Which to choose: 2D or 3D for a java game

Question

What should a small team choose for their first game, when they are low on time but have big ambitions? I'm an experienced programmer, but haven't done any game programming before this. My designer is very talented and artistic, he has worked with 3D about an year ago but hasn't done it since so it could take him some time to learn it again, and i'm not sure if he'll be able to do a good job at it even though his graphic design skills are terrific otherwise.

Our primary concern is to get the game finished as quickly as possible, and also to do it easily since this is my first game programming project. At the same time, we don't want to have any limitations that might hinder our progress later on, or otherwise make the game not fun in certain ways.

For example, i learnt that certain animations aren't possible in 2D such as rotation etc. I would like the ability to have the player's character be able to morph into animals and there must be the ability to shoot at the monsters, (like shooting an arrow and seeing it fly through and hit the other person). Are these things possible in 2D?

In the future, if we wanted to go from 3D to 2D, would it be possible without fully rewriting the game?

Answer 1

You don't have to use 3D to allow for a "3D look". Things like rotations, motions or transformations can be prerecorded or prerendered as animations or image sequences and seamlessly integrated into a 2D game. The only thing that is not possible in 2D is to navigate freely within your "game space" (like walking or flying freely, turning arbitrarily etc.)

The main concern, however, when deciding for 2D or 3D should be the gameplay. There are games that absolutely need 3D (shooters, simulations), while others do perfectly without (adventures, puzzles, ...). So you don't actually have to decide but to choose the better fit for your game idea.

Personally, I'd avoid using 3D in your first game attempt if possible to eliminate all the constraints and hassles that come with it.

When using 3D you typically have to decide for a 3D framework which will heavily influence your software design, game look and feel and overall performance. Java3D for example brings a complicated class structure that you have to adjust to. And a lot of effort goes into making that 3D stuff work at all. Simple things like rotating a square evolve into matrix operations incorporating quaternions. Every effect has to be done in the complex 3D world, and in such a way that its 2D projected look turns out the way you intended it. Not to mention that 3D applications often suffer a very stereotypical look that is very hard to overcome.

In 2D, you literally avoid one dimension of complexity. You do everything exactly the way it is supposed to look, you can use standard graphic applications and open file formats to simplify the workflow between the designer and the developer. And a lot of pseudo-3D effects like parallax motion, depth of field and prerendered artwork allow for astonishing looks in a 2D world.

Answer 2

Given your requirements, I'd choose 2D . You have more tools to choose from . more available talent to contract for artwork .. and the asset pipeline is simpler. In the end it's going to be all about how good the game is on its own merits. 3D is sometimes more difficult for your average user to figure out.

Depending on what you are conceptualizing, rotations and morphing oughta be quite possible in 2D. You might even consider a pseudo-3d approach ala Paper Mario ..

Moving from 2D to 3D should not be a major issue if you design your code structure with that in mind. ..

Answer 3

I think writing a 2D or a full 3D game needs a completely different design approach what cannot be modified easily later: SUN provides a Java 2D API and a Java 3D API for the two development decisions. For the first game with tight deadline I would vote for a 2D version. If the gameplay is interesting and the design is nice then the 3D is not a must.

Answer 4

You should go 2D. You have stated several reasons to take this approach:

• You are a small team, and 3D takes more work.
• It's your first game, so you need to keep it as simple as possible, or the project may fail (you are exposed to a lot of risk!)
• The 3D artist needs to relearn the crafts!
• You have a (seemingly self-imposed) deadline.
• Etc.

3D takes a lot of time, and it will be best invested in improving the rest of the game. Think of all the awesome games that existed previous to the 3D era.

Do not fear to accept restrictions: whilst 3D might give you lots of possibilities, 2D may result in more creative work!

Answer 5

I would recommend 2D as well. A 3D game will be more graphically demanding on the user's computer, and many things like collision detection are significantly simpler in 2D. You could even make your character models in 3D and then project them down to 2D to make the sprites for the actual game. Puzzle Pirates (http://www.puzzlepirates.com/) takes this approach and it works very well in terms of consistent lighting, etc.

Answer 6

I would considre a couple of factors:

1. Is it a mobile or applet game? If so, I would go for the 2D version. It's very hard to get 3D right under those circumstances.
2. What is your designer more comfortable with? Can he more quickly model, texture and animate a characte, rather than creating all the sprites needed for a 2D character?
3. Tool support. What output formats can your designer produce in both 2D and 3D? What kind of formats is the middle ware, you are going to use, able to handle? Can your 3D engine load, or at least convert, .obj files (just an example, could have used any other model format.)?

Even if you would like to go the 3D way, you can still make a 2D game (sometimes called 2.5D or pseudo 3D). Also there are some nice third party frameworks out there for both 2D and 3D stuff in Java. You don't have to use java2D/java3D.