3 ms·

> The history is more complicated than that. It's more complicated than that too imo. Before Broken Sword 3 was released, Charles Cecil said they had always wa

by anjc 5y ago

> The history is more complicated than that. It's more complicated than that too imo. Before Broken Sword 3 was released, Charles Cecil said they had always wanted the game to be 3D (https://adventuregamers.com/articles/view/17561 https://adventuregamers.com/articles/view/17561). So it's likely that hand drawn 2D (pixelated or not) was often used because of limitations also. It's further possible that developers chose point and click as the medium because of technical limitations (e.g. it's easier to draw/render static scenes than develop a 3d engine). Evidence of this is - further to the death of 2D at this time as you point out - the fact that point and click died also as a genre at this time, as 3d modelling tools and third party 3d engines were becoming more accessible. I think this same dynamic applies to many old styles in gamedev that are now seen as having an aesthetic quality when really they arose out of necessity (e.g. 8-bit era pixelation, ZX spectrum colour palates, dithered transparency) So arguably if developers are choosing hand drawn now or P&C, it's perhaps the first time that it's the "harder" option, rather than being a return to "normal"

bzzzt 5y ago
A lot of game designers focus on the story and experience they want to bring, not on the technology the programmers have to use to bring it to life. There are a lot of 'tricks' you can use in a 2d game to let it show more depth (like parallax scrolling, use of angles, lighting etc), so I'm not sure if '3d' means the same thing to a game designer and a programmer. 3d made more dramatic camera work and lighting possible at the expense of increased production cost. The point and click genre always was some sort of niche popular with the tech crowd in the 90's but couldn't scale up when the computer and video game industry broke into the mainstream. I think that is mainly a demographic difference: point and click games are still being made and sold, but compared to the rest of the videogame market they are a niche.
- anjc 5y ago
  > I think that is mainly a demographic difference Possibly so! A shame too, it's my favourite genre and to this day I think 30 year old games are superior to contemporary ones, incl ones that were considered mediocre at the time (Harvester, Phantasmagoria, etc)
  - bzzzt 5y ago
    Lots of the old point&click games certainly have their charm, but it's not really difficult to see they are lacking in mainstream appeal. Most people don't see solving obscure (sometime maddening) object puzzles as entertainment ;) Many of the old games have unfair puzzles and are almost unsolvable without a guide.
anthk 5y ago
BS3 was hated a lot back in the day. The 4th a bit less, and the 5th release got pretty good marks on reviews.
- anjc 5y ago
  Oh I also hated it at the time, but regardless it was apparently the "vision". I don't think any BS since have captured the charm of 1 and 2, and I think the animation and art are big factors there.
  - anthk 5y ago
    Also, 2.5 from fans.
- bzzzt 5y ago
  BS3 contained way too many stupid crate puzzles. The 4th a nonsensical story. I found the 5th to be enjoyable, but sometimes a bit 'fan service' oriented.

by anjc 5y ago

bzzzt 5y ago

A lot of game designers focus on the story and experience they want to bring, not on the technology the programmers have to use to bring it to life. There are a lot of 'tricks' you can use in a 2d game to let it show more depth (like parallax scrolling, use of angles, lighting etc), so I'm not sure if '3d' means the same thing to a game designer and a programmer. 3d made more dramatic camera work and lighting possible at the expense of increased production cost. The point and click genre always was some sort of niche popular with the tech crowd in the 90's but couldn't scale up when the computer and video game industry broke into the mainstream. I think that is mainly a demographic difference: point and click games are still being made and sold, but compared to the rest of the videogame market they are a niche.

anjc 5y ago
> I think that is mainly a demographic difference Possibly so! A shame too, it's my favourite genre and to this day I think 30 year old games are superior to contemporary ones, incl ones that were considered mediocre at the time (Harvester, Phantasmagoria, etc)
- bzzzt 5y ago
  Lots of the old point&click games certainly have their charm, but it's not really difficult to see they are lacking in mainstream appeal. Most people don't see solving obscure (sometime maddening) object puzzles as entertainment ;) Many of the old games have unfair puzzles and are almost unsolvable without a guide.

anthk 5y ago

BS3 was hated a lot back in the day. The 4th a bit less, and the 5th release got pretty good marks on reviews.

anjc 5y ago
Oh I also hated it at the time, but regardless it was apparently the "vision". I don't think any BS since have captured the charm of 1 and 2, and I think the animation and art are big factors there.
- anthk 5y ago
  Also, 2.5 from fans.
bzzzt 5y ago
BS3 contained way too many stupid crate puzzles. The 4th a nonsensical story. I found the 5th to be enjoyable, but sometimes a bit 'fan service' oriented.