The urban legend argues that real deepening of video games requires three dimensions: Sidescrollers are good for nostalgia, but the future belongs to the photorealistic three -dimensional worlds.
But a series of recent games, such as the favorite indie “Hollow Knight”, prove that the two -dimensional (2D) handmade art will withstand video games. Ben Fiquet, a Parisian artist who founded the Lizardcube game studio, who has now been involved with SEGA in the Japanese company’s attempt to revive the intellectual property of the Japanese, remains dedicated to art from its “rubbish”.
Fiquet is the creative director of the new SEGA title, “Shinobi: Art of Vengeance”, which is expected to be released on August 29 on Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox and PC platforms.
Fiquet claims to have created Lizardcube to become a 2D animation lighthouse for games, inspired by the award -winning 90s game programmer Dave Perry, who created the visually stunning “Earthworm Jim” of that time. The studio’s effort is supported by several 2D games that have received the best reviews, including SEGA’s “Streets of Rage 4” and the Wonder Boy series.
“The inherent power of the 2D lies in immediate simplicity: the vision of the artist who comes to life immediately,” Fiquet tells The post. “There are no tricks or deception, only pure art. While it can be difficult to cause emotions to the player, I believe that 2D can have a deeper, intense and constant appeal. “
‘Shinobi: Art of Vengeance’
Sega of America visited the Washington Post Syntax Hall with a PlayStation 5 console and a copy of “Shinobi: Art of Vengeance”. Publishers believe that the game speaks on its own when it is in the hands of the player and they are right. The sense of the game requires the mental flexibility and concentration of a fighting game, with a free -flowing system that includes jugglers, combinatorial attacks in the air, counterclaims and dive kicks.
Sega knew that Lizardcube was ideal thanks to the studio’s success to carry Arcade, “Streets of Rage 4” in the 21st century. Kagasei Shimomura, Director of the SEGA Content Production Department, is an old producer from the golden age of the company in the 1990s. As a member of the now abolished Sega Agees project, which brought classic titles to modern platforms, there was a key figure in the conservation He left the 2001 video game console industry to become a publisher and developer for other platforms.
The company is best known for creating Sonic The Hedgehog, but in recent years it has focused on role -focused role -focusing on Japanese culture with the Like A Dragon series, which negotiates Yakuza’s life, while the Persona series with many millions of sales includes fantasy adventures for young adults. This success has given SEGA new confidence in reviving classical series from its golden age.
“When we started the project AGES, our first task was to choose a series to bring it back, and the one that always came to mind was ‘Shinobi,’ said Shimomura. In 2023, SEGA announced that it will fully revive the franchises across the company, and Shimomura again set the revival of Shinobi.
“And when it’s time for this title to come to life, only one name came to my mind: Lizardcube,” he continued. “I contacted them immediately and surprisingly I learned that they too were very passionate about the shinobi series and hoped to work the game one day. That determined me. Lizardcube was an essential developer for the new SHINOBI title, “he added.
The company has tried twelve times to revive the Shinobi series, including an ambitious adventure in 3D gaming with a title for PlayStation 2 in 2003, which was welcomed but had limited success. The addition of Lizardcube will be the first Shinobi game after 14 years and its return to the two -dimensional level is deliberate.
“The SEGA revival plan is led by the beginning of the meeting of the story with innovation,” Shimomura said. “This means that we are not only improving the visual elements of older titles, but analyzing the original works at their core, redefine their inherent charm and combine them with new elements that will excite today’s players,” he said.
One of the steady features passed by Shinobi’s arcade origin is the punitive difficulty. But in a welcome move for those who hope in a more relaxed moment, Lizardcube’s game provides multiple choices to make the experience easier, including making the player’s virtual protagonist, white dressed Ninja Musashi, beating harder while receiving more damage.
The game features impressive multilevel backgrounds depicting futuristic mash-ups of Japanese traditional and urban environment, such as busy urban landscapes scattered with digital artworks and exploration in a stunningly non-linear plans that pushes players against each one. It also includes arcade-like challenges for a more focused experience in Platforming.
The animation is extremely fluid, with an emphasis on the wonderful touches of black ink of traditional Japanese paintings. The creation of submissive and immersive images with 2D handmade art is a different kind of challenge from 3D games, Fiquet said.
“Although not too complex, it requires specialized artists,” he said. “The most up -to -date material is optimized for the performance of complex 3D elements, but the management of thousands of stacked images is a different challenge.” In many ways, 2D illustrations are less flexible, he added, “demanding all decisions to be made much earlier.”
“Shinobi: Art of Vengeance” is evolving into an innovative title for SEGA’s efforts to activate its arcade roots. More broader, and taking into account the origin and passion of Lizardcube, will be another touch to the durability of 2D art even in the fast -growing world +
of video games.
Source :Skai
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