Developers shouldn't bother with 3D games on the iPhone

Discussion in 'General Game Discussion and Questions' started by Twazzock, Jul 1, 2009.

  1. Twazzock

    Twazzock Well-Known Member

    Jul 1, 2009
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    By 3D graphics I mean stuff like, Assassin's Creed, Real Racing, Doom Resurrection etc. And this is my opinion, I'm not saying it's fact.

    Firstly, it looks ugly. No matter how technically impressive it is for the iPhone, it will always have jaggy edges, muddy textures and fairly bad animations. You'll never be able to make a truly good looking game in 3D, the best the iPhone can manage is servicable graphics that let you see what you're doing. They also tend to run quite poorly, with low framerates and the like.

    Also, 3D graphics generally make for bad games. There are a few good ones, like Real Racing and Assassins Creed, but in general they tend to be let down by poor graphics and stability. Controlling the game in 3 dimensions is a lot harder with the iPhone's touch screen, and I personally find an on-screen analogue stick quite unweildly to control.

    In short, 3D games on the iPhone are more expensive, look ugly, don't run so well and are awkward to control. Why bother with them when you can make genuinely nice looking, fun games like Rolando, or Plushed. It baffles me, quite honestly, and I'd love to see more cheap and excellent 2D games on the iPhone, replacing the 'hit or miss' 3D ventures.
     
  2. robertf224

    robertf224 Well-Known Member

    Mar 28, 2009
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    Have you played sway and star defense? They both look great in 3d.
     
  3. walsh06

    walsh06 Well-Known Member

    GOF and tiger woods are great too. So are touch ski and x2 football
     
  4. Marioman619

    Marioman619 Well-Known Member

    Mar 8, 2009
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    But some games wouldn't even work in 2D. I'd like to see a 2D version of something like Zen Bound- it wouldn't work.
     
  5. SoCal_Sponger

    SoCal_Sponger Well-Known Member

    Feb 28, 2009
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    a 2D livefire/killtest wouldnt work either. Nor a 2D F.A.S.T.
     
  6. kenzhj77

    kenzhj77 Well-Known Member

    Mar 25, 2009
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    Tell that to Nintendo DS. iPhone especially 3GS exceeds DS in every aspect. Telling iPhone developers not to make 3D games is like telling the same thing to DS game developers
     
  7. deckard

    deckard Well-Known Member

    Mar 25, 2009
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    Tampa, FL
    I tend to agree; iPhone 3D graphics are several generations behind current, somewhere around mid to late 90's. It's no wonder the iPhone is such a magnet for retro games eh?
     
  8. randomdude

    randomdude Well-Known Member

    Mar 21, 2009
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    [​IMG]
    You call that in the 90's???
     
  9. icepulse

    icepulse Well-Known Member

    Aug 7, 2008
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    Guess you didn't get the memo, but the 3GS has more processing and graphics muscle than the PSP. Look it up.
     
  10. icepulse

    icepulse Well-Known Member

    Aug 7, 2008
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    Yeah, actually. It looks late 90's PC.
     
  11. icepulse

    icepulse Well-Known Member

    Aug 7, 2008
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    Yeah, actually. It looks late 90's PC.
     
  12. 5jusername

    5jusername Well-Known Member

    Mar 10, 2009
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    Somewhere In The Universe
    yeah but not everyone has a 3gs
     
  13. Reaganomics

    Reaganomics Well-Known Member

    Apr 26, 2009
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    I just feel blessed that I have a small 6 inch phone that can play 3D and 2D games, retro games, RPG and RTS games, puzzle games, platforms an the list goes on. The possibilities are almost endless. Why make comments that are so limiting in nature?
     
  14. The Bat Outta Hell

    The Bat Outta Hell Moderator
    Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold Patreon Bronze

    Mar 10, 2009
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    I have to disagree. Maybe this will change your mind.

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
  15. Reaganomics

    Reaganomics Well-Known Member

    Apr 26, 2009
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    I thought mid 90's.
     
  16. robertf224

    robertf224 Well-Known Member

    Mar 28, 2009
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    mid ninetys would be doom. Doom still used ray tracing i believe. I never actually played it though as I was one year old then.
     
  17. SoCal_Sponger

    SoCal_Sponger Well-Known Member

    Feb 28, 2009
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  18. Doom (like Wolfenstein 3D) used raycasting, not ray tracing. Ray tracing is unbelievably CPU-intensive -- you can't make a game using a ray tracing engine even on the most powerful home PC unless you like slideshows.

    And the idea that 3D shouldn't be used on the iPhone just because it doesn't always look as good as modern consoles is absurd in the extreme. So what if current generation games don't look like a freakin' PS3? Done properly, they still look very good. Furthermore, with the upgraded chipset on the 3GS, games have the potential to look much better.

    For a device that wasn't designed first as a game system, the iPhone still beats the competition hands down. And by competition, I mean other smartphones and PMPs -- hell, even UMPCs.

    I really just don't get what the complaint is about here.
     
  19. robertf224

    robertf224 Well-Known Member

    Mar 28, 2009
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    raycasting right. Well I was close :cool:. And they are similar to eachother right? Raycasting is like supersimplified ray tracing?
     
  20. daveak

    daveak Well-Known Member

    Indeed, however ray tracing is coming, http://www.intelsoftwaregraphics.com/?lid=2224&siteid=32

    "With Intel’s latest quad-socket systems—equipped with
    a 2.66 GHz Dunnington processor in each socket—we
    can achieve approximately 20 to 35 fps at a resolution
    of 1280x720."

    So maybe with next years iphone :)
     

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