Platform Game - History - Third Dimension

Third Dimension

The term 3D platformer usually refers to games that feature gameplay in three dimensions and polygonal 3D graphics. Games which 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 "somewhere between 2D and 3D".

The first attempts to bring platform games into 3D used 2D graphics and an isometric perspective. These games are nearly as old as the genre itself, one of the earliest examples being 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, where the player controls a penguin in a forward-scrolling third-person perspective while having to jump over pits and obstacles. Originally released in 1983 for the MSX computer, it was ported to various platforms the following year, including the Arcade, NES, and ColecoVision. That same year, I, Robot, though not a platformer, featured filled 3D polygonal graphics, flat shading, and camera control options, which would not be widely adopted by platformers until the 1990s.

1986 saw the release of the sequel to forward-scrolling platformer Antarctic Adventure, called Penguin Adventure, designed by Hideo Kojima. It included more action game elements, a greater variety of levels, RPG elements such as upgrading equipment, and multiple endings. Trailblazer, released to various computer systems in 1986, used a simple linescroll effect to create a forward scrolling pseudo-3D play field where players manipulated a bouncing ball to leap over obstacles and pitfalls.

In early 1987, Square released 3-D WorldRunner, designed by Hironobu Sakaguchi and Nasir Gebelli. Using a similar forward-scrolling effect to Sega's 1985 third-person rail shooter Space Harrier, 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 had to leap over obstacles and chasms. It was also notable for being one of the first stereoscopic 3-D games. Square released its sequel, JJ, later that year. In 1990, an Estonian developer called Bluemoon released Kosmonaut, a forward-scrolling driving/action game similar to Trailblazer, which consisted almost entirely of difficult platform-jumping obstacle courses. While the gameplay took place in three dimensions, and the graphics were polygonal it is considered pseudo-3D because it used a fixed viewpoint. The game was later remade in 1993 as SkyRoads, which experienced much wider popularity.

The earliest example to be found of a true 3D platformer 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 PC. It featured full-screen 3D graphics, true 3D movement, and a movable camera, all firsts for the genre. The environments were abstract, with simple gameplay focused on hopping from trampoline-like platforms. The game was released in North America by Data East, under the name Continuum. Much like Jump Bug before it, while it is believed to be the first of its kind, it is not widely recognized as especially influential (though it is sometimes regarded as a precursor to Jumping Flash!). While its appearance was quite dissimilar from the popular 2D platformer of the day, it was billed as a platform game on its packaging, suggesting that it was seen as an attempt to bring the genre into 3D.

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 landing. In addition to shooting, jumping on enemies was a primary means of attack. This was the first true 3D platform-action game with free-roaming environments, but it was never ported to another platform nor released outside of Japan, so it remains obscure in the West.

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 generally regarded as a direct continuation of the gameplay concepts in Geograph Seal, and was likewise a mix of first-person shooting and platforming, with similar controls and camera-work. The frog-like mech was traded in for a more cartoony rabbit mech, called the "Robbit." Beyond this, 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.

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 left to right, or forward and backward, but not diagonally left and backward at the same time. 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 even let players walk up walls and on ceilings. It was a moderate success and had a sequel, Bug Too!.

In 1995, Delphine Software released a 3D sequel to their popular 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 and bore a strong resemblance to its predecessor, it does not meet the criteria of a platform game, and was billed as an action adventure. 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. This eliminated any hopping from suspended platforms. Fade to Black would set the stage for other series, such as Metroid and Duke Nukem, that would gradually shift away from the traditional platform formula while retaining many of its gameplay conventions.

There was a great deal of pressure on Sony, Sega, and Nintendo to release mascot platformers before the 1996 holiday season. Sony chose to adopt an existing project by developers Naughty Dog, a small developer at the time, who had recently released the questionable Way of the Warrior. The move paid off; their game, Crash Bandicoot, beat Nintendo's new console to market in North America and was released in time for the holiday in Japan. Crash would remain Sony's unofficial mascot for the next several years before switching to multiplatform releases in the following console generation.

Sega did not fare as well. They had tasked their American studio, STI, with bringing Sonic the Hedgehog into 3D. Their project, titled Sonic Xtreme, was to feature a radically different approach for the series, with an exaggerated fisheye camera and multi-directional gameplay reminiscent of Bug!. Its development was rocky, due in part to conflicts with Sega of Japan and a rushed schedule, and the game never made it to market.