Quote:
Originally Posted by icedan
btw, 3D graphics these days are still as terrible as they have been for a long time. I have a strong feeling most graphic designers do not want to use 3D to make their games because they know it downgrades the overall quality, in other words, it has no feeling, no character, art requires finer touches than modeled shapes and rendered textures.
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Now see...I agree with you about 2D adventure game graphics having a certain unmatched charm, but this statement just reeks of baseless bias. There are some absolutely STUNNING games out there that use full 3D graphics. Red Dead Redemption, Mass Effect 2, Skyrim (can't wait for that one), etc.
The main problem as I see it with adventure games and 3D graphics is the matter of character control.
Telltale's engine sucks balls when it comes to controlling the character. Seriously, it's just about the worst thing ever designed. The click-drag-move control scheme is absolutely broken any way you look at it. An abomination of video gaming control schemes.
I understand the logic behind it--that traditional point and click doesn't work well in 3D environments with cinematic camera angles like Telltale uses in most of their games, but seriously...someone needs to be slapped for coming up with this control scheme as the solution. Words can't describe how terrible it is. And believe me, I'm trying.
The problem with the recent games is that the alternative sucks, too. The keyboard movement is also shitty--it's the same reason console companies started using analog sticks when they made the transition to 3D. It is unbearably clunky to only be able to move in four (or 8 with the num pad) directions in a full 3D environment.
Until computers start coming standard with analog sticks attached to their mice (or something lol), 3D adventure games in the Telltale style will always be something of a chore to play. Better to wait for the console releases.
A lot of this problem with control comes from adventure games' strict adherence to fixed camera angles for each scene. Just once, I'd like to see an adventure game attempt a full-roaming 3D environment like Red Dead Redemption or something. Keep all the traditional adventure gameplay mechanics--cut to cinematic closeups for conversations a la Mass Effect, have a traditional inventory with item combining and puzzle solving. Just put it in a full-roaming 3D environment. No fixed camera. And just see how it works. I can't think of any games that have done this yet--are there any?