vantage point for the video game. For me, this is the quintessential example of using powerful modern tech to genuinely improve the game rather than just improving what the game looks like.

 

I suppose the same thinking could be applied to RPGs, but I don’t like them in any form, so I have no opinion. I would, however, question whether it even makes sense to compare 3D open-world type games with “overhead view” type games of old. I think it would make more sense to say that, in the case of such games, 3D created a new branch of the genre rather than making an existing genre better.

 

For sports, I’m firmly an 8- and 16-bit guy. I have MLB The Show on PS3, and the game is very impressive with its audiovisual whizbangery, but whenever I pick up the controller to play it (which is rare) I have to learn the confusing controls all over again. Plus, all the cut-scene type fluff makes it slow as hell (like a real game). That type of thing may add realism but it does not add entertainment value. With Tecmo Baseball on NES or NHL Hockey on Genesis, I can pick up and play any time and enjoy a quick game with approachable controls and a more upbeat, entertaining pace.

[Cobra Commander]

Whatever you want to call GTA.

Sandbox and Open World are names I've heard associated with GTA.

[BydoEmpire]

I prefer 8- and 16-bit sports games, personally, but that's mainly due to control and gameplay. The areas in which modern sports games have improved (Franchise modes, etc) have nothing to do with graphics imho. The graphics don't hurt, of course...

[Eltigro]

Driving games and Flying games, definitely. As far as RPGs/Adventure type games, I'm not so sure, there are some great games (and some terrible duds) in both 2D and 3D, so I don't know that there is a clear winner for me.

 

One that I, personally, don't like the switch to very much is when run and gun games became first person shooters. I'd much rather play something like Commando or Ikari Warriors, hell even Rambo II for the SMS over the latest Call of Duty or whatever. Obviously there's millions of people out there that would disagree with me, but that's nothing new...

[Rick Dangerous]

Any type of game if it's done right. There are fun 2d games, and fun 3d games, of all genres. If the games are done poorly it doesn't matter how many D's are involved..

[mbd30]

Driving games and Flying games, definitely. As far as RPGs/Adventure type games, I'm not so sure, there are some great games (and some terrible duds) in both 2D and 3D, so I don't know that there is a clear winner for me.

 

One that I, personally, don't like the switch to very much is when run and gun games became first person shooters. I'd much rather play something like Commando or Ikari Warriors, hell even Rambo II for the SMS over the latest Call of Duty or whatever. Obviously there's millions of people out there that would disagree with me, but that's nothing new...

 

I'm not into FPS games much at all. I only like 3D action and platforming games if they are very linear such as "Crash Bandicoot" and "God of War".