Igarashi: 2D gaming goes from 'will never die!' to 'somewhat alive'

by Kevin Kelly { Jun 17th 2008 at 11:30PM }

Is 2D gaming headed for life support status? Last year Castlevania main man Koji Igarashi was vehement in his declaration that 2D games would never die. In fact, he felt so strongly about it that he had to use a PowerPoint slide to illustrate just how he felt about the issue. All the time and effort that went into making that graphic signifies a serious lust for all things 2D.

Well, a lot can change in a year. In a recent interview with Gamasutra, Iga said, "I'm glad that 2D is still somewhat alive. It's been fun." That almost sounds like a death knell. Say it ain't so, you whip-carrying developer! His argument last year was that it's much cheaper to develop 2D games when you don't have to render things in 3D, but that seems to be the equivalent of saying it's cheaper to ride a horse because it's not as expensive as a car. People want to go quite a bit faster than the horse will allow, and likewise with their games. Still, we're praying 2D gaming hasn't started to cough up blood just yet. Keep hope alive!

[Via DS Fanboy]

Tags: 2D, Castlevania, Iga, Koji-Igarashi

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

juju187 @ Jun 17th 2008 11:38PM

with fighting games like marvel vs capcom 2 and guilty gear theres hope, more like symphony of the night isnt a bad thing either.

Jezreel @ Jun 18th 2008 1:18AM

While I agree that there's still hope for 2D gaming, MvC2 isn't exactly a relevant argument seeing as how it came out 8 years ago...

A Pissed-off English Gamer @ Jun 18th 2008 6:39AM

Street Fighter 4 is a 2d game. Aesthetically it has 3d models, but it is mechanically a 2d game and so reaps the benefits of lower production costs not having to pander to the third D.

Cesaria (www.cesariatic.wordpress.com) @ Jun 17th 2008 11:45PM

There's no way 2D gaming will ever die. Look at the DS's success.

Esoterikal @ Jun 17th 2008 11:52PM

I'm betting the trend will be along the lines of loco-roco or new super mario bros... the playing area will be 2d, but everything will be polygonal... the time it takes to create HD sprites isn't justifiable

FrankDrebin @ Jun 18th 2008 12:01AM

Were is the next Super Mario World? The one witch the Galaxy engine, that plays mostly like the mario galaxy 2D bits? Tons of secret levels, a gigantic overworld, new suits, yoshi riding and stuff? That would cost a lot less then a 3d gameplay title, and i'd like it waay more. Question n2: why can't nintendo just buy the freaking homebrewed metroids and release it for 800 wii points on WiiWare? I'd play it anytime.
here's hoping for nintendo to GET REAL and start making actual games that are actually fun.

Imaginationland Warrior @ Jun 18th 2008 10:46AM

No, put it on a disk for the Wii and make it 100 hours long and hype the hell out of it by calling it Super Mario Bros. 4.

mr mobius @ Jun 18th 2008 12:06AM

2D vs 3D Sonic anyone?

Also I think Lostwinds and NSMB prove life left in 2D yet.

FrankDrebin @ Jun 18th 2008 12:09AM

nice point. I'd kill for a genesis based new sonic title. I really like those sprites and sounds. The other sonic games simply don't feel like sonic for me.

A Pissed-off English Gamer @ Jun 18th 2008 6:48AM

Sorry to play devil's advocate on the sonic (I won't touch NSMB as that's the most fun i'd had with a 2d game since time ago) but Sonic Rush is a TERRIBLE game. The praise it gets is pity and nostalgia praise; the games consist of rubbish samey bosses, levels in which anything other than holding down the right direction is punished by death (seriously, on most levels in Sonic Rush jumping is a crime punishable by death) and a sound track which is at best interesting and at worst mindlessly and repetitiously insanity inducing.

And why do they even try to come up with an explicit narrative when everyone knows that when the player infered plot-points it was so much more fun. Isn't that how it is with NSMB?

kataztrophy @ Jun 18th 2008 12:26AM

2 dimensions are always better than 3(sometimes).

Kizzle @ Jun 18th 2008 12:34AM

Sorry, all I can think of when I see the pic is Life is Killing Me:

http://i29.tinypic.com/59se53.jpg

xGeneral DEATHx @ Jun 18th 2008 8:09AM

Heh...not a bad album, either. :-)

samfish @ Jun 18th 2008 12:37AM

As long as you have indie developers churning out games made up of pure, sweet Awesome, like Noito Love 2, then 2D will never die!

Also, Wario Land Shake is actual 2D.

I do wish there was more 2D, though...even if it's 2.5D and doesn't actually use sprites. Oh, my kingdom for Viewtiful Joe 3!

Anticrawl @ Jun 18th 2008 12:54AM

World of Goo!!

Tim The Enchanter @ Jun 18th 2008 12:40PM

Megaman! I don't care if people think there are too many, I enjoyed the 2d megaman games tons! Also megamanX

Anticrawl @ Jun 18th 2008 12:50AM

I just want some super high quality 2d games with the full pallet of color and a great deal of detail in the characters and backgrounds.

Atr-Slzr-Ctr @ Jun 18th 2008 12:56AM

So the lesson of today is: Never say Never.

Brian @ Jun 18th 2008 2:05AM

"it's the equivalent of saying it's cheaper to ride a horse because it's not as expensive as a car."

Dude, horses are HELLA expensive. It costs around $1000 a year to feed the horse, and hundreds of dollars a month if you don't have a stable. Most car leases are around half the monthly cost of a horse.

AND they're slow. Man, we should just eat them and get it over with.

Kael @ Jun 18th 2008 3:00AM

Oh, I see Igarashi's talking purely graphics, not gameplay.

Frankly, I don't care about the future of sprites because with respect to those who do, polygonal stuff is so much better. Sprites may be cheaper (which I guess means they take less time and/or talent to make than polygonal models, especially when they're only 10 pixels across on the DS), which is great if it means a game can be made when it wouldn't be otherwise, but it's a disservice to a game to approach it with the intent to spend as little as possible. Super Smash Brothers and Street Fighter 4 can exist as big-budget, high-profile, full-price games and be successful, so enough penny-pinching; Castlevania can do it, too.

shaoron @ Jun 18th 2008 4:13AM

graphics means bupkis if gameplays SUCKS
case in point: Heavenly swords

XDragon @ Jun 18th 2008 6:57AM

For the most part, I enjoy 2d more than 3d with the exeption of sports/racing and fps. For fighting games, I like both; I need Capcom VS SNK 2 and Soul Calibur 4 but for games like Castlevania, 2d is the way to go for me!

Eric @ Jun 18th 2008 8:42AM

Anyone play Omega 5? Great XBlive 2d polygonal shooter, not to mention Ikaruga.

Where are all the 1d games? :p

umm....hello??? @ Jun 18th 2008 11:39AM

original Castlevania series with updated graphics please? think how awesome the original NES/Sega games would be with arcade+ quality graphics!!!!! I don't need Metroid to be 3D, the 2D was awesome, and the original Ninja Gaiden sequels on the NES (especially the 3rd one) with parallax scrolling looked fantastic. Ikaruga I have for my GC/Wii, plenty of other great shooters in 2D.

newer games like SuperPaperMario with 2D/3D combinations also look great on the Wii, and many XBLA games are 2D...Geometry Wars, PacMan CE, etc...