Will 3d platformers ever have a comeback?

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wanderingprostheyltite

Member
So I was playing the excellent Grow Home recently and felt understandably nostalgic for the golden age of 3d platformers such as Mario 64, Banjo, Rayman 2, Conker etc. It's no surprise this isn't really a bankable genre anymore in the AAA space, with the exception of Nintendo's first party releases. I know we have the upcoming Ratchet and Clank game coming, but I wonder if that would even be a thing without the movie tie-in.

I know people have said that games like Assassin's Creed have essentially become the modern 3d platformer, but obviously that just doesn't cut it what with the "hold A to climb/jump everything". So outside of Nintendo, do you think we'll ever see a resurgence in 3d platformers outside of budget titles? I'd like to think so, and have hopes MS will actually revitalize it with the Rare IPs, but I'm skeptical. In a world where Minecraft is the new Mario for the younger generations, it probably is futile to expect the older style to become popular again.

Nevertheless, what are your thoughts, and what do you think developers would need to do to make them relevant again so publishers would actually fork over the money for more than budget tier titles?
 
I'd love a follow up to Alice: Madness Returns. I think it's a genre that could come roaring back at any time with one popular hit on Steam or Android.
 
There is the new Mirror's Edge which is currently in development. If you're talking about cartoony/mascot 3D platformers, then I don't see those coming back.
 
Yes, as soon as indie-games proceed from faux-8/16bit era into early 3D era.

Honestly, give me something that looks about as good as Crash Bandicoot and I'd buy it.
 
Ratchet and Clank PS4 + The movie bringing more fans to the franchise will revive the genre.

It will lead the revolution.

Believe.
 
There was a time when 2D platforms were as dead as disco.... and then suddenly they came back and were selling 10-20+ million copies apiece. You never know.
 
Probably not the highest budget but A Hat in Time is coming and while nothing is confirmed or revealed we could see a Banjo-Kazooie/Conker revival from Rare as well as whatever MingyJongo is working on.

So sorta.
 
i think they will. just as 2D platformers are seeing a renaissance (mainly through indies), with the n64/ps1 audience coming of age you'll see a niche resurgence within five years or so

though the era of mascot mario 64 ripoffs is deader than dead
 
BocoDragon said:
There was a time when 2D platforms were as dead as disco.... and then suddenly they came back and were selling 10-20+ million copies apiece. You never know.
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You're referring to New Super Mario Bros, right?

Don't think there are very many other 2D platformers that sell that much otherwise. And if we went by that, sure 3D Mario games still sell a bucket load.
 
I would love a great 3D platformers comeback !

There are good signs of it, like Ratchet & Clank reboot for Playstation 4 or that spiritual successor of Banjo-Kazooie on the way : https://twitter.com/mingyjongo

Or these projects, Lobodestroyo and Hat in Time, successfully funded on Kickstarted. And all that tease around Banjo-Kazooie is great, I hope we will get some great news about it !

On the other hand, there are some events that makes me worry about the future of 3D platforming, like The Last Tinker cancelled on Xbox One because it didn't sell enough on PS4.
 
Mario
Ratchet and Clank
Sly Cooper

These will probably get sequels in a few years.

Hopefully we get Banjo and maybe J&D in the near future.

I have no expectations for anything else. Maybe Nintendo will finally make another 3D platformer other than Mario again.
 
JohnSpartanLee said:
With VR it should make a huge comeback.
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Yeah that's what I'm thinking, games like Lucky's Tale might go a ways. Although performance was horrendous, playing Sonic Generations with my DK1 was a pretty incredible experience. The slightly realistic 3d backgrounds with the cartoonish characters with that kind of field of view and in stereo 3d was a very captivating experience, plus the sense of speed was insane. Honestly it was like experiencing Sonic for the first time all over again. Some people don't think third person works for VR but with that I've seen I think it can work very well, especially with 3d platformers.
 
I sure hope so. I love well-made 2D platformers, but 3D platformers are needed.
Even if just to give Mario some competition again and get Nintendo to mix it up some.

Lucky's Tale looks good though, so hopefully there's that to look forward to.
Lobodestroyo too! Forgot I backed that.
 
Well, I think whether or not it makes a come back will depend on developers actually coming up to Nintendo's level when it comes to making them. Way too many old 3D platformers seemed to have you running around collecting bullshit so that you could unlock the next level of the game. You were doing just as much running around as you were platforming. They were gigantic worlds with very little actual challenge when it came to platforming. So, it doesn't surprise me that they died out and that Mario is the only one that's really left standing.
 
A big reason why Nintendo keep pushing 3D screens is the improved depth perception they bring, which they say makes playing 3D platformers more accessible. If the next Nintendo handheld has an improved Parallax Barrier display, and coincides with VR and other stereoscopic video solutions taking off, there could be a small resurgence in the genre.
 
I think the problem from a development perspective is that they're just really goddamn hard to get right.

We talked a bit at Moon Studios about how we'd see Ori and the Blind Forest working out in 3d and I really don't think Pixel-Precise Platformers can be made in 3d without losing a lot of what they're all about. I have a few ideas about how one could fix up the controls, but we'd have to prototype that.

And then I'm also insanely worried about the camera... getting the camera right is crucially important and most 3d platformers, other than Mario (and honestly, even Mario has some camera issues) just have shitty cameras that obstruct your vision or just don't feel right at all times.

From a publisher perspective, I think it's not easy for a dev to pitch a vertical slice that'll show the producers that there's a lot of promise. You'd need to pitch something that already has great controls and a working cam and that's probably the most difficult thing to get right.

And let's not forget that Nintendo has solved a lot of these problems a long time ago, so whenever they make a new game, they can look at what they did in the past and take it from there - for any other developer, they'd have to learn from the ground up what's required to make it all work. Of course you can study the greats, but you'd still dissect and analyze and it'd take a good chunk of time to 'crack the code'.

I've seen a few things recently in terms of 3d platforming that make me interested in pursuing that at some point, but there's still a few puzzle pieces missing and I think it'd be a difficult business case to make.
 
On PC you have Psychonauts, The Prince of Persia game, that monkey king game I don't remember the name and A Hat in Time that will hopefully coming this year
 
thomasmahler said:
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Great post, thanks for sharing your insights. A lot of that makes sense, it's just damn hard to make one with tight controls and a not terrible camera. Probably also explains why a lot of them in the PS2 era started opting for a combo of platforming with an emphasis on tps mechanics.

So what recent examples that caught your eye were you referring to?
 
wanderingprostheyltite said:
Yeah that's what I'm thinking, games like Lucky's Tale might go a ways. Although performance was horrendous, playing Sonic Generations with my DK1 was a pretty incredible experience. The slightly realistic 3d backgrounds with the cartoonish characters with that kind of field of view and in stereo 3d was a very captivating experience, plus the sense of speed was insane. Honestly it was like experiencing Sonic for the first time all over again. Some people don't think third person works for VR but with that I've seen I think it can work very well, especially with 3d platformers.
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I was mostly thinking about first person 3D platformers like Jumping Flash or Mirror's Edge but I agree that third person should work really well for VR, too.
 
They will come back don't worry. As with all things there is a cycle of sorts. A genre gets run into the ground and then an old genre comes backup with somewhat of a renaissance. Rinse and repeat. Happens with all sorts of things not just gaming.

Super heroes have made a comeback in recent years, Hollywood running out of ideas and making remakes, people wearing chinos that were popular in the 80's. Everything comes back around at some point haha :)
 
Those of you posting a name of one or two games: just because 3D platformers are still happening (and probably always will as Mario is nowhere near dying), doesn't mean it's a big genre or that it will make a comeback. Personally, I don't think it's happening. It's too much work for most indie developers, and most AAA developers don't seem to see a profit in doing them. But who knows how technology and game development changes. If it becomes cheaper and demands fewer resources, then maybe.
 
Personally I expect to see some mid-budget 3D platformers throughout this generation. I may be wrong on this one, but this genre is a returning trend I'm expecting mid term.
 
LOCK said:
Mario
Ratchet and Clank
Sly Cooper

These will probably get sequels in a few years.

Hopefully we get Banjo and maybe J&D in the near future.

I have no expectations for anything else. Maybe Nintendo will finally make another 3D platformer other than Mario again.
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It baffles me that Yoshi and Kirby haven't moved beyond 2D yet.

And we will definitely get Ape Escape 4 on PS4 or Vita ;_;
 
Benzychenz said:
It baffles me that Yoshi and Kirby haven't moved beyond 2D yet.
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One of the problems with 3D Kirby is that Kirby as a character is completely unsuited to a behind-the-back perspective, so a full-on classic 3D platformer isn't really gonna work all that well.

As for Yoshi, the main Yoshi guy at Nintendo (Tezuka, Miyamoto's right-hand man) isn't especially fond of 3D platformers and thinks Yoshi should skew towards a younger audience, so...
 
Hope so.

I'm still hoping for Mario to be given a proper game like he was with 64, sunshine and Galaxy. 3D world was pretty much just 2d gameplay on a 3d plane.

Hopefully we see the return of banjo and Kazooie in a proper adventure of their own without having to rely on vehicles, and maybe Kameo or another new or established character from rare can get their own 3d platforming adventure.

In the meantime really interested to see what the new ratchet and clank game is like.
 
Platforming in 3D has the same issues that plagued Mario 64 and I think the market has proved that it's not as viable of a market as 2D platforming ones.

I think Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter and to some degree some open world games like Infamous or Saint's Row 4 have picked up the tab and are now almost the only games in which you can traverse and platform jump in a 3D environment.

Right now we are going through an era in which developers feel the need to root their games in reality and mascot platformers, even ones with Mario, the most recognisable character in gaming, sometimes barely cross the two million mark in sales.

If even the world's most recognisable gaming mascot can only reach decent sales numbers, most publishers are too concerned about investing in the genre and with good reason. Right now I don't think most consumers are interested in games like Mario 64 or Banjo Kazooie. A 3D action game would probably cost just about as much and have better chances of selling.

We will still have 3D games with some platforming in the future, but 3D games almost exclusively about platforming will remain a niche.
 
It's tougher to bring back 3D platformers because it's hard to make good ones. We think of the genre as being so prevalent in the PS1/PS2 era but looking back there were very few that were actually any good. I could probably only name a handful.
 
Icyflamez96 said:
Ratchet and Clank PS4 + The movie bringing more fans to the franchise will revive the genre.

It will lead the revolution.

Believe.
Click to expand...

I'm sure R&C PS4 will happen so I wish they'd just announce it already

Love the series so much

e: fuck i need to replay them now
 
I have a feeling that the unannounced Rare game is going to be a back-to-the-roots 3d platformer

open-world-ish collectathon platformers have become quite a rare sight these days, even the 3d Mario games have largely dropped the formula since Sunshine

thomasmahler said:
but there's still a few puzzle pieces missing and I think it'd be a difficult business case to make.
Click to expand...

just gotta look around more carefully, we'll find them eventually
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Tearaway for PS4 is gonna be legit guys. I think without the Vita gimmicks they'll focus more on platforming, and the levels that focused on platforming in the Vita one were so fun. That game is a joy to just look at even.

But a note to all indie devs making 2D platformers: I know 2D is cheaper and easier to make but it's just crap compared to 3D. The people are starving for 3D platformers!
 
Before more gameplay details were announced, I had sorta hoped that Knack would be a comeback for tentpole-release, family-friendly 3D platforming á la Mario 64.
 
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