Sidescroller or Topdown?

[aaaron]

What do you perfer?

Do you like sidescroller ORPG's or topdown ORPG's?

[Jeff]

they both have their place and both can be extremely fun.

[aaaron]

@Skull:

> they both have their place and both can be extremely fun.

Ok then. ; ]

[DrNova]

sidescroller's seem more of a spare time thing then serious. havent played one that held my interesr very long

[saadhamza]

I love Latale, and i used to love maplestory. I'm assuming you're only talking about 2d ORPG? Because most 3d ORPG are topdown too.

[Jeff]

@Zonova:

> I love Latale, and i used to love maplestory. I'm assuming you're only talking about 2d ORPG? Because most 3d ORPG are topdown too.

3D can't be sidescroller…. They could do it in a 3D environment, and use 3D models but the Z axis can't really be used to it's full potential without mindfucking people.

[Godlord]

3D is either going to be first person or third person.

Yours faithfully
  Stephan.

[saadhamza]

That's true. I was assuming that we were just referring to 3D models. And LoL is a good example of a 3D topdown game. Many third person 3D games have their camera locked. Would that also make them top-down?

[Connor]

I prefer the top down view.
I do enjoy playing side scrolling games though, they both have there pros and cons!

[Kusy]

@Skull:

> 3D can't be sidescroller…. They could do it in a 3D environment, and use 3D models but the Z axis can't really be used to it's full potential without mindfucking people.

Dragonica. It's a 3D sidescroller ORPG, most sidescroller games are 3D right now, it's more of a gameplay choice than anything other - Game was made using 3D models, it uses all axises, the player is limited to moving in one plane. I don't see how that doesn't fit for a 3D game.

Top down in my understanding is bird's eye. Eclipse top down is something like 40°.
Making a sidescroller game is a bigger design challenge, I think it's harder to make maps look less shitty in a sidescroller, especialy in online games, and I honestly never seen one that would avoid having it's maps shitty (well Dragonica was quite close) with Maple Story being a good example.

Sidescrollers are usualy not taken seriously, floating islands everywhere, usualy candylike graphics, overusage of ladders, zero combat depth in most cases. It's a good way of thinking for single player games, with one player and AI orbiting around him you can make the game more dynamic and interesting but for me it will never work for anything online. Actualy in single player I would preffer a well done sidescroller over a top down game.

The only  sidescroller games that managed to get maps exacly and perfectly right for me was The Claw, and Rayman. Gameplay wise, I would add Jazz Jackrabbit (both considering when they were released) to those two. If I was to make a sidescroller game that's where I would look for good ideas. There were many many good of those but those were the best in what they did.