Tile based puzzles with 3D graphics?

[Dock]

What do you think about top-down tile based games which use 3D graphics as presentation? What do you think is the best approach for camera when doing this sort of thing?

http://www.caiman.us/freepix/2369-2.jpg[/im]g
This game seems to use an almost top-down camera, which I don't think does the artwork any favours.

[img]http://i.games-here.com/sokoban_ufo_3d.jpg
Sokoban UFO used a tilted camera, but otherwise straight on. I would imagine these sorts of camera are useful for keyboard control, because up is up, etc.

http://www.searchamateur.com/pictures/3d-wonderland-2.jpg
Wonderland uses a similar camera.

http://i.games-here.com/puzzle_monkey.jpg
Puzzle Monkey, however, uses a more 'isometric' esque camera making much more use of the 3D perspective. The problem with this sort of thing is that it's less clear which direction the character will move in when you press up.

http://www.jjsoftgames.com/images/hopmon_screen02.jpg
Then there are games with a much lower camera, like Hopmon.


Has anyone had experience with this sort of thing and what do you think about the camera in 3D tile games? Also, do you think the camera should zoom in for certain events?

[tolik]

One of the most beautiful casual 3D tile based games is Dino & Aliens:
http://www.nevosoft.com/downloadable-game/en/games/dino-and-aliens.html

[Dock]

One of the most beautiful casual 3D tile based games is Dino & Aliens:
http://www.nevosoft.com/downloadable-game/en/games/dino-and-aliens.html

Ah yeah, it does look pretty nice, nicer than it does in screens. I think the trees help a lot with this, because they break up the vertical lines and also overhang over the player and enemies somewhat. It helps to make it seem far less tile-like. The camera is pretty low and tilted in that game, but it doesn't strike me as much of a puzzler, more of a combat game, so I guess it can get away with it.

[Dock]

Does anyone know of any other 3D tile based games of any worth?
I guess 3D really isn't popular around here.

[tolik]

Would you consider http://www.pieyegames.com/Cubology/Info.htm as a tile based 3d puzzler? :)

Here's something weird... http://www.reflexive.com/PacQuest3D.html

This genre is very common on budget game space, however it's not quite widely adopted on casual space. It's quite tough to make a decent 3D looking game with low system requirements and achieve good compatibility running on old computers.

[dustin1138]

I'm still in production on my 3D tile action/puzzle game: "Bad Bad Bots!" www.badbadbots.com (http://www.badbadbots.com) There's an old demo available there so you can check out how I handled camera movements.

The camera is adjustable. You can toggle between a wide fixed view as well as a tracking camera that the user can zoom in and out with. The action is more from a side view but it's still very tiled in nature.

I spent a lot of time working on making the camera ease in/out as it tracks the payer. I just think it looks better than a camera that stops on a dime.

[Dock]

Would you consider http://www.pieyegames.com/Cubology/Info.htm as a tile based 3d puzzler? :)
Well, yes and no! It's using the three-quarter view, which makes sense for this. I suppose indirect control is necessary for this approach though.

Here's something weird... http://www.reflexive.com/PacQuest3D.html
You're not kidding, that's pretty freaky looking! The curved perspective is good in theory, but perhaps a bit too much. I do like the 'cylinder' perspective of Animal Crossing Wild World, as this gives you a lot of benefits of viewing distance.

This genre is very common on budget game space, however it's not quite widely adopted on casual space. It's quite tough to make a decent 3D looking game with low system requirements and achieve good compatibility running on old computers.Yes that's true, there's a lot more to go wrong in theory. I was going to use Blitz3D as it has super robust and reliable 3D, it seems to work on everything without any hassle.

Dustin, I'll try out your demo soon, I think smooth camera deceleration is very important too.