2D vs. 3D gaming: a mundane look at it all, and it's still...

[Jay]

My take on 2D vs. 3D:
3D gaming is currently going through the same growing pains that 2D gaming went through a decade ago. With each generation of gaming, we see a certain amount of evolution. For the sake of simplicity, I will use the Atari/NES/8-bit systems through the 16-bit systems as the 2D examples, and the Saturn/PSX onward as my 3D examples. In the Atari days, we saw the genesis of what would become 2D gaming. A decade ago, these games didn't seem like much, because they had been surpassed by new techology that better represented 2D gaming.

The NES marked the first huge leap from the Atari days in terms of graphics, the Genesis and SNES marked the next leaps. The Genesis' faster processor speed enabled for faster 2D gaming, while the SNES' higher color palette and overall graphical superiority enabled the games to reach a level of depth that no 2D game had ever seen before. While the Genesis and SNES were still alive, 3D gaming was dabbled in.

In 1995, in the U.S., the Saturn and PlayStations hit the market, and 3D gaming exploded. During this transitional phase from the "end" of 2D gaming as the primary medium, and the birth of 3D gaming as a viable medum, we saw a nice mix of both kinds of games being released. Some games, such as Pandemonium and Nights, mixed modified 2D gameplay with 3D graphics. As time went on, developers and publishers, on the while, began to embrace 3D gaming, and let the 2D games rest on their laurels so they could focus their attention on evolving 3D gaming. Once the PSX's technical powers were pretty much tapped out, meaning there wasn't much that could be done with them that couldn't have been done before, we got the Dreamcast in the U.S. However, this system didn't seem to embrace 3D gaming quite as much as the PSX had before it, and much like the Saturn, which also saw a relatively healthy 2D game release, it failed commercially. Hmm... Maybe the gaming public was trying to give us all the message that 2D gaming needed to take a small break to allow 3D gaming to flourish. Maybe people just wanted to see how fast things could evolve, and they didn't want to see anything that resembled the past, for fear that it might stunt the evolution of 3D gaming. Just food for thought there.

As the DC died out, we saw the PS2 come in and suffer from a sub-par launch. We also saw it focus on new and exciting things for 3D gaming. Things that we might not appreciate much now, but that could be used as the standard gaming methods down the road. For example, the unique targeting system in the Mark of Kri is adored today, and it might just become the wave of the future. A game with relatively little hype could lead the way towards the next generation of gaming. We all have to give 3D gaming a chance. We were all willing to give 2D gaming a chance all those years ago, why can't we extend that same courtesy to 3D gaming? Which is still a relatively new medium, it's still got a ways to go, so let us all just sit back, and enjoy the ride.

[Thief Silver]

That... was the most beautiful gaming related article I have ever seen *Sniff Sniff*. Jay you rock man, I have to give this article in review 10/10 and say in evaluation to myself "I haven't been giving 3D gaming enough of a chance." I still prefer 2D games over 3D, not sure why, but I guess I should give 3D more of a chance.

Wasn't the saturn originally designed to be the ultimate 2D beast? I heard that the original intent of the saturn was that it would be the best 2D machine, while containing the 3D capibilities in which it would use so well.

[Green]

We were all willing to give 2D gaming a chance all those years ago, why can't we extend that same courtesy to 3D gaming?

We only had 2D games back then. They weren't called 2D games back then, just video games.

[Jay]

You could have just given up on gaming, and moved on. But you didn't. You stuck with gaming and saw it though the evolution of 2D gaming (figuratively speaking), just give 3D gaming that same chance.

And Thief, this is the first time I have actually made someone weep due to my writing, well, other than when I wrote a 20 page note to my now ex-girlfriend... But that\'s neither here nor there. Thanks for giving me the confidence to know that my writing can evoke some real emotion.

[Green]

just give 3D gaming that same chance.

When did I say I don't like 3D games?

[Thief Silver]

When it makes you think, it's due-time for you to get noticed, nice work. I have some non-gaming stuff such as my poetry and writing, that stuff invokes a lot of emotions (At least my friends say so).

[MVS]

paragraphs.....

Par

a

graphs.

[Jay]

I did it in like 10 mins... I'll EDIT paragraphs into it.

[Stibbons]

Lots of stating the obvious in there.

Also, what does describing the capabilities of the Genesis, NES, and SNES have to do with the piece's conclusion about us having to give 3D a chance? It seems awfully unnecessary.

I\'m also not seeing the \"mature look at it\" that was advertised. Saying that your best piece of work ever was done in 10 minutes and without paragraphs is insulting yourself.

[MVS]

which of the last 4 consoles has not had a 'sub-par launch'?

does sub par denote software, or hardware sales?

oh, and your writing sucks ass.