Looking down the list of games soon to be coming out on PS2, Xbox, and GC, it looks as if the good ole sidescroller genre is dead. Unless I missed one?

The only sidescrolling type of game on the horizon is Alien Hominid (www.newgrounds.com), which looks awesome, but why is it that game companies think automatically if a game is gonna be a sidescroller, they must use cell shading nowadays?

I know it cuts alot of the texturing work in half, and nothing is really wrong with cell shading, but c'mon I know alot of people who completely hate it, and would rather play a 3d Final Fight beat em up with doom 3 or Halo 2's mouthwatering graphics.

Games like Contra 3, TMNT, Castlevania Sotn, Super Metroid, etc might not be played from inside the suit or whatever, but the great gameplay and countless fans of the genre still exist, and what boggles my mind is how companies could just completely throw the idea completely off the table, or onto GBA (Shigeru Miyamoto)...

GBA is nice for carrying on the classic retrogame stuff, but I seriously wouldn't mind if they remade metroid with over hauled graphics for the GC, but kept the same perspective.

Anyone know of any other new beat em up/adventure type games in development?

Isn't Viewtiful Joe a sidescroller?

I think there is still hope for side scrollers...if there is still a sprinkle of creativity left in the game industry.

I'd like to make one. Or a really cool mod-able fighter. Imagine designing your own fighter characters, and kickin your friends' asses.

check this out:

www.facewound.com

there's no public beta i don't believe, but it's a homebrew game project that's turning into a promising looking game. essentially just taking an old school zombie shooter dynamic with all the latest whiz-bang graphic calls. no genre or gametype really ever dies, imo, they just find a new home [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Side scrollers aren't going to dissapear I don't think... I also doubt it will ever be anywhere close to as popular as it was.

Viewtiful Joe (as ShadoKat pointed out) was a side scroller and a very good game indeed! I expect that in the near future we will start seeing more of them as full 3D starts to get old... well, just as old as sidescrollers are now.

I think console makers don't like them because they don't take advantage of the hardware's power. I've read that Sony was like that, even during the PS1.

Nintendo is working on a new sidescrolling Super Maripo Bros. game for the DS despite the system being capable of 3d. Another popular sidescroller would be Super Smash Bros. Melee which sold a few million.

SCEA (Sony's american game department) apparently hates 2d games, at first they even rejected Viewtiful Joe (SCEI doesn't reject those games). I wouldn't expect much in terms of 2d games on the PSP, especially since Sony would again have to assert their "superiority" over the other handhelds. Neither Nintendo nor Microsoft are against 2d titles, probably because they're happy about every game they get...

The newest game I have is a sidescroller. I'm up to level 5 at the moment and getting new powers and new moves. The controls are simple and intuitive and it's alot of fun.

What am I playing? Prince of Persia: Sands of Time on my SonyEricsson k700i.

Hm, just noticed the last line in the post:

Adventures are coming like mad. Of course there were Runaway, Tony Tough and Wanted but the Clever & Smart game is said to be really good as well. The Sam & Max team formed their own studio after Lucas Arts shut down Freelance Police.

Side scroller going away, not as long as i have free time!!!

ironbearxl, did you forget about my free game? Its a side scroller, and if someone were to pay me id keep make another.

Why "game companies" "automatically "think that they have to be cel-shaded?
well, take for example (as you have, obviously) alien hominid, which was first a flash side-scroller by Synj, who in turn got picked up by a game company...
Does that make sense? does that tell you why it's celshaded?

also: cel-shading. not cell.

Sidescrollers are still a big thing, but you'll have to look for them. it's somewhat logical you wont find them in your local game-shop, because these games have always belonged in arcades.
For a few years, they made it onto plenty of home-consoles, but those days are over, because games cost alot, and i personally don't know anyone who'd pay that kind of price for "a lowly side-scroller"

Look around on the internet, and you'll be surprised to find alot of great side-scrollers, may of which are just as good (or better than) as the old ones.
i can't think of any titles off the top of my head, but i'll post some when i get home friday.

Check out Soldat,a multiplayer deathmatch sidescroller.
http://www.soldat.pl/main.php

SCEA are evil, they rejected Metal Slug 3.

[ QUOTE ]
also: cel-shading. not cell.

[/ QUOTE ]Isn't a reference to animation cells, therefore Cell Shading?

As for the future of side scrollers, I'd say we're going to see quite a few come out on the PSP and DS. Its a good genre for hand-helds.

Well, it's possible that SCEA won't alow for sidescrollers on the PSP...

And cut their own throat? I wouldn't think they would be that stupid.

GISH is meant to be quite good sorta side-scroller thing...will find the link later when the AD isnt breathing down my neck :/

it is indeed a reference to animation cels, yes.
At least, that's the way i've been thought.

Obake is a pretty fun sidescroller, though too easy.

Actually n64 and Ps0ne both stated that their hardware wasn't designed for 2d games, the sidescroller genre is ripe ground right now though.

Gauss: Cool game, it has some nice effects, the characters look a little rough though. The GBA has become a home of sorts for sidescrollers, well more like a renovated whore house..

TGZ: Glace is tons of fun and original, how about a 3d sequel? I'll buy lots of pizza hut [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Mighty Pea: Alien Hominid looks really good and I haven't seen better use of cell-shading (in a game at least)
I see what you're saying when considering the cost of games, you don't eat hamburgers on porcelain. But, it's the difference between camera perspectives.. is a book written from 1st person more time consuming to create or of lesser quality than a narrative? Some of the greatest games of all time are sidescrollers, and are still of higher quality than their newage counter parts, look at the new TMNT game..

copy n' paste
javascript:launchGSL("/live/streamer_new2.html?title=Teenage+Mutant+Ninja+Turt les+2%3A+Battle+Nexus+Video+Review&path=tmnt_b n_m101904vr2.asx&pid=920738&ppath=ps2%2Fac tion%2Fteenagemutantninjaturtles2&ksubmoid=c47 6f258-e034-4d9a-c236-97645efad152&urdate=1098169200", "", 718, 500)

All this talk about celshading in Alien Hominid... Wasn't that game sprite (or vector) based?

Kdr: that's what i said. I just made it less obvious, because i thought it was obvious enough why.
Also, maybe you don't know yet, but Synj is making a full game out of it, which is no longer made in macromedia flash, heh.

I forgot to say: Making games First person (or 3rd person, from behind) does immerse you more, doesn't it?
Sadly enough, platformers in 3d usually just don't work, so yes, they WOULD be best off just making them sidescrollers.

Quote:"platformers in 3d usually just don't work"

Why do you say that?

Viewtiful Joe, Paper Mario...

while on the topic of retro gaming, try this free shooter, for those of you who aren't already aware of it:
WARNING FOREVER @ http://www.download.com/Warning-Fore...-10298143.html

While we're on it:

Cho Ren Sha 68k Fast-paced bullet hell shmup
Destruction Desire 2d fighting game, though pretty spammy
Kenta Cho's games Lots of bullet hell shmups.
Radio Zonde Insanely hard shmup, if you make it through the first level with finite lives I salute you!
Dogma Apparently an alpha version of Eternal Fighter Zero, fighting game with characters from the dating sim Kanon.
Every Extend The ultimate UCHU action! A shmup with only one option: Kamikaze! Take out as many as you can with each blast.
Galax I am -Xenon-, a ruler of this planet! A shmup where you can hack enemies.
Return of Egypt A poor man's post-SOTN Castlevania. Got some incredibly annoying respawning enemies.
Valkyrie Fight Tag Tag-team fighting game with the characters from Valkyrie Profile.
Frontline Stickmen in vietnam! Fun for the entire family!

Sorry, when you post freeware games you can just as well post a whole load of 'em.