As much as I really like the 2D art that Jack did for Operation: Star Hammer, lately I’ve been a bit bothered by the flatness and the feel that gives the game. The style that was used in the current set of sprites deliberately avoids shading and lighting, because the sprites are rotated in real-time. You could have a situation whereby two instances of the same sprite are drawn adjacent to each other, with light sources appearing to contradict each other because they look like they come from different directions. No sir, that won’t do!

So the only solution is 3D. Over the weekend, I worked a bit on a prototype using 3D models in place of sprites, so that the lighting can be done at runtime without resulting in a totally flat scene. So far, so good. My friend Simon was only too willing to crank out some ships to get me started. Thanks Simon! I experimented with perspective and othographic views, and decided that the latter will suit the game better.

The 2D gameplay is exactly what I’m after for the game, and I’m planning on keeping the top-down view. I want fast, I want action, and I want easy-to-grasp, and I think 2D gameplay is best for that.  Making the entire game 3D (and first – or third – person) is certainly not a technical stretch, but the extra dimension makes it harder to hit your opponents, and that in turn slows the gameplay down. I’m not making a combat sim, I’m making an action arcade game.

I think having 3D objects will open up a number of other possibilities going forward as well, but more about that another time.