I've been toying around with the idea to create a 2D collectathon platformer game, as in, a level-based game where each level can be freely explored, and the goal is to collect all the minor and major objects in each level, needed to progress through the game; minor objects being e.g. currency that is relatively easy to find, while major objects often require you to complete some sort of more difficult objective such as defeating a boss or navigating a maze. Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie are two of the most famous examples of 3D collectathon platformers.
Now, the thing is, I want to do this in 2D instead because I more or less only make 2D games and I'm a lot better at it. But how well does the exploration aspect translate to 2D? Is it possible to have worlds that can be explored the same way as in 3D games, or does something get lost in the process? I'm having tons of small doubts about this, such as...
Now, the thing is, I want to do this in 2D instead because I more or less only make 2D games and I'm a lot better at it. But how well does the exploration aspect translate to 2D? Is it possible to have worlds that can be explored the same way as in 3D games, or does something get lost in the process? I'm having tons of small doubts about this, such as...
- How would you design a 2D level that is "open" to begin with when there's only two possible directions of traversal?
- Is working towards mission objectives / major collectibles in a 2D environment evoking the same feeling as in a 3D game where you can see them off in the distance? And if not, how could one try to alleviate that?
- How could you convey to the player that they've seen everything in the level and can move on to the next?
- Does this design lend itself better to large, expansive worlds with multiple objectives or smaller worlds with just a few?