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The importance of Wireframe graphics.

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aweigh

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PART ONE: WIREFRAME GRAPHICS AND HOW BEAUTIFUL THEY CAN BE.

i've really grown to love the look of Wireframe graphics in modern hardware / modern 'crawlers. There is something unbelievably appealing about the minimalism of straight white lines overlaid atop a void that really defines all sorts of shapes and allows the imagination to run wild by making the brain and the eye process and take in information in a way that is very similar to the effect that celluloid-sourced film has on our interpretation.

it has been theorized by many of the great film scholars that the primary reason film film will always be so entrancing to the viewer or simply put the reason why it will always "look so real" compared to the modern digitally-sourced film is because celluloid film strips were physical material that lack the digital ability to "shoot continuously"; as such there is a gap between every single frame of a celluloid-sourced film strip and while it is something so incredibly brief that were you not told about it one would never know it the fact remains that the human brain can and does "catch" the dark, blank void of the film strip that lies between each frame and when our human eyes are in the process of taking in the movie every time a frame cuts to the next frame we sub-consciously begin to anticipate each void of black lying in wait between each frame and, depending on our level of engagement, our human brain which will be at that moment actively suspending our disbelief begins to fill in the darkness between each frame of the movie with interstitial interpretation that continually unfolds as the movie progresses.

Paper Sorcerer showcases a masterful understanding of what i'm talking about and the developer as said that his primary goal witht he monochromatic art (which he did himself) in the game is an intentional homage to the Wireframe "look" of classic dungeon crawlers.


I think this is by far the closest a modern 'crawler has come to not only duplicating the immediate psychological effect and, of course, the sub-conscious interpretation of the classic Wizardry Wireframe graphics has on us is from the Windows PC 'crawler "Paper Sorcerer". Have a look at this marvel of art, texturing, musical scoring and master-class understanding of spatial interpretation and minimalism in architecture in the video embed, you'll thank me! You'll probably go away from this post and end up playing Paper Sorcerer just from that video alone :D

the stark, minimalistic look and feel of the Wireframes contrasted against the inky black of the dungeon halls create an equivalent feeling of immersion in the player as our human brains are actively filling in the blanks. I've found I can actually concentrate better on a dungeon floor's layout and that I actually exhibit a much greater degree of spatial awareness and orientation of myself when playing with Wireframe graphics on a 'crawler.

PART TWO: AN EXAMPLE OF A MODERN 'CRAWLER THAT LOOKS AND PLAYS BETTER IN WIREFRAME THAN WITH 3D GRAPHICAL TEXTURING.

Here is a another video of Elminage: Gothic featuring gameplay from the post-game Wireframe Dungeon:

Notice how the addition of equally minimalist musical scoring exemplifies and underscores the existing strengths of the Wireframe "look".

Here's Wizardry Empire 3 for PSP with Wireframe mode enabled:

notice how when playing with textures/graphics enabled that everything seems to muddle together? Obviously this speaks more to the art and texture department, i am aware of this, but 'crawlers as a general rule are games that feature long stretches of repetitive actions and long stretches of "sameness".

I think the best of both worlds would be a modern 'crawler with a fantastic art team working to duplicate the minimalist beaty, and more specifically, working to replicate the psychological effect that the absence of space has on our human eyes and brains but utilizing modern-day digital tools for texturing and rendering; simply because the origin of this comes from the strict and exclusive use of Wireframe graphics without usage of texturing does not mean that a similar and probably better effect cannot be achieved today by using it as inspiration with modern rendering tools.

A few modern 'crawlers that allow swithcing to wireframe:

- Wizardry Empire 1 (Playstation 1 / Windows PC w/ translation in progress!)
- Wizardry Empire 2 (Playstation 1 / Windows PC w/ a 100% completed translation patch available.)
- Wizardry Empire 3 (Playstation 2 / PSP w/ a "menu patch" coming soon as a patch for the PSP .ISO.)
- The Dark Spire (Nintendo DS system and it is an officially localized game.)
- Wizardry Gaiden 4: Throb of the Demon's Heart (SNES w/ a 100% completed translation patch available)
- And, obviously, all of the Wizardry 1-5 remakes for SNES/Playstation 1 feature a Wireframe mode option.

worthy mentions would be the some of the post-game dungeons in the Elminage series of games, although they don't offer a complete Wireframe option.

EDIT: YES PEOPLE I KNOW FULL WELL THAT WIZ's ORIGINAL REASON FOR USING WIREFRAME GRAPHICS WAS BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT AFFORD REAL GRAPHICS OK? I GIVE YOU ANOTHER FILM ANALOGY: THE JAWS SHARK.
 

ghostdog

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:salute: aweigh ever since you resurfaced with your dungeon crawler obsession, it seems like you're high on something, is it some mysterious new puerto rican potion?
 

:Flash:

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Article about wireframe graphics without Dungeons of Daggorath = lame
 
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I've not played too many Dungeon Crawlers in my short lifetime, but I don't really see how the wireframe rendering is any different than regular textured walls. I feel it looks even more bland and confusing than if there were graphics. It would also have given some additional flavor to the level.
 

Unkillable Cat

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I wish I could say:

TL;DR, filed under "reactionary bullshit".
+M
Also factually wrong about human visual perception.

But the truth of the matter is that I read too much of the OP.

And to me it reads like:

I'm an old sod that played the original RPGs of the 1980s when they were new! And I think they're still the best thing ever to come out since sliced bread!

No. They're not. They have their strengths, they have their Good Points, but they're not the leading example of game design anymore.

I see a nostalgiafag (the OP) in dire need of a fix. I'm not going to help the poor junkie out here - just acknowlegde that these games brought a certain Look, Atmosphere and Vibe to them, and leave it at that.
 

Zed Duke of Banville

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But the truth of the matter is that I read too much of the OP.

And to me it reads like:

I'm an old sod that played the original RPGs of the 1980s when they were new! And I think they're still the best thing ever to come out since sliced bread!
aweigh is a recent convert to the glories of Wizardry-type games, and like many converts he's overzealous in proselytizing his faith. I'm hoping that before too long he'll move on either to exploration-focused real-time RPGs (Dungeon Master, etc.) or to RPGs with complex tactical combat (Pool of Radiance, etc.).

However, his only two prior phases of interest in RPGs lasted around a decade each, so he may be invested in Wizardry for the long haul. :M
 

Bumvelcrow

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I can sort of see the point that aweigh's making, if not the appeal of wireframe. Paper Sorceror looks great in filled 3D, but that's not wireframe, even if it's an attempt to capture the same atmosphere. The Wizardry Empire wireframe mode is just less atmospheric rather than more. I was around when wireframe games were around, and there's a an appeal in minimalism allowing the player to use their imagination. Think original Elite versus gaudy, over-colourful, badly texture mapped Frontier. I know which I prefer. The sweet spot would have been less colour and texture for the sake of it.

I'm as much a nostalgiafag as the next man, but I see it as a weakness in myself which I struggle manfully to overcome on a daily basis. Look forward, not back. Paper Sorceror not faux-80s wireframe.

For ultimate visual atmosphere (not RPGs), take a look at this:

 

Scroo

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I'm offended I wasn't tagged in a blobber thread

Also wireframes are awful and thank god games have textures. I'm playing Stranger of Sword City atm and the textures add to the brilliant dungeon design and atmosphere.
 

SausageInYourFace

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Isn't (part of) the whole appeal of blobbers that it is a pretty barebones minimalist genre?

As such they are pretty similar to roguelikes and I understand why someone may prefer the wireframe look since it further cuts down the 'visual noise'; much like a lot of people prefer to play roguelikes in ASCII rather than tiles. In the case of blobbers, there is the difference that they are first person and not top-down, so as others have pointed out, the minimalist look would then actually seem to make it harder to navigate rather than easier.

Never played a wireframe blobber though, so I am just guessing. Please call me back when Wizardry 1-5 are finally on GoG.
 
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Rather than wireframes, specifically, wouldn't "minimalism" be a better descriptor?

I've noticed that it is easier to focus my attention on gameplay when games have fewer distractions of the wiz-bang-pow! variety.
 

Wayward Son

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Never played a wireframe blobber though, so I am just guessing. Please call me back when Wizardry 1-5 are finally on GoG.
Dude, just go and get it for free off of OldGames.sk or abandonwaredos. Both only give games away that sales would no longer benefit the original creators. (Except in a few strange cases)
 

Dorateen

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For me, a minimalist approach in graphics representation would be to have only a handful (or less) of textures/wall sets/tiles that are used over the expanse of a sprawling gameworld. A rough-hewn rock or brickwork for all dungeons, and then cobbled stone and cleaner masonry to distinguish the more "civilized" areas.

The wireframe in the Cave of the Ancients was a wonderful throw-back though, and its 8 bit soundtrack was a pleasure to listen to while exploring.
 

BlackGoat

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While I love wireframe (at least in the original Wiz games, not sure how I feel about throwback attempts or game switches) and hate shitty 3d and shitty textures (which shrink the space and ruin quite a bit of the abstraction that makes for a good Wizardry), I quite like the textures in the SNES versions of the Wiz games (despite those versions making some things a little easier by having slight texture changes that clue you into a rotator tile, or when you teleport you know you're still on the same floor because the texture didn't change, or that a chute took you to a level you know immediately because of the specific texture).

I really don't like wireframe when it's combined with the 3d glidey movement where you're ice skating into each space, tho I don't really care for the glidey movement in general, wireframe or otherwise (And switching animations off in, say, E: Gothic looks even worse and ends up being rather more confusing). Best that the game design for instant space-to-space, which I prefer, combined with a nice chunky movement sound effect and a different chunkier sound when colliding with a wall).

The whole "getting lost in a monotonous dungeon" is key to quality Wiz gameplay as I enjoy it (also speed speed speed, when you want it) and the wireframe ambiguity in the PCDOS versions of Wiz seemed like an essential component of the gameplay. But I think it's something I could give up for a version with really nice (albeit monotonous) textures.

My ideal version of a Wizardry (and one I hope to make one day) has really well-drawn monotonous textures for the normal dungeon with highly detailed (occasionally) uniquely drawn rooms that fit perfectly into the environment (instead of floating as a separate image over the regular textures) and detailed monsters that appear to exist in the space and emerge from the darkness ahead of you instead of being just nice floating pop-up drawings. And it might make the game a non-Wizlike from a more dogmatic perspective, but I'd like to approach dungeon monotony or confusion in a different way. I'm thinking of something that looks more like Piranesi and his imaginary prisons, translated into a new sort of mazey Wizblobber. A Wizardry that can confuse even with identifiable landmarks beyond whether or not a room has 2 or 3 exits, floors not confined to separate loaded maps but all visibly existing one on top of the other. Probably wouldn't be much like a contemporary Wizlike by the end but something inspired by Wiz tho following a different evolutionary path. One that's maybe actually evolutionary and not static slavish replication. Fantasies for now, but eventually, maybe.
 
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Lady_Error

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I agree that one of the advantages of Wizardry 6-7 (or Grimoire) over Wizardry 8 is that the more abstract view lets imagination fill in the gaps. It's something that most newer games totally lack, filling in every bit with usually bland "realism" because "obviously" that's where game development is supposed to go. Even the creator of Wiz 6/7 fell into that trap and never recovered.

If I had started with Wizardry 1-5 instead of 7, maybe I would find wireframe graphics acceptable too, but I simply don't.
 

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