Platforming has become somewhat of a niche within the gaming industry, as of late. How often do you hear talk of Sonic? A new sonic title, Sonic Forces, is set to release this holiday season. But has anyone outside of Sonic's dedicated Forums really talked about it, with excitement?
The current mainstream platformers are quite old. Is it even correct to dub them "mainstream"? Why has interest dropped so suddenly?
I'd say interest hasn't dropped. The industry just grew larger, and is catering to other demographics. Platformers will stick around for those willing to play them.
Freedom Planet is a newcomer to the aging platformer genre, borrowing elements from several franchises, including Sonic. It's flashy, cool, the embodiment of everything Sonic used to be. The OST is Sonic-tier as well. A second game was announced, so it'd be appropriate to now label Freedom Planet a franchise. It has it's own dedicated fanbase and forum.
So, whenever I usually hop into Game Maker, I'm always set on making a platformer. (Would be great if I ever finished it) They're quite fun to work on. With the flexibility of gravity-based movement, you can add personality to your characters, by their animations.
Of course, I can't animate very well, nor can I draw. Writing the main functionality of these games is great, but without art direction you really won't get anywhere.
The current mainstream platformers are quite old. Is it even correct to dub them "mainstream"? Why has interest dropped so suddenly?
I'd say interest hasn't dropped. The industry just grew larger, and is catering to other demographics. Platformers will stick around for those willing to play them.
Freedom Planet is a newcomer to the aging platformer genre, borrowing elements from several franchises, including Sonic. It's flashy, cool, the embodiment of everything Sonic used to be. The OST is Sonic-tier as well. A second game was announced, so it'd be appropriate to now label Freedom Planet a franchise. It has it's own dedicated fanbase and forum.
So, whenever I usually hop into Game Maker, I'm always set on making a platformer. (Would be great if I ever finished it) They're quite fun to work on. With the flexibility of gravity-based movement, you can add personality to your characters, by their animations.
Of course, I can't animate very well, nor can I draw. Writing the main functionality of these games is great, but without art direction you really won't get anywhere.