For those who platform

When I read the description for Trine on Kotaku it didn't sound so fascinating, but I guess there must have been something attractive about it since I gave the trailer a chance. And I'm so very glad I did.

There's just something entirely enchanting about it. I guess that it's that Lost Vikings element of switching between characters on the fly to figure out puzzles. There's a wonderful balance of creation, destruction, and movement that the three characters compose that has intrigued me.

The game selection on the PSN has been somewhat disappointing. Sure, there are the flOws and the Echochromes, but it seems like the market is dominated by shooter titles that don't look like they've developed past Raiden or R-Type or whatever. Then there are the bizarre games that look like they were ... created as a joke? Do... do people really play Pain and, uh, Age of Booty?

I'm hoping that with the advent of LittleBigPlanet (which you really ought to be playing) platformers will regain popularity on the PS3. There are a few already: I'd hesitate to call PixelJunk Eden a platformer, but the PoP and Bionic Commando remakes can definitely be counted. Oh, and Mega Man 9 naturally. Honestly, I haven't play any of these yet! I should probably get on that! The problem is that these aren't original IPs and I really want to see some more original, more creative stuff. Trine seems like it might be the first to appeal this palate of mine.

So I wanted to do this, like, really thoughtful piece on, like, how platformers are changing in this age of 3D HD graphics physics engines. But, uh, I'm not so good at conveying my thoughtfulness without sounding preachy, I guess. So I'll just try to wrap it up quickly... there really isn't much to it as long as you can comprehend it.

Basically, I have this theory that platformers have already adapted to 3D, next-gen environments ... just not in the way you think. The way that Mario, Sonic, and Crash have been approaching it (oh, and LBP doesn't count since it's still a side-scroller)is really backwards, actually, because they've been trying to apply 2D mechanisms to a 3D environment, which 9 out of 10 times doesn't work. You may argue this point, but please remember that jumping -- JUMPING, the most important action in ANY platformer -- is still really hard to do in 3D. Even after a decade, it has continued to be a clumsy, inefficient element of gameplay that has never worked with any type of 3D camera, whether first, second, or third. Sonic has skirted around the problem of jumping by introducing the homing attack, and even Mario, probably the best example of the 3D platformer, had to introduce an attack button because it's nearly impossible to bop a Goomba on the head on your first try.

Okay, I think I've made my point about "traditional" 3D platformers. What I'm trying to get at is that the real next-gen (or current-gen -- whatever we're calling it now) platformers are games like Prince of Persia, Assassin's Creed, Shadow of the Colossus, and Mirror's Edge. Yeah, not the mascot games about jumping on badniks, but the realistic games that ground the player with gravity, weight, and scale.

Think about it. Why did the video game industry start using 3D environments in the first place? To make them more realistic, of course. The 2D platformer is contrary to that notion in every way, which is why a 2D Sonic game will always be better than a 3D Sonic game. But this new breed of platformer was born and raised in the realism of 3D and HD graphics and physics engines. It's why we love these games and their characters and why we have become more attached to them than we have Super Mario Galaxy and any of the crappy Sonic games that have been released over the past few years. I still haven't met the person who has played SotC and doesn't include it in his top ten games.

So what's the next step? Mix it up, of course! Add more to it than just climbing and jumping. Maybe steal some ideas from Mario or whatever. Can you imagine playing PoP and having Bullet Bills flying around? Of course, SotC has already done a lot of this, but we're constantly seeing new things crop up. Mirror's Edge ... doesn't seem fully realized, but hell if it isn't something new! I'm very hopeful that more new, creative platformers will begin to crop up. And oh man I can't freaking wait for Team Ico's next game.