Best Features to Optimize Your 2D and 3D Isometric Games

CEO & Founder at RetroStyle Games | Aug 15, 2022

Optimizing 2D and 3D isometric games involves leveraging the best features of game engines to enhance performance, visual quality, and user experience. This can be achieved through various techniques and tools offered by modern game engines for isometric games.

Why Do Isometric Games Rock?

Isometric game graphics is one of the most widely used types of graphics in game design, and many of the best-looking video games are isometric. The many benefits the isometric technique offers to development, performance, and gameplay have made it extremely popular over the decades of the game industry development. Isometric design is used in RPGs and strategy and is ubiquitous in mobile games.

Are Isometric Games 2D or 3D?

Isometric is a technique of creating a pseudo-3D environment in video games by depicting a projection of a 3D object in two dimensions. It uses parallel projection in which the angle of view allows the players to see the parts of the environment that would not be visible from a simple top-down or side view, thus creating a 3D effect.

As for the assets, they can be 2D, 3D, or a blend of both. We will talk about it in a bit.

What is an Isometric Perspective?

In the true isometric projections, all of the angles are 120° which doesn’t allow for perspective distortions. However, other kinds of perspectives that are used in games are referred to as isometric as well. Notably, the most common kind of projection used in “isometric” games is actually dimetric and has a 2:1 ratio.

Initially, the dimetric projection gained its popularity due to the limitations of pixel graphics: the graphics looked better on low-performance old computers with tricky 116.57°-116.57°-126.87° angles than with true isometric 120° ones. The diametric perspective remains to be the most popular now when modern devices are perfectly capable of handling true isometric graphics.

How are Isometric Games Made?

The simplest and most effective type of isometric design is a tile design in which every visual element is broken down into smaller pieces of equal sizes. The game world is made of these pieces, or tiles, that form a grid. The grid is divided into areas (e.g. the grass area, rocks, etc.) and isometrically projected. To optimize RAM usage on mobile devices, each tile is rendered separately.

Isometric 3D Game Sprites Furniture Assets Bedroom

Isometric 3D Model Sprites Assets Furniture Variants

Isometric 3D Model Game Assets Bedroom Bathroom

The assets for isometric video games are isometric sprites that are generated based on 2D or 3D models. The most common way of creating assets is by making a 3D model that is then turned into a sprite. It starts with creating a 2D concept art of an asset. A 3D game model is made that is then textured, lighted, and rendered in several layers, and an overpaint is performed which further refines the look of the asset.

When the environment sprites such as trees, walls, buildings, etc. are ready, it’s time for the characters. As a bare minimum, four to eight sprites are made for one character depending on the number of directions characters can move in the game.

Our clients use character design services to create distinct silhouettes for characters viewed in a 2D representation within a 3D space. This ensures characters remain recognizable even in complex environments. Once the 3D character design services harmonize with the 3D environment, clients finalize the sprite sheets for various animations, ensuring that the characters’ movements and interactions are coherent and natural within the 3D space.

Learn more: How to Make 2D Art for Games in Сollaboration with Outsource Game Company

The Pros of Isometric Graphics

What started as an easy way of making flat look 3D, has since revealed many benefits and remained popular long after 3D development became widely accessible.

From the development side, it offers performance benefits since the computer doesn’t have to calculate the changes in the shape and size of the assets and simulate visuals in response to the player moving or changing the camera angle.

From the gameplay side, it obviously has a much more vivid and engaging combat and platforming experience to offer compared to 2D graphics. It also allows for a larger scene and greater control over the unit than the first or third-person 3D games. So when it comes to managing a group of characters in an RPG or an army in a strategy, isometric design is indispensable.

The fixed camera in isometric games is also great for active combat when managing a 3D camera can be cumbersome and annoying. The player can see the whole battlefield, including the enemies behind them, and focus on the game instead of rotating the camera back and forth.

The Limitations of Flat Design

Despite its many advantages and suitability for certain genres in games, there is one obvious point regarding player engagement in isometric titles. The thing is that with isometry it’s impossible to create a deep game world that you can look at with excitement. You need 3D for that. Also, compared to 3D engines, isometric games cannot offer a complex combat system and the game micro-control is rather mechanical.

sprites atlantis facebook sea themed social game

Sprites Atlantis Facebook, autumn pixel art

Another flaw of the isometric style is a continuation of its strength: the static camera. Having a fixed viewpoint all the time can be tiresome, routinizing, and disengaging for the players.

Last but not least, there is a technical issue with the maintenance of games with isometric projection. As the resolution and display ratio of devices continues to evolve, the static 2D images have to be visualized again and again to keep up with the changes. Otherwise, we encounter pixelization and use anti-aliasing as a crutch — not good.

2D Assets for Isometric Game

While initially isometric assets were created solely in 2D, this is rarely the case nowadays. Pixel art is easier to learn than 3D and it’s simpler to make changes to the art and make it look great using just Photoshop. However, getting several angles of a 2D asset from different viewpoints is rather time-consuming since every viewpoint has to be drawn from scratch. It’s especially relevant for city-builders and character animation. Moreover, the lighting and shading of the asset need to be done right after you draw them, which leaves little space for trial-and-error. Still, there is an unbeatable advantage in 2D isometric games and that is they are perceived as quaint and more atmospheric.

The two projects our 2D artists did isometric drawings for are both 2D isometric games centered around the medieval aesthetic art style.

Runefall: Match 3 Quest Games. An isometric 2D Unity game where you get to solve puzzles, play match-3, and rebuild a stylized town.

Heroes from the Past: Joan of Arc. An isometric game with Unity 2D graphics that combines a city-builder, match-3, and an exciting storyline

3D Assets for Isometric Games

The vast majority of isometric games are made using 3D models. A 3D world is created and the camera is rotated to a degree that makes it look isometric.

It takes nothing to get the images of the asset from all the viewpoints that you need. As for the characters in 3D isometric games, it’s easy to import them into your 3D space and make them move. Moreover, you can reuse the animation that you have for one character and apply it to other characters — a drastic difference from a 2D character animation. Lighting and shadowing are highly-adjustable and since they both strongly influence the look of a 3D isometric game, the ease with which they can be implemented is an important advantage of using 3D graphics.

Merge Dreamland is a fantasy 3D isometric puzzle game we did all the 3D art for. Its cotton-candy world is full of dreamy characters, whimsical castles, and air balloons, skillfully crafted by our 3D artists.

The drawback of this technique is obvious: you cannot have the same aesthetic as with 2D art. The assets will be less detailed and have a different feel to them. Creating a 3D asset that has the same amount of detail as a 2D sprite takes just an unbelievable amount of time, so generally, 3D looks simpler.

3D modeling is of course a more complex craft than doing 2D sprites. Even though it’s much less time-consuming to get different angles of the assets if you have a 3D model, making the model itself isn’t swift. Making lots of models, for example, for a city-builder, takes longer still since modifying the models you have is time-consuming too. If you delegate game art for your game to an outsourcing studio, you will have a team of professional 3D artists at your service and the cost will reflect the time and expertise needed for the project.

2D/3D Blend

The best way we know to create assets for isometric games, however, is a mixture of 2D and 3D. We draw from the best of each technique. We’ve worked on dozens of projects, creating art for isometric indie games and major mobile game developers like Gamegos.

In the workflow we came up with, we mix 2D and 3D techniques in one asset while dividing the process between the teams. This way we save time and make our artists happy by giving each the task they excel at.

2D artists create concept art of characters, buildings, props, and other assets, whereas 3D specialists do modeling. When the models are ready, 2D artists jump back on and color the assets making them come alive. Our experience shows that 2D artists are much more subtle with textures and give the assets a more refined look.

Take our ambitious project SteamPower 1830 for example. A city-builder with such a name couldn't possibly get by with plain buildings that are low on detail. We put much care and a painstaking amount of work into the assets, yes. However, it is our workflow utilizing 2D artists in the final stages of asset development that allowed us to contribute to the creation of a city-builder that looks truly unique.

Manor Cafe is an enormous restaurant that requires tons of isometric assets for the interiors and exteriors. For most of the assets, we also created several looks: before renovation and after a series of repairs and upgrades.

Bottom Line

Despite the relative accessibility of true 3D game development, games that offer pseudo-3D only grow in popularity. The advantages isometric design offers for both developers and players have secured its place in the gaming industry and effectively become the best solution for strategies, group RPGs, and relaxing renovation games.

Download 3D model of Room Free for Isometric Game:

Both 2D and 3D art can be used to create flat assets that look three-dimensional. At RetroStyle Games, we are happy with the workflow we established which divides the tasks between 2D and 3D teams and employs the best of both worlds to create detailed and stylish assets, be it a character, a building, a prop, or something else.

We offer high-quality game art services, isometric art, and the creation of promo materials for your game.