User:سائغ/Z1

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The 1988 shareware game The Adventures of Captain Comic was one of the first attempts at a Nintendo-style platformer for IBM PC compatibles.[1] It inspired Commander Keen, released by id Software in 1990, which became the first MS-DOS platformer with smooth scrolling graphics.[2] Keen's success resulted in numerous console-styled platformers on the PC, including Duke Nukem, Duke Nukem II, Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure, and Dark Ages all by Apogee Software. These fueled a brief burst of episodic platform games where the first was freely distributed and parts 2 and 3 were available for purchase.

Decline of 2D[edit]

The abundance of platformers for 16-bit consoles continued late into the generation, with successful games such as Vectorman (1995), Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995), and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995), but the release of new hardware caused players' attention to move away from 2D genres.[3] The Sega Saturn, PlayStation, and Nintendo 64 nevertheless featured a number of successful 2D platform games. The 2D Rayman was a big success on 32-bit consoles. Mega Man 8 and Mega Man X4 helped revitalize interest in Capcom's Mega Man character. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night revitalized its series and established a new foundation for later Castlevania games. Oddworld and Heart of Darkness kept the subgenre born from Prince of Persia alive.

The difficulties of adapting platform gameplay to three dimensions led some developers to compromise by pairing the visual flash of 3D with traditional 2D side scrolling gameplay. These games are often referred to as 2.5D.[4] The first such game was the Sega Saturn launch title, Clockwork Knight (1994). The game featured levels and boss characters rendered in 3D, but retained 2D gameplay and used pre-rendered 2D sprites for regular characters, similar to Donkey Kong Country. Its sequel improved upon its design, featuring some 3D effects such as hopping between the foreground and background, and the camera panning and curving around corners. Meanwhile, Pandemonium and Klonoa brought the 2.5D style to the PlayStation. In a break from the past, the Nintendo 64 had the fewest side scrolling platformers with only four; Yoshi's Story, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Goemon's Great Adventure, and Mischief Makers—and most met with a tepid response from critics at the time.[5][6] Despite this, Yoshi's Story sold over a million copies in the US,[7] and Mischief Makers rode high on the charts in the months following its release.[8][9]

The third dimension[edit]

The term 3D platformer usually refers to games with gameplay in three dimensions and polygonal 3D graphics. Games that have 3D gameplay but 2D graphics are usually included under the umbrella of isometric platformers, while those that have 3D graphics but gameplay on a 2D plane are called 2.5D, as they are a blend of 2D and 3D.

One of the first platformers with 3D graphics was Sega's Congo Bongo in 1983. The first platformers to simulate a 3D perspective and moving camera emerged in the early-mid-1980s. An early example of this was Konami's platform game Antarctic Adventure,[10] where the player controls a penguin in a forward-scrolling third-person perspective while having to jump over pits and obstacles.[10][11][12] Originally released in 1983 for the MSX computer, it was subsequently ported to various platforms the following year,[12] including an arcade version,[10] NES,[12] and ColecoVision.[11]

1986 saw the release of the sequel to forward-scrolling platformer Antarctic Adventure called Penguin Adventure, which was designed by Hideo Kojima.[13] It included more action game elements, a greater variety of levels, RPG elements such as upgrading equipment,[14] and multiple endings.[15]

In early 1987, Square released 3-D WorldRunner, designed by Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nasir Gebelli.[16][17] Using a forward-scrolling effect similar to Sega's 1985 third-person rail shooter Space Harrier.[16] 3-D WorldRunner was an early forward-scrolling pseudo-3D third-person platform-action game where players were free to move in any forward-scrolling direction and could leap over obstacles and chasms. It was notable for being one of the first stereoscopic 3-D games.[17] Square released its sequel, JJ, later that year.[18]


The earliest example of a true 3D platform game is a French computer game called Alpha Waves, created by Christophe de Dinechin and published by Infogrames in 1990 for the Atari ST, Amiga, and IBM PC compatibles.[19][20]


Bug!, a Sega Saturn game that was released in 1995, offered a more conservative approach to true 3D platforming. It allowed players to move in all directions, but it did not allow movement along more than one axis at once; the player could move orthogonally but not diagonally. Its characters were pre-rendered sprites, much like the earlier Clockwork Knight. The game played very similarly to 2D platformers, but it was considered a true 3D title, and let players walk up walls and on ceilings. It has a sequel called Bug Too!.

In 1995, Delphine Software released a 3D sequel to their 2D platformer Flashback. Entitled Fade to Black, it was the first attempt to bring a popular 2D platform game series into 3D. While it retained the puzzle-oriented level design style and step-based control, it did not meet the criteria of a platform game, and was billed as an action adventure.[21] It used true 3D characters and set pieces, but its environments were rendered using a rigid engine similar to the one used by Wolfenstein 3D, in that it could only render square, flat corridors, rather than suspended platforms that could be jumped between.

Sony adopted an existing project by developers Naughty Dog: Crash Bandicoot. Crash remained Sony's unofficial mascot for the next several years before switching to multi-platform releases in the following console generation.

Sega had tasked their American studio, Sega Technical Institute, with bringing Sonic the Hedgehog into 3D. Their project, titled Sonic Xtreme, was to have featured a radically different approach for the series, with an exaggerated fisheye camera and multidirectional gameplay reminiscent of Bug!. Due in part to conflicts with Sega Enterprises in Japan and a rushed schedule, and the game never made it to market.[22]

True 3D[edit]

Beginning in the 1990s platforming games began to transform from pseudo-3D to "true 3D" experiences, the distinction being constraints on the degree of control the player over the character and camera. Rendering of 3D environment from angles controlled by the user necessitates that the graphics hardware be sufficiently powerful, and that the art and rendering model of the game can be viewed from an arbitrary angle. The improvement in graphics technology allowed publishers to produce such games, but introduced several new issues; for example, if the virtual camera can be positioned arbitrarily, it must be constrained to prevent it from clipping through the environment.[23]

In 1994, a small developer called Exact released a game for the X68000 computer called Geograph Seal. The game was a fully 3D polygonal first-person shooter hybrid with a pronounced platform jumping component. Players piloted a frog-like mech that could jump and then double-jump or triple-jump high into the air, as the camera panned down to help players line up their landings. In addition to shooting, jumping on enemies was a primary means of attack.[24] This was the first true 3D platform-action game with free-roaming environments, but it was never ported to another platform nor released outside Japan, so it remains relatively unknown in the West.[25]

The following year, Exact released their follow-up to Geograph Seal as an early title for Sony's new PlayStation console. Jumping Flash!, released in April 1995, is regarded as a direct continuation of the gameplay concepts in Geograph Seal..[26] The frog-like mech was traded in for a more cartoony rabbit mech, called Robbit. The level design had an even greater focus on platform hopping, and it was released in Europe and North America as a launch title, helping it gain a much higher profile. The title was successful enough to receive two sequels, and is remembered as the first 3D platformer on a console.[25] Rob Fahey of Eurogamer highlighted that the game was arguably one of the most important ancestors of any 3D platform game at the time.[27] Jumping Flash holds the record of "First platform videogame in true 3D" according to Guinness World Records.[28] Another early 3D platformer was Floating Runner, developed by Japanese company Xing and released for the PlayStation in early 1996, predating the release of Super Mario 64. Floating Runner used D-pad controls and a behind-the-character camera perspective.[29]


Nintendo released Super Mario 64 in 1996. Prior there was no established paradigm for bringing platform games into 3D. Its gameplay allowed players to explore open 3D environments with greater freedom than any previous attempt at a 3D platform game. To aid this, Nintendo added an analog control stick to its Nintendo 64 controller, something which had not been included in a standard console controller since the Vectrex, and which has since become standard on other controllers. This allowed for the finer precision needed for a free perspective. Players no longer followed a linear path to the ends of levels, either, with most levels providing objective-based goals. There were a handful of boss levels that offered more traditional platforming.[30]

It was rumored that Super Mario 64 was originally going to be developed for the SNES using the Super FX chip entitled Super Mario FX, however this was proven false by Dylan Cuthbert, one of the programmers at Argonaut Software who worked on Star Fox, as "Super Mario FX" was just the internal code name for the Super FX chip.[31] Argonaut Software did offer an early prototype for a 3D platformer starring Yoshi, a character in the Super Mario series, to Nintendo. Nintendo rejected the pitch, which resulted in the game being remade into the 1997 title, Croc: Legend of the Gobbos.

Super Mario 64 brought a change in the goals of some platformers. In most 2D platformers, the player only had to reach a single goal to complete a level, but in Mario 64 each level contained a mission-based structure that rewarded items needed to unlock new areas. Many 3D platformers followed this trend such as Banjo-Kazooie, Spyro the Dragon, and Donkey Kong 64 creating the "collect-a-thon" genre. This allowed for more efficient use of large 3D areas and rewarded the player for thorough exploration of their environment, but also contained less jumping and involved more elements of action-adventure games.

As platform games settled into this new free-roaming model, it became necessary for developers to program a dynamic, intelligent camera. This was a non-issue with 2D platformers, which were able to maintain a fixed viewpoint. The addition of a free camera also made it more difficult for players to judge the exact height and distance of platforms, making jumping puzzles more difficult. Some of the more linear 3D platformers, like Tork: Prehistoric Punk and Wario World used scripted cameras that allowed for minimal player control. Others with more open environments, such as Super Mario 64 and Banjo Kazooie, needed intelligent cameras that follow the players movements.[32] These intelligent cameras required the player to adjust the view at times when the view was obstructed, or simply not facing what the player needed to see.

RPGs, first person shooters, and more complex action-adventure games were all capturing more market share. Even so, Tomb Raider became one of the best selling series on the PlayStation, along with Insomniac Games' Spyro and Naughty Dog's Crash Bandicoot, one of the few 3D titles to retain the linear level design of 2D games. Also, many of the Nintendo 64's best sellers were first and second-party platformers like Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, and Donkey Kong 64.[33] On Windows and Mac, Pangea Software's Bugdom series, and BioWare's MDK2 proved successful.

Several developers who found success in the 3D platformer genre, also began experimenting with publishing titles featuring humour and content aimed at a more mature audience, despite their art style. Examples include Rare's Conker's Bad Fur Day, Crystal Dynamics's Gex: Deep Cover Gecko and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, and Shiny Entertainment's Messiah.

Sega produced a 3D Sonic game, Sonic Adventure, on its new Dreamcast console. It used a hub structure like Super Mario 64 but with more linear, action-oriented levels with an emphasis on speed.[34]

Into the 21st century[edit]

Nintendo launched its GameCube console without a platform game. However, it released Super Mario Sunshine in 2002, the second 3D Mario game. While the title was well-received at the time of its release, it has since been criticized for its short length, lack of location variety, and the abundance of open space in the levels, making for a slower-paced game.[35][36]

Other notable 3D platformers trickled out during this generation. Maximo was a spiritual heir to the Ghosts'n Goblins series, Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg offered Yuji Naka's take on a Mario 64-influenced platformer, Argonaut Software returned with a new platformer named Malice, games such as Dragon's Lair 3D: Return to the Lair and Pitfall: The Lost Expedition were attempts to modernise classic video games of the 1980s using the 3D platformer genre, Psychonauts became a critical darling based on its imaginative levels and colorful characters, and several franchises that debuted during the sixth generation of consoles such as Tak, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger, Ape Escape and Sly Cooper each developed a cult following. In Europe specifically, the Kao the Kangaroo and Hugo series achieved popularity and sold well. Rayman's popularity continued, though the franchise's third game was not as well received as the first two.[37][38] Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee brought the popular Oddworld franchise into the third dimension, but future sequels to this game did not opt for the 3D platform genre.

Naughty Dog's moved on from Crash Bandicoot to Jak and Daxter, a series that became less about traditional platforming with each sequel.[39] A hybrid platformer/shooter game from Insomniac Games called Ratchet & Clank further pushed the genre away from such gameplay, as did Universal Interactive Studios' rebooted Spyro trilogy and Microsoft's attempt to create a mascot for the Xbox in Blinx: The Time Sweeper. Ironically, Microsoft later found more success with their 2003 take on the genre, Voodoo Vince.

In 2008, Crackpot Entertainment released Insecticide. Crackpot, composed of former developers from LucasArts, for the first time combined influences from the point and click genre LucasArts had been known for on titles such as Grim Fandango with a platformer.

Platformers remained a vital genre, but they never recaptured the popularity they once held. Part of the recent for platforming's decline through the 2000s was the lack of innovation compared to other genres in video games. Platform games either were aimed specifically at younger players, or the games were made to avoid the platform label.[40] In 1998, platform games had a 15% share of the market, and even higher during their prime, four years later that figure had dropped to 2%.[3] Even the much acclaimed Psychonauts experienced modest sales at first, leading publisher Majesco Entertainment to withdraw from high budget console games,[41] even though its sales in Europe were respectable.[42]

Recent developments[edit]

Trine (2009) mixed traditional platform elements with more modern physics puzzles.

Despite having a smaller presence in the overall gaming market, some platform games continue to be successful into the seventh generation of consoles. 2007 saw the release of Super Mario Galaxy and Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction to positive critical and fan reaction.[43][44][45] Super Mario Galaxy was awarded the Best Game of 2007 on high-profile gaming websites including GameSpot, IGN, and GameTrailers, and was at that point the most critically acclaimed game of all time according to GameRankings. In 2008, LittleBigPlanet paired traditional 2D platform game mechanics with physics simulation and user created content, earning strong sales and critical reaction. Electronic Arts released Mirror's Edge, which coupled platform gameplay with a first-person camera, but avoided marketing the game as a platformer because of the association the label had developed with games geared toward younger audiences.[citation needed] Sonic Unleashed featured stages containing both 2D and 3D styles of platform gameplay; this formula was also used in Sonic Colors and Sonic Generations. Two Crash Bandicoot platform games were also released in 2007 and 2008.

Freedom Planet (2014) is a more traditional, retro-style platformer: it draws heavy influence from early Sonic the Hedgehog games and features pixelated, sprite-based graphics.

The popularity of 2D platformers started to increase again in 2010s. Nintendo has revived the genre in recent years. New Super Mario Bros. was released in 2006 and has sold 30 million copies worldwide; it is the best-selling game for the Nintendo DS, and the fourth best-selling non-bundled video game of all time.[46] Super Mario Galaxy has sold over eight million units,[46] while Super Paper Mario, Super Mario 64 DS, Sonic Rush, Yoshi's Island DS, Kirby Super Star Ultra, and Kirby: Squeak Squad also have strong sales, and keep the genre active.

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