In this blog, we will bring you to see the evolution of PC games graphic from a 2D game like Tetris to a 3D games with an astounding graphics like Skyrim or Call Of Duty : Advanced Warfare. The evolution will surely makes you feel amazing and excited to see how far the graphics has come.
From 1950s to 1980s, every game is still in 2D and there is still not much development in graphics as you can think of a ‘Tetris’ game as an example. Hovertank 3D was one of the early 3D game in 1991, being preceded by Microsoft Flight Simulator and it was a role model for many 3D games afterward with a similar play style such as Wolfstein 3D, Doom and Quake. The game is simplistic, to say the least. Players take the part of mercenary Brick Sledge, rescuing humans from cities threatened by nuclear attack. The graphics looks so plain with low resolutions, each component has a basic background color and blocky style.
Hovertank 3D
In 1992, a game called Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss was released with a true 3D environment with varied ceiling and floor heights, sloped floors, true lighting, transparent surfaces, and the ability to look up and down. It had 3D objects alongside 2D sprites, and it was also the first 3D game to let you jump.
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss
One year later, ‘Myst’ was released and the arrival of CD-ROM allow its use of high-quality assets, rooms that were fully-rendered in 3D. The game went on to sell more than six million units, the top-selling PC game of all time, until The Sims in 2002.
Myst
Doom was a FPS revolutionary game at release in 1993, it introduced variable lighting and different elevations, following on from Ultima Underworld.
Doom
In 1996 was the year ‘Tomb Raider’ released with a true 3D environments and characters viewed in third-person perspective.
Tomb Raider
Half-Life was developed using the same engine as Doom which is an engine that fit for a FPS game like these. All components was in 3D with better quality.
Half-life
New developer Crytek made Far Cry as a showcase of its technology in 2004. It was a truly beautiful game and was a great sales pitch for the new engine Crytek made.
Far Cry
With a fast-paced growing in technology, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim released in 2011, had very beautiful environments and objects with a fantasy yet realistic graphics. Compare to Hovertank 3D in 1991, you will see how far PC games graphics has come.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim