LudumData

2D vs 3D

[raw] LD35LD #35 12. Apr 2016 · 20:02 UTC · 2 days before compo start by Doubstract · 2

I have been wondering lately, what are advantages and disadvantages of 2D and 3D games. For some reason all my previous Ludum Dare games are 2D. Just because of that, I will make a 3D game this time. These are my thoughts on 2D and 3D differences, please add yours as well.

3D:

  1. It’s harder to make basic stuff like player controller and camera control (if  you are not using Unity or similar programs).
  2. It takes more time to make appealing graphics (depends on style honestly, but it should be harder in general because of extra dimension).
  3. There are more game mechanics possibilities.

 

2D:

  1. Smoother game look and less unexpected camera point views or glitches.
  2. Takes less time to make a game.
  3. Animations takes much less time to make, therefore 2D animations are better.

 

I feel like I am missing a lot of stuff, but I just could not figure out what it is.

It seems like majority of games in Ludum Dare are 2D, I wonder if that’s because of lack of practice or personal preference.

Comments

RedKurZe
12. Apr 2016 · 20:30 UTC
I make 2D games, because I can’t make 3D models, and I’m a decent pixel artist, so I’ve just stuck with making 2D games.
GAFBlizzard
12. Apr 2016 · 20:50 UTC
3D games present both a massive challenge in terms of controls / setup / asset creation and a challenge in terms of sharing them (downloading random .exe’s is scary, running in a virtual machine is annoying and/or unfeasible, WebGL versions of say, Unity games tend to be unreliable or buggy, web browsers are doing their best to block the old Unity web plugin).
12. Apr 2016 · 21:11 UTC
I agree that 3D games are time consuming ( and 3D models). I also just hate using Unity…
meyade
12. Apr 2016 · 21:20 UTC
I can’t see how 2D animation would take less time than 3D animation. When you make a 3D model, that’s it. Now you just need to animate it. When you make a 2D character you’ve got to animate it by hand, none of that flash auto-moving bulls**t (if you want to end up with something that can compete against 3D animation I mean). And even if 2D animation took less time to make, that doesn’t mean it’s better than 3D animation. for example we can try to compare a 3D N64 game like The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time with a 2D game of the modern age (to try and make the teams comparable) like The Banner Saga or Darkest Dungeon. Could you say any is better than the other? 3D animation and 2D animation can’t be compared because they don’t fit in the same game mechanics and give a different feel.
12. Apr 2016 · 22:31 UTC
I have done both, many times. I can say without a doubt if you you want a more complete game for LudumDare go with 2D.