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Topic: Cave Story 3D screenshots in new Nintendo Power look awful (scans inside)

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Kid_A

The screenshots for this game look next to abysmal (check it out below). The 3D character models and environments are just so lifeless and unpolished looking that it's genuinely difficult to believe that professional design team cooked this up. Yikes.

Untitled

Edited on by Kid_A

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theblackdragon

Kid_A wrote:

unpolished looking

i think that's the key part of your statement -- the game isn't finished yet, they haven't had time to polish it up, maybe? some games go through radical changes in look before they're released; i'd be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Edited on by theblackdragon

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she_gamer

I saw a few on Gamespot, and I thought they looked alright... but I just finished playing the PC version, so I don't know if that makes a difference. They're definitely a step up from that, but maybe not as good as they could be.

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Kid_A

theblackdragon wrote:

Kid_A wrote:

unpolished looking

i think that's the key part of your statement -- the game isn't finished yet, they haven't had time to polish it up, maybe? some games go through radical changes in look before they're released; i'd be willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Perhaps, but this is a launch window game. Looking at some of the other launch window games, it's kind of hard to believe...

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Slapshot

@Kid_A... maybe I've seen something different, but a few shots I've seen looked pretty good. It seems most all the screenshots for 3DS don't look to great, but that is mostly because it's hard to advertise a 3D game in 2D.

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retired_account

I'd be interested in seeing some scans. :3

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theblackdragon

Kid_A wrote:

Perhaps, but this is a launch window game.

given Cave Story's track record with timely releases, i'd trust that 'fact' as far as i could kick it, lol

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Issun

irken004 wrote:

And that is why I'll nearly always prefer 2D sprites to 3D renditions of the characters, I mean : he looks emotionless (and kinda ugly).

Waffle !

Bankai

One thing people need to remember is that pretty much every 3DS game is going to look awful (relatively speaking) on a 2D platform.

It's only when you play it in 3D on the 3DS that you will be able to "see" the kind of visual aesthetic the developers are going for.

warioswoods

2.5D is a trap most of the time. A few games (DKCR, for instance) have gone the extra distance to really make it work beautifully, but most of the time it turns out looking less inspired, detailed, and interesting than even the classic 2D games of the SNES era.

It's akin to the CGI movies trend: it can be something new and amazing in Pixar's hands, but most CGI films are actually far cheaper to make and involve far less design work than classic animation. Some things seem like a step forward, but they're actually just an excuse for laziness. 2.5D is very much one of those things, I'm afraid.

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pikku

@warioswoods once again, you have taken the words straight outta my mouth. Good job!

I feared for the game from the moment I watched the trailer. (the one that Irken posted above, just in case there is more than one by this point.)

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JoshuaYoshua

@warioswoods I disagree completely, for a programmer it's far more work to make a 3D side scroller and I don't believe you can compare the work of the artists either, in both cases to make them look decent it takes a lot of talent and effort. To me the whole process of making a 3D side scroller is far less defined and far greater a challenge, in that way it's a trap. The benefit is great because you are not restricted in scale and you have a lot more freedom in your creativity, you have an extra dimension plus and all the technology based around it.

edited again
As for the 3D footage of Cave Story 3D I think it looks quite bare very much because of the lighting. The characters seem only to have a STATIC ambiance to them without any shaders etc, maybe this is a design choice but who knows - they should definitely go for something dynamic, a cartoony shader to some degree might work better (agree completely that it looks unpolished and thus unprofessional). To that I was actually quite content with the amount of expression in that piece, of course you can always do more using freehand drawing but I don't think the original Cave Story went very far in that regard and it all worked very well .

Edited on by JoshuaYoshua

JoshuaYoshua

warioswoods

. . . and I don't believe you can compare the work of the artists either, in both cases to make them look decent it takes a lot of talent and effort.

I agree that it takes a great deal of work in both cases to make it look great, but unfortunately with 2.5D (or CGI) you can make it look acceptable with very little effort, so it's easy to just stop there and not put in the work to take it to the next level.

3D animation can be fantastic when done correctly, but it very frequently leads to horribly lifeless results. You can't just fire up your Maya or whatever software to create 3D models, put them in various poses, and call it a day; hand-drawn animators (and good pixel artists) know that it's the subtleties of movement and expression that make all the difference (and even exaggerations -- if your model always keeps the same polygonal proportions in the name of "realism," you're greatly limiting what you can do to emphasize movement or emotion). If you fail to think like an animator and instead think too much like a programmer or a mere creator of polygonal models, you end up with frozen, uninspired, and lifeless work like the faces in The Polar Express or the character movements in those Shrek films.

It can be done well, no question of that. I cited Pixar and DKCR, which are great examples. I just find that the balance is in favor of laziness and lack of creativity.

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Bankai

I just find that the balance is in favor of laziness and lack of creativity.

Don't you think the more likely answer is "lack of resources?" Traditional 2D, hand-drawn films are very expensive to make, and no longer a guarantee at the box office.

It's easy to blame lack of creativity, but generally speaking that "lack" comes more from the pressures of being involved in a very expensive industry with businesses that can and do sink with one misstep than a genuine lack of talent.

JoshuaYoshua

@WaltzElf You might be onto something there also, nice points everyone.

edited
Going back to what warioswoods was saying, if they can get away with making them without going to the next level then they won't (if they are unwisely fixed on the first dollar and not on their product and reputation) invest in the resources it takes to bring them to that level.

another edit
Well feel like I went a bit off topic with that as I don't imagine that to be the case with Cave Story 3D.

Edited on by JoshuaYoshua

JoshuaYoshua

Highwinter

WaltzElf wrote:

I just find that the balance is in favor of laziness and lack of creativity.

Don't you think the more likely answer is "lack of resources?" Traditional 2D, hand-drawn films are very expensive to make, and no longer a guarantee at the box office.

It's easy to blame lack of creativity, but generally speaking that "lack" comes more from the pressures of being involved in a very expensive industry with businesses that can and do sink with one misstep than a genuine lack of talent.

I was going to be a bit more mean and poke fun at hipsters who currently seem to go gaga for anything retro, claiming it gives games some kind of "charm" or cool underground indie developer look. Now that it's getting a full retailer release with 3D graphics, it's suddenly uncool..

But you bring up some good points too. I certainly don't think the decision to make the game 2D and retro had anything to do with a particular style they were going but rather because it's easier and cheaper for a small team to do. That said, I do hope the original version is included in here too.

Highwinter

Raylax

I highly doubt Nicalis are making it in 3D for a quick buck with less workload - given they've already proven to be very competent with 2D graphics with the Wiiware Cave Story and La Mulana re-sprites. The 3D may still be misguided (I've not seen screens yet, so I couldn't comment), but I doubt it's intentionally lazy.

Raylax

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