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Pokémon 3D: Is it feasible?: What next for the video game series?

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BulbaBot

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Pokémon 3D: Is it feasible?: What next for the video game series?

The latest Pokémon games have just hit shelves in Japan. What's next for one of the most popular video game series in the world? Is it time to embrace the capabilities of the 3DS? Bulbanews columnist Pat Hessman investigates the possibility of a fully 3D Pokémon adventure.

Read more on Bulbanews
 

ArchedThunder

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It would actually be incredibly easy to move Pokemon into 3D after BW and B2W2. The overworld is not a problem, it's already in 3D, just replace the character sprites with 3D models and make the environments more detailed. They could put the camera behind the player but I think that would be a bad idea due to the lack of a second circle pad on the 3DS. Now for the battles all they would have to do is take B2W2 style battle screens, replace the animated sprites with the 3D models used in Pokedex 3D Pro and make more detail arenas of battle that aren't just two circles floating in a void of blurriness. They don't need to make the camera move for attacks and stuff like in Stadium, just do it like Black and White. However in said games if you wait a while the camera will pan side to side, they could replace that with the sweeping camera from stadium.
 
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Mareepy

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Its OK as long as we were playing as a Pokemon.... I don't like to play as a human in 3D Pokemon games.
 

33Whimsicott33

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It's easy to forget that the kind of 3D Pokemon being discussed in the article is merely one possible implementation of the idea for "Pokemon in 3D". Granted though, most of the concepts being discussed in there pop up very commonly in speculations.

The bluntest answer possible that game freak can return is to (as mentioned earlier) replace all the sprites with models and be done with it. Animations of attack hits, real-time battle shift, seeing wild Pokemon all out in the overworld- they all amount to separate issues, of which some can just as easily be said for this generation itself.

Some of my own speculation:

Going by what I've seen of BW2, it looks like game freak really loves their pixels. 3D models of bianca, the legendary Pokemon, and some overworld objects seem to be going for a "model-to-pixel art" kind of style, which is neat.

It seems to me at this point in time, the power of computer graphics has advanced far enough that Pokemon models made in this generation ( the pokedex3D ones ) will stay relevant for a long time, as opposed to the expectations in gens2-4 for Pokemon models that were smoother than the last gen. This seems especially true given their art style; if a Pokemon game (not necessarily the main series, but a stadium or spinoff) used these models in the next gen, the gen after that, or even the gen after that one, I don't think anyone would mind ( contrast this to using stadium1 models in PBR ). There's no longer the need to play catch-up with the newest generation's capabilities and put precious manpower into retouching the accumulating number of monster models in the past to be up-to-date with the present.

If you think about it, pokedex3D is essentially a complete compilation of models that the franchise can build on and work with for years to come. they've already applied them to pokepark, as well as the intro to the anime. Their wide use can be extended to pretty much anything else that requires Pokemon models as an asset, which makes me think that eventually a sort of "standard library" will be formed.

Over time, they can continue to build on this standard with new Pokemon, and take the time freed from updating the polygon count to do something useful. What can they do with their free time? Perhaps some rigging. The models themselves look fine; the only thing lacking is a wide variety of lifelike movements characteristic to each Pokemon. The article mentions tremendous strain in making every move animation match up with every pokemon, but if you pay close attention, you'll see that this isn't necessary for EVERY move. People will expect and excuse a Pokemon model's reused animations for ice beam and hyper beam, or other similarly executed moves like wild charge and flame wheel. Moves can be split into groups, and in fact I've once made a blog post ruminating over the various possible groups that the entire set of Pokemon techniques can be split into.


Personally, I think that someday the unfeasible, dreamy concepts identified and proposed in the article will be realized in full glory. I believe that eventually, but surely we will get a title that renders all the Pokemon in beautiful 3D, in a scenic, living Pokemon world, battling each other in real-time battles containing "actual contact" with characteristic and unique animations for every class of moves. And, that it will be a PokePark game.
 

smalllady

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Nintendo has announced Pokémon games are in the works for WiiU.
I'm fairly sure that's false information.

Well it could be true I mean since its release every home console had a few Pokemon titles. Actually I could see them releasing something in the launch year

The point is this information is unconfirmed. "It could be true" isn't good enough.
 

The Outrage

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Nintendo has announced Pokémon games are in the works for WiiU.
I'm fairly sure that's false information.


Well it could be true I mean since its release every home console had a few Pokemon titles. Actually I could see them releasing something in the launch year

"It could be true" and "It is true" are two different things, the former being speculation and the latter stated fact. It could be true Nintendo is working on a WiiU Pokemon game, but it is true that nothing of the sort has been officially announced as the quoted statement suggests (if so, source please).
 

GodofPH

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Nintendo has announced Pokémon games are in the works for WiiU.
I'm fairly sure that's false information.

Author here. I did some research and you are indeed correct. I had read an article about Nintendo's E3 presentation and I had thought a Wii U game was announced but the games that were actually shown off were Conquest, BW2 and Pokedex 3D.

My error and I apologize.
 

jokool

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I think we're still a long ways away from a game like the one described in the article.

True, the Wii U does have the HD and stuff like that, but I think that for something like this, we're going to have to wait until the next Nintendo console comes out (Wii U2 or something like that).

When 3D gaming becomes a staple in video games, then we may see something like this, and even then, it may not be quite like this.
 

PenblooeR

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No, no and no! I don't want the main series to become a new kind of PokéPark. It's an RPG after all, and RPGs don't work like that.
 

GodofPH

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No, no and no! I don't want the main series to become a new kind of PokéPark. It's an RPG after all, and RPGs don't work like that.

Well it certainly doesn't have to be another PokéPark. Think more along the lines of Pokémon Mass Effect or Elder Scrolls.
 

Cilan56

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I can't remember where I read this to save my life, but I recall someone 'big' at GameFreak saying in a prior interview that they didn't want to stray from the handheld platform/formula because Pokemon has always been about *Pocket* Monsters - like carrying them around and trading them and stuff; this platform (handheld) most closely fits that bill.
If that's true, then we wouldn't be seeing it on the Wii or anything. Personally, I think a 3-D console game would be great if done correctly. I'd always hoped to see a Tomb Raider-esque adventure - like controlling your character and seeing the world as Pat Hessman described. Always fun to speculate! :)
 

Anser

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Even worse, battles were lackluster in presentation because Pokémon would never be shown making contact with each other when attacking. Many a gamer rolled their eyes when they saw even physical attacks mounted to “Pokémon A launches attack, cut to Pokémon B being hit.”

Aw, come on. It wasn't even that bad. I'd rather have those types of animations compared to the awkward physical contact animations from Pokémon Battle Revolution. In Stadium, the Pokémon at least the fully executed the animation of the moves, even if they missed. In Battle Revolution, they just stand awkwardly staring at their opponent while doing absolutely NOTHING. Plus, the concept of Colosseum and XD SUCKED. I prefer to have a Stadium 3 at any time of the day.
 

Fengor

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My friends and I have tossed such an idea around, though we bypassed the simple 3D game and went straight to a persistent online world. As we hashed out the mechanics of trainer battles and wild encounters the problem we ran into is wtf do you do with the trainer character while the pokemon are battling? Have them stand there like an idiot when a spearow starts pecking at their shins while they're trying to battle a wild pokemon certainly didn't seem like a good situation for the player to find themselves in. We eventually came to two separate conclusions.

  • Transport the player to an isolated combat "room" like what occurs in the stadium games and core handheld games.[/li]
  • Give the player direct control of the pokemon they call out and make that the temporary PC with the premise being that the trainer is shouting commands.[/li]

The problem with these two conclusions was that the first one did not work properly for a persistent game world. Having to isolate a player to an instanced combat room takes away from the overworld interaction that is key to your typical MMO today, let alone the implications for the stress it would put on servers. While it would maintain the traditional combat system that the core games have had it undermines the MMO portion. We've often though kicked around the idea that they could take cues from the game Wizard 101 which manages a turn based combat system in an online world quite effectively.

The problem with the second option is obvious, we've turned the traditional turn based pokemon into a 3rd person action-rpg. It's a novel idea, but then why bother with a trainer character at all when you could simply fore-go the problems that raises by just placing players in the role of a pokemon species of their choice? We've never really explored this option further because frankly our logic stonewalls when we try to delve further into it.

The point I'm raising is that the creation of a 3D pokemon game isn't just an issue of graphics and modeling, it's one of game mechanics as well. While the vision of a Veridian forest teeming with life or a Mt. Moon infested with Zubats is a nice image, the reality of it is that a 3D pokemon game would essentially just be a Final Fantasy game in the same style as 7,8,9, or 10. Worse still you could end up with something like FF 11-13 should they try to tamper with the formula. What I believe we would end up with is an ultimately cardboard experience which would fall somewhere between Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts in it's linearity and gameplay. The world would feel hollow, the environments would feel like hollywood facades, and the quality of what we expect from a pokemon would simply not be up to par. It would be an interesting experiment to undertake, but I believe it would ultimately receive the scorn of the fandom.

I'd throw my money at it without question, but I know I would ultimately be disappointed. If it ain't broke don't fix it, and I think that's the stance Gamefreak and Nintendo have decided to take when it comes to the core games. Critics call for innovation of the franchise but I don't see a reason to. After all, wouldn't most of us have been just fine living with the original Star Wars trilogy had Lucas never made the prequels?
 

The Outrage

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I can't remember where I read this to save my life, but I recall someone 'big' at GameFreak saying in a prior interview that they didn't want to stray from the handheld platform/formula because Pokemon has always been about *Pocket* Monsters - like carrying them around and trading them and stuff; this platform (handheld) most closely fits that bill.
If that's true, then we wouldn't be seeing it on the Wii or anything. Personally, I think a 3-D console game would be great if done correctly. I'd always hoped to see a Tomb Raider-esque adventure - like controlling your character and seeing the world as Pat Hessman described. Always fun to speculate! :)
It was probably Masuda and he has a very restricted view if you ask me. Pokemon is more about communicating with others than it is about your pocket. To that end, the WiiU fits this ideal better than the 3DS especially with its "alone-together" mantra. The Pokemon fandom is sparsely distributed, it is not feasible to assume we will just walk around with our handhelds, and that, even if we meet, we'd necessarily communicate. Being able to log on and find someone when it is convenient, that is true communication.

He also used the argument that Wifi is accessible anywhere from the 3DS. Maybe where he lives, but free, accessible, wifi isn't the standard in the rest of the globe. Where such free wifi exists, the DS browser is unable to go past the sign-in screen (at least for the DSi).
 

Fengor

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I can't remember where I read this to save my life, but I recall someone 'big' at GameFreak saying in a prior interview that they didn't want to stray from the handheld platform/formula because Pokemon has always been about *Pocket* Monsters - like carrying them around and trading them and stuff; this platform (handheld) most closely fits that bill.
If that's true, then we wouldn't be seeing it on the Wii or anything. Personally, I think a 3-D console game would be great if done correctly. I'd always hoped to see a Tomb Raider-esque adventure - like controlling your character and seeing the world as Pat Hessman described. Always fun to speculate! :)
It was probably Masuda and he has a very restricted view if you ask me. Pokemon is more about communicating with others than it is about your pocket. To that end, the WiiU fits this ideal better than the 3DS especially with its "alone-together" mantra. The Pokemon fandom is sparsely distributed, it is not feasible to assume we will just walk around with our handhelds, and that, even if we meet, we'd necessarily communicate. Being able to log on and find someone when it is convenient, that is true communication.

He also used the argument that Wifi is accessible anywhere from the 3DS. Maybe where he lives, but free, accessible, wifi isn't the standard in the rest of the globe. Where such free wifi exists, the DS browser is unable to go past the sign-in screen (at least for the DSi).

I think that's one of the major failings of the Wifi enabled core games. Their multiplayer aspect is designed around the assumption that you live in Japan and have access to more Wifi than you know what to do with; also that the odds are very good that 5-10 people are in DS wireless range playing a current gen pokemon game. All that extra stuff you can do in the entralink? Pfft, aside from the dream world stuff I send back the rest may as well have a big fat "out of order" sign on it. It's just a broken system, all that stuff on the second floor of the pokemon center pretty much gathers dust and I have no reason to keep the C-gear on unless I want to pointlessly burn battery life. They, of course, have no reason to fix this element of the game because it works just fine in Japan. They even managed to muck up a concept as simple as a trading auction house by letting people ask for things that are impossible to give unless you're cheating. I've given up on using the GTS because everything I try to search for right down to a freaking pidgey or pidove is "Reshiram lvl 9 or under" or "Zekrom lvl 9 or under". (if I could I would slap the imbeciles that ask for stuff like that) The negotiations one is just as useless because frankly that's a crap shoot that you'll be paired up with someone who's got what you're looking for, the vague and unhelpful search system on that just makes it worse.

Don't get me wrong I really enjoy the single player experience for pokemon, but once that's over and I want to venture out in to interacting with other players I'm left with few avenues other than places like Bulbapedia to get the job done. My options are hardcore or nothing, there's no middle ground. (god don't even get me started on IV's, the most important stats and you have to hack the game just to see the damned things.) Is it too much to ask that they give us some kind of middle ground to work with if we don't live in their Wifi utopia of 30 people per square foot?

*coughs*

Well that got out of hand fast. Guess I needed to get that off my chest more than I realized.
 

The Outrage

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They, of course, have no reason to fix this element of the game because it works just fine in Japan.
Pokemon is an international franchise, so they have every reason to fix this. I'm fairly certain that even if its more popular there, that Japan doesn't make up a significant majority of the sales.
 

DatMrBee

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Nice article! I like the idea of a 3D pokemon game, but the battle system should be just like in the anime, where the pokemon dodge attacks, make use of the environment or even use a attack of the enemy in it's own advantage and the WiiU is capable of a Pokemon game in a world just a lively an beautiful as Skyrim. For example you could read this article, the ideas of this guy are really deep. And also look at the company he has in mind for the game. http://www.ign.com/blogs/guardianik...he-next-pokemon-console-game-made-by-bethesda
 
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