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[PogueSquadron]

I was thinking about this after having a conversation on another board.

So, take the original Super Mario Bros.  You play through 1-1 and beat it.  You watch Mario slide down the flagpole, go in the castle, and get the black screen prompt for level 1-2.  The next level is Mario at the same castle from 1-1, and a pipe.  Now, what if that black screen wasn't there?  What if it was all just one continuous game?  You slide down the flagpole, and then with no prompt or anything, continue onto the next level seamlessly.

Or maybe in say, Sonic 1.  You beat Robotnik in Green Hill Zone Act 3, fade to black, and magically pop into the Marble Zone.  What if, after beating Robotnik, there was a little transition gameplay sequence where the art started to gradually become more "ruiny", and then you got to the next level?

Maybe in Super Mario World, after beating the castle, you walk out the castle, cross a bridge or something, and work your way into Donut Plain 1, all seamlessly.  You then have the option to pause the game, zoom out, and go back to any "level" you've already beaten.

Has something like this been done before?  A platformer that just kept going?  But also gave you the option to go back and replay levels you already played through?

I guess the closest thing I could think of is Half Life 2.  There are moments of loading between each area, but it's not a level by level affair.  It's not like Halo where an elaborate cutscene transitions you between 'levels.'  But it's also not like the 2008 Prince of Persia (another 3D game whose areas do flow seamlessly), because it's a very linear game.  My question would be, has something ever been done like HL2 with a platformer?  Either 2D or 3D?

[___]

Limbo on XBLA doesn't have any cuts.

[PogueSquadron]

Any ideas on games that have done this using a more robust art style?  I wonder if it was easier for Limbo to achieve this because of its use of silhouettes?

I was thinking though that such a game would be quite an undertaking.  I would imagine the transitions between "levels" or areas would have to be handled quite carefully.

[Chris Whitman]

It's unlikely that the art style has much to do with it. I mean, I'm sure they're still just bitmap images.

Actually, it would be easier to do this in a 2D rather than a 3D game, because there's much less data to stream and you don't have to worry about draw distance or popping scenery.

Edit: I mean, most MMOs do this, by and large, and the majority of open-world 3D games have paging scenery. So it's totally doable.

[SirNiko]

A few 3d games have done this, to degrees of success. The Prince of Persia: Sands of Times Trilogy comes very close to doing this, though it does have a few places with cut aways. Most of the game is seamless, though, which is impressive considering the size of each world.

Starfox Adventures: Dinosaur Planet is similar, with the only cuts being flying between the hub world and five additional areas.

I can't think of any 2d games that have done this, though.

I think this is less a thing that would make for a single innovative game and more of a design goal that would fit many different game concepts. Continuous worlds help provoke realism as you see the transitions between areas.

[mirosurabu]

Heart of Darkness and Oddworld games have neat seamless transitions between areas but they also have major leaps to unknown locations (such as Paramonia and Scrabania).

[s0]

Yoshi Touch & Go does it. Granted there's one cut (between the opening balloon minigame and the "real" game). But apart from that, the game transitions seamlessly between different environments.  It's probably not exactly what you're looking for because it's "on rails" but it's close.

[goldbuick]

I don't think Sonic3 + Sonic&Knuckles has any cuts either. Also, was Rocket Knight continuous too ?

[shig]

...I Wanna Be The Guy?

[slembcke]

Super Metroid? I mean there are the hatches and the elevators, but that's about it.

[Xecutor]

Mmm... IIRC Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver didn't have any kind of loading screen etc.

Seiklus have continuous world.

[Ego_Shiner]

most of the metroids and the castlevanias (since sotn) don't really have transitions. sometimes there's the occasional cutscene that breaks things up but 90% of it is all one big maze

[dontkickpenguins]

I don't think Sonic3 + Sonic&Knuckles has any cuts either. Also, was Rocket Knight continuous too ?

It has clear level breaks however.

Aren't you looking for more of a Castlevania/Metriod thing? The whole seamless exploration is totally the point of those games.

[Chris Whitman]

I feel like, from the example given, any game where there's a fade out and in as you walk to the next screen doesn't really count, so Metroid, Castlevania, Oddworld, etc. are out.

[DangerMomentum]

I'm actually working on a Metroid-style game right now that runs with this concept. I've implemented a cell streaming system similar to Morrowind where adjacent cells are loaded as you move closer to them. You can follow development in the link in my sig, although the amount of actual content I have released is small. I do have the seamless world implemented and working perfectly. The player will never see a fadeout or a room transition- the whole planet will be completely seamless.

[s0]

I feel like, from the example given, any game where there's a fade out and in as you walk to the next screen doesn't really count, so Metroid, Castlevania, Oddworld, etc. are out.

Also I think he's not looking for exploration platformers/"Metroidvanias". He's looking for linear, left-to-right platformers without cuts or breaks.

[gimymblert]

I don't think Sonic3 + Sonic&Knuckles has any cuts either. Also, was Rocket Knight continuous too ?

It has clear level breaks however.

Aren't you looking for more of a Castlevania/Metriod thing? The whole seamless exploration is totally the point of those games.

Well the exemple from the OP seems to tolerate that, and in Sonic 3 & K you can play right after the level break in the same scene. I think it does count. This is the most missing feature from fan actually, it made really strong impression on me at least! (man!!! angel island is on FIRE! what's going on! it's only act2!)

[PogueSquadron]

Actually, the transition from Angel Island Zone Act 1 and 2 in Sonic 3 is a great example of what I'm talking about.  I would love transitions like that though, between entire themes of worlds.  After Act 2 of Angel Island, Knuckles makes you fall down the waterfall....cue the fade to black and transition to Hydrocity.  I think it would be super cool, for instance, if that fade wasn't there, and you actually experienced the transition in realtime.  I'm sure though, that something like this might be really hard to accomplish.  There would likely have to be sequences between levels to disguise load times, as well as have "points of no return."

I'm not counting games like Super Metroid or other "Metroidvania style" games...trying to think of something linear (really, either in 2D like Limbo, or 3D like Half Life 2).



This all started when we were spitballing ideas about how we would like to see Mario evolve in the future.  The idea presented was that there would be a Mario game that is basically "continuous".  Rather than experiencing a map system on a macro level (that is, in Super Mario World or Super Mario Galaxy 2 where you have a separate "map mode" for level selection), the player would be experiencing everything on more of a realtime level.

As an example, imagine something like Super Mario World, but in 3D.  You'd be running across the Butter Bridge level, and when you look out to the right, you see Choco Island, the Forest of Illusion, etc.  You'd basically be IN that world, rather than some isolated level. Upon beating the level, the game doesn't bump you out to a "map mode," but you continue onto the next level in realtime.  To balance it out, you could pause the game and jump to a map screen, where you could go back and replay levels that you already played through.  Your first time running through the game, you'd just be experiencing the transitions in traditional Mario gameplay, rather than having a separate mode that takes you out of the game.

 While it's kind of a superficial change, we thought it would be a cool way to make Mario's world more cohesive and connected.  I was just curious to think of games, either in 2D or 3D, that may have accomplished this.  There are some segments in God of War, I think, that accomplish this (sections with few loading times and cuts), where you see somewhere in the distance, and then a couple of hours later, you're at that area.  The thing with God of War is though, that it is much shorter than your 3D Mario game, and you spend a lot of times in enclosed arena style areas.

I was curious to see if such an idea could work with a 3D platformer (but was interested in any linear 2D or 3D game did something similar).

I think if I was ever able to make a game, I would love to do something like that.  Upon beating a level, you just keep continuing on.  Maybe you get a prompt on the HUD that says "Checkpoint!  Press start to view map!"  Then you could press start, and there'd be a neat transition where the view zooms out, and the player can see everywhere he/she's been.  It would give the player the ability to hop back to levels that they've completed, and let the player feel like they're experiencing a world...but without sacrificing tight, focused platforming.

[gimymblert]

Banjo kazooie is close to that (but still has the fading inbetween zone due to hardwar constraint. But I think there is other game, i just can't remember witch.

[PogueSquadron]

I had a little time on my hands today and was bored (so excuse the crudeness), but this is kind of what I'm thinking...You're basically working around a "world map" in realtime.  There'd probably have to be loads like in Half Life 2, but it would almost be like one endless level of sorts.