The emergence of the 3d platformer

3d platformers, and games with 3d platform gameplay, are super common today. This thread is the about the early evolution of the genre's elements prior to what I would consider its modern form: 1996 releases like Super Mario 64, Crash Bandicoot, and Tomb Raider.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...mario%2064.jpg
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...0Bandicoot.jpg
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...20Raider-1.png


Heading back to 1983, some of the elements of 3d platformers had emerged. Atari's arcade game I, Robot was ahead of its time with its shaded polygon graphics. While not truly a platformer, your character did have the ability to make automated jumps when pushing the joystick to edges (like the auto-jumps in the 3d Zelda games years later).
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/.../I%20Robot.png

Also from '83 was Spike for the Vectrex. Its gameplay was completely 2d but its perspective foreshadowed many "2.5d" games of the mid '90s so I figured I would mention it.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...%20Vectrex.jpg

Another game which wasn't really a platformer but I think is worth noting is Square's 3-D WorldRunner for the NES in 1987.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...unner'.gif

It wasn't polygonal nor can you jump on platforms but the "Space Harrier on the ground" gameplay bares resemblance to linear, on-rails 3d platformers like Crash Bandicoot, and appeared in other pre-1996 games like Jimmu Densho Yaksa (1989) for the PC Engine as well as bonus rounds in 16-bit Sonic games.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...ater/Jimmu.gif

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...02%20bonus.bmp

As far as I can tell, the first true 3d platformer appeared in 1990, Infogrames' Alpha Waves (AKA Continuum) for the Atari ST. It was ported to Amiga and PC. Alpha Waves was a breakthrough title; it was polygonal and allowed the player to move around and jump in 3d space.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...Waves%20ST.png

Despite an increase in 3d polygon games in the early '90s (moreso on computers and arcades than on consoles and portables), most of these remained in the racing, FPS, simulation, and shooter genres. First-person shooters later incorporated platform gameplay but early ones usually lacked the jumping aspect.

In 1994, Exact's Geograph Seal was released for the X68000 in Japan.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...aph%20Seal.png

It's the direct ancestor of 1995's Jumping Flash! on the Playstation. Gameplay in these games consisted of first-person platform jumping and shooting.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...ng%20Flash.jpg

Realtime Associates' 1995 Saturn game Bug! deserves a mention, too. It didn't have free-roaming 3d but it did allow for vertical movement in a polygon environment, and unlike the hybrid gameplay of Exact's games, it was purely a platform game.
http://www.the-nextlevel.com/hosted/...eater/Bug!.jpg



Did I miss anything noteworthy from before 1996? It seems like there should be more.

What are your thoughts on the evolution of early 3d platformers and its predecessors?

I wouldn't consider Tomb Raider a platformer, since the emphasis is on exploration, rather than on actual platform-jumping and item-collecting.

Agreed. Tomb Raider is an action/adventure game. It's a 3D Rolling Thunder, not a 3D Sonic. Of course, NZE and I have had his discussion before. ;)

Also, I get angry just seeing screens fom Bug!. That game is a poster child for GameFan going overboard about a shitty game.

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Originally Posted by Nash

I wouldn't consider Tomb Raider a platformer, since the emphasis is on exploration, rather than on actual platform-jumping and item-collecting.

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I agree. I should have worded it differently but there is a strong platform gameplay element to Tomb Raider in addition to adventure elements. It was the first to bring the Prince of Persia-style platform gameplay properly into 3d. Super Mario 64 isn't purely a platformer either.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Yoshi

NZE and I have had his discussion before.

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Sort of. I have never denied Tomb Raider being a hybrid genre game. I think our discussions were over including games like Shinobi and traditional Castlevania as types of platformers.

To me, this is the same discussion, just in 3D. You're right though, we've never hit this angle before.

I just want to say I love Crash Bandicoot 1-3.

(and CTR)

I've done a good deal of digging on this subject, and besides isometric stuff (which should be mentioned as a real precursor, certainly more than Spike or I,Robot) I think Fade to Black deserves a mention. I wouldn't call it a platformer per se, but it's noteworthy for being the first attempt to move a 2D platform series into 3D, and many of the same elements are still present. It's also very much a forerunner to Tomb Raider.

Also worth mentioning is Skyroads. It's sort of built on the premise of a racing game, but it's actually probably more of platformer than anything else.

I remember being blown away by Jumping Flash! when it came out. A lot of fun, haven't touched it or seen it since though.

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Originally Posted by Frogacuda

isometric stuff

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Damn, I can't believe I left out mentioning those. This was an old, unfinished topic on my hard drive I had put aside precisely because there were so many isometric games I was considering adding. I got lazy. Oh well. :)

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Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater

Sort of. I have never denied Tomb Raider being a hybrid genre game.

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So are 95% of all platformers out there. Pure platformers are pretty rare, and even rarer among 3D platformers. Alpha Waves is one of the only ones I can think of.