Are 2d games still a thing in 2020/21?

[Xaron]

Hi all,

controversy question but are 2d games still a thing and worth zu create? Not speaking of obvious ones like card games or match-3! Personally I'm a huge fan of games like FTL, Barotrauma and such. From a dev perspective many say that 2d games are easier to make but I hardly find that to be true, especially nowadays with engines like Unity where much of the work you had to do in earlier days is done already.

I really started to think about 2d vs 3d after seeing that game Hidden Deep here on the site which is very well done. I don't think I would ever considering playing such a game as a 3d title. Maybe that's because I grew up with 2d games and still think that it's just nice to let your imagination play some important role as well?

I wonder how the new generation of players sees that or is it just us oldies who are still playing and creating 2d games?

[Steve Elliott]

Pixel Art is very popular in games these days, so yes 2D games are still popular (you just have to look at Steam and Itch.io for examples).  Some games don't work as well in 3D, and if you do produce a 3D game then expectations are more inline with AAA 3D Games; so it's much harder to compete with a 3D Title than a pixel art casual game IMO.

[GfK]

Pixel art, schmixel art.

[MikeHart]

Hi all,

controversy question but are 2d games still a thing and worth zu create? Not speaking of obvious ones like card games or match-3! Personally I'm a huge fan of games like FTL, Barotrauma and such. From a dev perspective many say that 2d games are easier to make but I hardly find that to be true, especially nowadays with engines like Unity where much of the work you had to do in earlier days is done already.

I really started to think about 2d vs 3d after seeing that game Hidden Deep here on the site which is very well done. I don't think I would ever considering playing such a game as a 3d title. Maybe that's because I grew up with 2d games and still think that it's just nice to let your imagination play some important role as well?

I wonder how the new generation of players sees that or is it just us oldies who are still playing and creating 2d games?

Absolutely, there are plenty of success stories from indie titles, even these days. It is all about the game/gameplay. Heck, if the gameplay is great, you can even present it in ASCII graphics. There is always a market for all style of games. Over polished 3D games, imho take away the imagination. For me it is more like watching an animated movie.
But that is just my personal preference. The 3D games I like have hand painted textures. The Blizzard style in Wow, WarCraft, Hearthstone is one of my favorite.

[wookie22]

Hello! My game (still WIP) gained over 5000 members on discord and over 20k Steam wishlists within 2 months so yes, people are still interested.
But I need to admit that I put a lot of work into this. I've been doing it for about 5 years and still not finished

[Matty]

I like 2d games.

[Xaron]

@Mike: Yeah my thinking exactly!

Hello! My game (still WIP) gained over 5000 members on discord and over 20k Steam wishlists within 2 months so yes, people are still interested.
But I need to admit that I put a lot of work into this. I've been doing it for about 5 years and still not finished

Your game looks just great and it will be a huge success, no doubt! Thanks for sharing your wishlist number which (again) proves that magic factor:
wishlist ~ number of group members * 4.5

[MikeHart]

But then... what this guy says is also very very true

[Xaron]

Oh yes Mike, that's so true. Been there as well and now much more realistic. 

You probably know that pretty well and we probably all know grey alien games:

[Steve Elliott]

Yeah Grey Alien Games are doing ok with their 2d games, but they're also playing it safe continually - no innovation.  So while it pays the bills (just) there is nothing original or quirky different.

Games like Shovel Knight, Limbo and Super Meat Boy are popular and different.

[Xaron]

Yeah, I wonder if he's still using BMax? (the original one)

[Derron]

Yeah, I wonder if he's still using BMax? (the original one)

Yes.

Thanks all. Check out the trailer on Steam if you want to see it in action. It's got some pretty cool effects. All done in my framework in BlitzMax vanilla! (last official release)

https://www.syntaxbomb.com/index.php/topic,7619.msg347041582.html#msg347041582


bye
Ron

[Pingus]

From time to time I play Tetris Effect... on my VR headset 
A 2D game, created 40 years ago, played on a machine that is designed to simulate 3D worlds !
And it is still fully enjoyable so I would say, yes, 2D games still means something.

[Xerra]

Yeah, I wonder if he's still using BMax? (the original one)

Yes.

Actually I asked him about this the other day on Twitter and he said he's gone over to Unity to do something new but hasn't ditched Blitz as it would still be something he'd use for games like Match 3's that he already has the frameworks built for.