Ar Tonelico 3 in 3D??? Beatiful 2D game is becoming rare!

[LVUER]

In latest edition of Dengeki Hobby, there is an article (perhaps a preview, I can't read Japanese) about Ar Tonelico 3. As usual, the art is gorgeous and there will be lots of beautiful songs.

The problem is that now the battle scene is in 3D (and perhaps rest of the game also will be in 3D). I have been and always love 2D games, especially hand-drawn ones. Nothing could beat the beauty of 2D hand-drawn graphics. That's why I always love Atelier series (and several particular developer who always make 2D games ^_^) which retain its 2D tradition.

So, what about you guys? Any comment?

[mugenjohncel]

- CONTENT NO LONGER RELEVANT -

[pkt]

I like 2d graphics myself but mugen is right. 3d costs less to make in the long run.

[Ramidel]

Also, 2D is seen as less classy in the eyes of marketing executives (you know, the ones who never actually play the games because they're too busy trying to figure out what the public really want in a game). There's a hell of a lot of Bernie Stolar-type thinking in a lot of companies, where members of the executive brass try to force their ideas of The Next Big Thing on all games regardless of whether the game in question would benefit from it.

[JinzouTamashii]

I had a 1st-edition pre-order creator's copy that I already donated, some lucky kid is going to be like, "OMG, it's an original BCS... "

She forgot to sign it.

[LVUER]

I had a 1st-edition pre-order creator's copy that I already donated, some lucky kid is going to be like, "OMG, it's an original BCS... "

She forgot to sign it.

Ah, like usual, your post is hard to understand ^_^
You are talking about 1st edition copy of Ar Tonelico? And you donated it? The one who got it sure is lucky...

Also she forgot to sign what?

BTW, what is BCS?

[pkt]

Jinzou means that he/she got a picture made by an artist known as BCS aka ButtercupSaiyan. At least that what I think they mean. BCS does decent 2d work I'd almost pay money for but since I'm broke no such luck.

[Blue Lemma]

2D does have that nice charm to it. It's sad that everything has to be 3D now it seems like, whether that makes it a better game or not.

That said, if AT3 has hot/cute girls and is fun, I'll still be snatching it up

[LVUER]

2D does have that nice charm to it. It's sad that everything has to be 3D now it seems like, whether that makes it a better game or not.

That said, if AT3 has hot/cute girls and is fun, I'll still be snatching it up

Agree. It's sad to see most games turn into 3D (and some become worse in 3D, not 3D is worse but it seems they just do a lazy job).

AT3 will be in PS3 and I must admit that the special effects are cool (though the 3D model is so-so). But considering PS3 hardware specification, it's nothing special.

For now, I think there will be 3 girls (and as usual 2 of them are the main girls). Two of them are cute ^_^ but the second girl aren't cute at all (at least for me).

And in one screen shot, the girls are in bunny suit >o</b and man, they are really CUTE!!!

[dott.Piergiorgio]

Meh... let's tackle this side from a 3D vs. 2D perspective and Japanese visual arts...

Firstly, obviously with the 3rd dimension, there's much more "elbow space" in photography, a 2D game being photographically like a theater drama (that is, a fixed viewing relationship between actors & scenery/props and the wiever)

With the 3rd dimension, the director has much more freedom in photography and narrating dramatically the tale s/he tells (whose should and must be the main points in media & entertainment, (but perhaps it's my Italian POV, that is, artistic merits trumps economical merits, here even Popes don't have much saying on Artists's choices.....)

Returning to 3D in gaming.... here the main issue is that Japanese games has a distinctive "unrealistic" chardes, rooted in the abstraction & stylization in visual arts (cfr. the Tokugawa-era Ukiyo-e, esp the "36 wiews of mt. Fuji"), and is still to be defined what we can very approximately call "BESM style in 3D". (I suspect that FF XIII shows the best Japanese approach to 3D styling, but SE is definitively in the "fuoriclasse" league in game visuals...)

There's also the issue that Japanese "unrealistc" styling for now don't compare well with western "realistic" styling in current-gen 3D gaming (I suspect that is mainly because here in West we associate 3D with increased realism in gaming & visual arts)

OK I realize that I can't explain in English what I think (not that English can't express Italian artistic perception, but that for me Art is to be lived & feeled, not described (well, that I live in Italy explain this, I think...))

Best regards from Italy,
Dott. Piergiorgio.

[LVUER]

I'm very well aware the pros and cons (or perhaps it's better to say advantage and disadvantage) of 3D and 2D (since I'm learning a bit of both).

But still, it sad to see more and more 2D games being 3D-ed. Indeed that 2D game's view is fixed, not cinematic (unless you use animation, which is expensive and time-consuming), resolution depended, etc etc. But 2D hand drawn pics (sprite, BG, etc) still have their own beauty, and I really miss them. I still prefer 2D VN over 3D one.

BTW, one of my favorite 2D games are Valkyrie Profile and Legend of Mana.

[DarkClaymore]

The 2D vs. 3D is something I discuss a lot with classmates.
They all call me crazy for liking 2D over 3D.

I don't know why I actually prefer 2D. It may as well be a psychological reason.
I see a lot of 3D games which I can hardly rate as "average", while many people call it "amazing game". When I ask them what so great about the game, they usually won't say "the graphics of course" (which is probably the truth), but they'll say that it has great plot, gameplay or whatever.
But once these people see me playing a 2D game on the NDS, they say that this game is sh!t after looking at it for less than five seconds, while it actually one of my favorites games and it REALLY has great plot, gameplay and such.

The fact that some people automatically call a 3D game "amazing" and 2D game is automatically "sh!t", really angers me and maybe that's why I prefer 2D over 3D.
Just my theory about myself

[LVUER]

Plot, story, or gameplay don't have any connection with 3D or 2D. They entirely different matter. Well, though gameplay could be connected (it's impossible to have 2D Metal Gear Solid 4).

[DarkClaymore]

I know it doesn't, but it's annoying that most people (at last most people I know) think it actually does. They think that 2D games have nothing because the graphics are lame, while 3D games have everything because they are 3D.

So for me it as if 2D is suffering from discrimination and I want to support it more
Though, aside of that, I usually prefer 2D graphics mainly because IMO 2D girls look better than the 3D ones
The 3D ones are usually just so... realistic... And I like 2D anime style people rather real people...

[Lanna]

Yeah, whether 2D or 3D is better depends on what type of game it is and, as with everything else, on how well it is done. Needless to say, I can't stand it either when some people are all like "No way, I won't even play it to see if it's any good, because it's 2D, so obviously it's bad".

Always reminds me of how much I dislike anime, but I still play anime-styled visual novels. Why? Gameplay. Plots. Characters. You know. Just because the graphics bother me doesn't mean the games are bad.

So basically, I like both. There are obviously good and bad games for both types of graphics, so eh.