General Zelda ZD Community Fan Based Game Project Poll, 2d or 3d

[The Jade Fist]

So lets do this nice and simple.

Vote for a 2d game or a 3d game.

The entire community is welcome to input.

2D - :bunnylink:
Pros:
Alot less work I mean alot less, like could be done in a few weeks compared to 3d being a year +
Would play like the more classic Zelda games.
For a community project this would allow people to more easily contribute art work

cons, It wouldn't be as cool

3D- Pros: :majora:
More freedom in design
Much more memorable
Much more immersive.
With greater freedom of design, offers more freedom in unique game play mechanics.

Con: Will take alot more dedication, and time to actually ever be finished.

 

[Ventus]

A 2D game has many more chances of starting, let alone being completed.

 

[The Jade Fist]

A 2D game has many more chances of starting, let alone being completed.

Ya thats kinda my thought.

 

[Dragoncat]

2d all the way, 3d would be next to impossible.

 

[Fred Flintstone]

the more dimensions the more glitchy it will get. Lets just call it a day and make it a 1d game. In all seriousness I'm abstaining to vote since I can't balance what I want with what I know we can do.

 

[The Jade Fist]

Anyways, i'm leaving this poll up to run its course for the next like idk, 24 hours. But its already looking like 2d is the way to go.

This is a way for the community to decide in an organized way the direction the project will proceed.

Future polls will follow to decide and what not.

We can't simply be all talking about random ideas, and expect any progress.

So, ya I'll try to see what kind of work this community both is capable of and willing to do. We do have some programing and animating experience on these forums, and if they (the community) genuinely believes its possible, 3d isn't entirely out of the question.

But we need to decide where to build our game's foundation, and then design it within the limitations of the platform we choose to proceed with as well as available resources.

 

[ihateghirahim]

2D, simple and done many times before.

 

[Beauts]

I agree with everyone, 2D is the way forward here.

 

[Hylian_Monolith]

2D. Nice and simple. And I kind of have a thing for the in-game style of 2D games... Few, if any, of us have the technology to make a 3D game. A 2D game will be less memorable, sure, but just as awesome in my (perhaps twisted) opinion, and it'll be out sooner.

 

[balloonofwar4]

Am I the only one who voted for 3D? Oh well...

Anyways, if we are going to do it in 3D, I found two very good engines imo. I am no programmer, so in reality these engines might be crap.

Irrlicht with irrKlang and irrEdit- A very powerful and free engine for graphics, audio, and gamebuilding respectively. From the research I've done, it seems very good.
UDK- An extremely powerful gamebuilding and grahpic engine. Used to make games like Infinity Blade. There must be some kind of catch, though, as that kind of engine can't just be handed out freely.

Well, it seems everyone else wants a 2D game, so a 2D game it is.

 

[The Jade Fist]

I'll look into UDK, but if it the same engine i'm thinking it is, i'm not sure its free.

 

[balloonofwar4]

If UDK is free it must be some dumpy trial version.

 

[Mercedes]

UE3 is free, for non-commercial use. No catch. If you've no intention of selling this game, can use the full UE3 without a problem.

 

[The Jade Fist]

Ah, it is free, for non commercial uses, so for a non profit project like this we'd be with our rights to use it.
Hmm ok, but just cause we can use the unreal engine doesn't mean, we dont' still need other software to interact with it.

Edit:

not only that creating the resources for the project will be alot, though we could still potentially use the unreal engine for a 2d game.

 

[Mercedes]

If you want to make a quality game, UE3 has everything you will need. You can create pretty much an entire game in there without needing any other tools. Scaleform may create more functional, advanced UI, but UE3's own tools can do it fine and that applies to most instances of a game's development. Also, don't discount just how good free software is; GIMP is sufficient for graphics and more, and Blender can produce some amazing 3D things.

If you want to keep it simple and 2D, it's probably not worth downloading an advanced 3D development engine to then limit it and use little of the overall features. It would be quite daunting, too. It'll work but can be fiddly as well. Simple engines like the over-looked Citrus Engine are designed to create 2D side-scrolling games and will probably serve you a lot better, so I'd do a search for engines like that. It'll also enable the game to more easily be embedded online for all to play, so perhaps sticking with something like Flash/CE will be nicer because of that. Easier to share the game because of that.

Unity is a more accessible engine for beginners if UE3 seems a bit daunting, too.