In-Depth: PixelJunk's 2D Roots, 3D Future

Author: by Staff

Cuthbert spoke to Gamasutra as part of a feature interview, Q-Time For Q-Games. He heads up the Kyoto-based studio which publishes the series of games to PlayStation Network in Japan itself, and through Sony in other regions. The company's last packaged game was Star Fox Command for the Nintendo DS. Speaking of its PixelJunk series, Cuthbert said that 2D was an "aesthetic" choice: "we wanted to do pure 2D". The landscape has changed, he said, revitalizing the perspective. "The visual quality of 2D now is so much higher... that makes a big difference. It's allowed 2D to resurge." PixelJunk Shooter has a complicated physics simulation -- and the effects in Eden are different to what would have been done in the past. "We can reapply all the modern technology to the old 2D format and do a lot more with it," said Cuthbert. Despite this deliberate choice, he said that 3D is likely in the future for the PixelJunk series: "For Series 2, we're going to go for the weird 3D stuff, I think." The full interview, Q-Time For Q-Games, is live now on Gamasutra.