Ah, the PS2. A monolithic achievement by Sony and the invariable king of the console market. Still regarded by many, myself included, as the best gaming console of all time. However, this isn't about the PS2 exactly. I'm speaking today about the engines that ran on the PS2. Those lovely proprietary precursors to the later homogenized industry standards of today. Between 2015 and 2026 it's rare to not see Rage, Gamebryo, Unreal, Crises, Lumen, Unity, RPGMaker, or one of a dozen in house and third party developing applications for games. There's even entire college courses dedicated to the likes of Unreal 4 and 5. However, back in the early 2000's most games brought with it a hodgepodge of developed code made in house by the developers themselves. And, the PS2's early years featured a great deal of these then "next generation" engines developed using the PS2 workstations. Birthing such masterpieces as Max Payne and Silent Hill 2. And, lesser remembered titles like Orphen and Primal. However, most of these early PS2 had a similar feel to them. A uniqueness found within the sky boxes, modelling, texture filtering, and lighting engine of the PS2. Giving the games a harsh, dark, earthy feel. And, sometimes an almost dream like atmosphere as found in launch titles like Eternal Ring.
While dark and subdued. The color pallet didn't suffer like it did some ten years later with the arrival of the PS3 and Xbox 360. It was a genuine leap in technological fidelity, an embodiment of the mentality of the era, and still fondly looked back on due to the lack of any negativity associated with the growth of console market and enhancement of the technology. As I mentioned the 6th to 7th console generation saw a massive loss of in color dynamics due to incomplete technological applications. Namely found in Bloom and the newer Lighting Engines. Still further technological growth has brought about major spikes in overhead and production costs both born on the shoulders of developers and consumers, that wasn't seen during the fourth to sixth console generation growth period. Not to mention a drop in the number of uniquely produced large studio productions. Leading to inferior market places and the need to purchase more consoles or move into larger platform market places like the PC to retain anything resembling a decent selection.
Hence where we find ourselves now in the PC realm. Or, submarkets within the PC realm. Indie titles focusing on "older" production art styles and gaming reminiscent of the 3rd/4th/5th console generation productions. Sprite game game market places. PS1 blocky style game market places. And, doubtless soon to be Dreamcast/PS2 era triangulation based models and darkly colored/simply filtered/simply illuminated style engine games. All of course immune to the constant strain of technological costs and production by being able to be played on decade old hardware.
So it is that the PS2 has become an engine of the future even though it still remains a resident of the past. At present the entire trend of this development hasn't made itself known. But, you can see its living essence blossoming within the fan modding community and emulation underground. Every year the amount of fan translated projects from the PS2's library increases. Development continues to improve the ability to play retro libraries on present day hardware. And, fan modding has increased to almost completely recreate games from scratch into superior and wholly new experiences despite being comprised of 20 plus year old coding assets.
Even within the commercial sector of gaming companies you can see an increased effort to resurrect old titles for modern audiences. The entire remake of Star Ocean 2 being a rather dramatic and competently executed example with the last three years. Older design theories also continue to pave the way for the more notable and successful newer titles. DMC 5 only five years old is a realization of its first and third entry far more than its later entries. Both titles well over ten years before its release! The latest Capcom game involving an astronaut and little girl fighting robots appears to be reminiscent of their earlier survival horror elements from the PS2 era and their latest major success was a remake of a PS2 title. Resident Evil 4.
The modern stylized portrayal of the original PS2 era game engines on more generic, standardized engines like Unreal has lead to major controversy and fan back lash. Showing, that the heart of many of these game successes wasn't just the art direction and writing, but the inherent technology and look it managed to achieve. The genuine art direction and worlds it helped to create.
So, it is that the Dark Engine is timeless in what it achieved, even if it was a child of its era and technical limitations. Basically, technological progress isn't always a one way street. Sometimes you have to look back and grasp what made something genuinely good in the first place. And, realize that the technology is a means to an end.
While dark and subdued. The color pallet didn't suffer like it did some ten years later with the arrival of the PS3 and Xbox 360. It was a genuine leap in technological fidelity, an embodiment of the mentality of the era, and still fondly looked back on due to the lack of any negativity associated with the growth of console market and enhancement of the technology. As I mentioned the 6th to 7th console generation saw a massive loss of in color dynamics due to incomplete technological applications. Namely found in Bloom and the newer Lighting Engines. Still further technological growth has brought about major spikes in overhead and production costs both born on the shoulders of developers and consumers, that wasn't seen during the fourth to sixth console generation growth period. Not to mention a drop in the number of uniquely produced large studio productions. Leading to inferior market places and the need to purchase more consoles or move into larger platform market places like the PC to retain anything resembling a decent selection.
Hence where we find ourselves now in the PC realm. Or, submarkets within the PC realm. Indie titles focusing on "older" production art styles and gaming reminiscent of the 3rd/4th/5th console generation productions. Sprite game game market places. PS1 blocky style game market places. And, doubtless soon to be Dreamcast/PS2 era triangulation based models and darkly colored/simply filtered/simply illuminated style engine games. All of course immune to the constant strain of technological costs and production by being able to be played on decade old hardware.
So it is that the PS2 has become an engine of the future even though it still remains a resident of the past. At present the entire trend of this development hasn't made itself known. But, you can see its living essence blossoming within the fan modding community and emulation underground. Every year the amount of fan translated projects from the PS2's library increases. Development continues to improve the ability to play retro libraries on present day hardware. And, fan modding has increased to almost completely recreate games from scratch into superior and wholly new experiences despite being comprised of 20 plus year old coding assets.
Even within the commercial sector of gaming companies you can see an increased effort to resurrect old titles for modern audiences. The entire remake of Star Ocean 2 being a rather dramatic and competently executed example with the last three years. Older design theories also continue to pave the way for the more notable and successful newer titles. DMC 5 only five years old is a realization of its first and third entry far more than its later entries. Both titles well over ten years before its release! The latest Capcom game involving an astronaut and little girl fighting robots appears to be reminiscent of their earlier survival horror elements from the PS2 era and their latest major success was a remake of a PS2 title. Resident Evil 4.
The modern stylized portrayal of the original PS2 era game engines on more generic, standardized engines like Unreal has lead to major controversy and fan back lash. Showing, that the heart of many of these game successes wasn't just the art direction and writing, but the inherent technology and look it managed to achieve. The genuine art direction and worlds it helped to create.
So, it is that the Dark Engine is timeless in what it achieved, even if it was a child of its era and technical limitations. Basically, technological progress isn't always a one way street. Sometimes you have to look back and grasp what made something genuinely good in the first place. And, realize that the technology is a means to an end.
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