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Vector or Tile based

Started by essial Oct 13, 2008 at 10:13 PM 4 replies 1.3k views

Original Post

Oct 13, 2008 at 10:13 PM

I'm trying to think about which direction to go for a new game engine, and I'm stuck equally between two very different styles of engines. It's going to be a typical 2D style platformer engine, but I cannot decide if I want it to be tile based, or vector. I understand the maths involved in both, and have done both in the past, I'm just not sure which would be better. I know vector will be harder than tile based, but would the increased difficulty make it "cooler" if pulled off, or do you people see it as more of a gimmick than anything else? By vector, I don't mean unfilled lines of course, I mean SVG style graphics. It'd be smoother graphically, but have a less organic, more artificial feel to it. If anyone has any ideas or pointers please let me know!

Captain P

Oct 14, 2008 at 7:14 AM

I'd make some mockup art if I were you, to see what style you like better for your game idea (and possible, what styles others like most). Then go with whatever you deem most appropriate (that is, determine if the additional complexity is worth it - perhaps some art tricks can achieve the same results instead?).

Your choice will likely depend a lot on how skilled you (or your artists) are with these art styles and on what art style you're going for.

Extrarius

Oct 14, 2008 at 9:46 AM

Quote:
Original post by essial
[...] It'd be smoother graphically, but have a less organic, more artificial feel to it.[...]

In what way would square, blocky graphics (tiles) look more organic than a smooth natural world (vector graphics)?

essial

Oct 14, 2008 at 12:22 PM

You haven't seen my art :)

FippyDarkpaw

Oct 14, 2008 at 8:21 PM

If you are doing it yourself go Vector. Tile based you need art assets. Look how cool games like Geometry Wars are.

http://www.bizarrecreations.com/games/geometry_wars_retro_evolved/

There's definitely a retro-looking games surge lately judging by the popularity Xbox live Arcade, and the retro Wii games. Also check out Gunroar for PC if you haven't. It's very cool, yet simple, engine that basically only uses only colored quads:

http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/windows/gr_e.html

LorenzoGatti

Oct 16, 2008 at 10:40 AM

If you have a vector engine, you can implement tiles on top of it (as blocky objects with fancy texturing) and mix the two graphical styles as necessary; the opposite is much less practical.

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