<s>
Isometric	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
graphics	I-Application
are	O
graphics	O
employed	O
in	O
video	O
games	O
and	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
art	O
that	O
use	O
a	O
parallel	O
projection	O
,	O
but	O
which	O
angle	O
the	O
viewpoint	O
to	O
reveal	O
facets	O
of	O
the	O
environment	O
that	O
would	O
otherwise	O
not	O
be	O
visible	O
from	O
a	O
top-down	O
perspective	O
or	O
side	O
view	O
,	O
thereby	O
producing	O
a	O
three-dimensional	O
(	O
3D	O
)	O
effect	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
name	O
,	O
isometric	B-Application
computer	I-Application
graphics	I-Application
are	O
not	O
necessarily	O
truly	O
isometrici.e.	O
,	O
the	O
,	O
,	O
and	O
axes	O
are	O
not	O
necessarily	O
oriented	O
120°	O
to	O
each	O
other	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
,	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
angles	O
are	O
used	O
,	O
with	O
dimetric	O
projection	O
and	O
a	O
2:1	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
ratio	O
being	O
the	O
most	O
common	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
fields	O
of	O
computer	O
and	O
video	O
games	O
and	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
art	O
,	O
the	O
technique	O
has	O
become	O
popular	O
because	O
of	O
the	O
ease	O
with	O
which	O
2D	O
sprite	O
-	O
and	O
tile-based	B-Application
graphics	O
can	O
be	O
made	O
to	O
represent	O
3D	O
gaming	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
parallelly	O
projected	O
objects	O
do	O
not	O
change	O
in	O
size	O
as	O
they	O
move	O
about	O
an	O
area	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
need	O
for	O
the	O
computer	O
to	O
scale	O
sprites	O
or	O
do	O
the	O
complex	O
calculations	O
necessary	O
to	O
simulate	O
visual	B-Architecture
perspective	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allowed	O
8-bit	B-Application
and	O
16-bit	B-Application
game	O
systems	O
(	O
and	O
,	O
more	O
recently	O
,	O
handheld	B-Application
and	O
mobile	O
systems	O
)	O
to	O
portray	O
large	O
game	O
areas	O
quickly	O
and	O
easily	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Further	O
,	O
though	O
not	O
limited	O
strictly	O
to	O
isometric	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
graphics	I-Application
,	O
pre-rendered	O
2D	O
graphics	O
can	O
possess	O
a	O
higher	O
fidelity	O
and	O
use	O
more	O
advanced	O
graphical	O
techniques	O
than	O
may	O
be	O
possible	O
on	O
commonly	O
available	O
computer	O
hardware	O
,	O
even	O
with	O
3D	B-General_Concept
hardware	I-General_Concept
acceleration	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similarly	O
to	O
modern	O
CGI	O
used	O
in	O
motion	O
pictures	O
,	O
graphics	O
can	O
be	O
rendered	O
one	O
time	O
on	O
a	O
powerful	O
super	B-Architecture
computer	I-Architecture
or	O
render	B-Operating_System
farm	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
then	O
displayed	O
many	O
times	O
on	O
less	O
powerful	O
consumer	O
hardware	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
on	O
television	O
sets	O
,	O
tablet	B-Device
computers	I-Device
and	O
smartphones	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
means	O
that	O
static	O
pre-rendered	O
isometric	B-Application
graphics	I-Application
often	O
look	O
better	O
compared	O
to	O
their	O
contemporary	O
real-time-rendered	O
counterparts	O
,	O
and	O
may	O
age	O
better	O
over	O
time	O
compared	O
to	O
their	O
peers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
disadvantages	O
of	O
pre-rendered	O
isometric	B-Application
graphics	I-Application
are	O
that	O
,	O
as	O
display	B-General_Concept
resolutions	I-General_Concept
and	O
display	B-General_Concept
aspect	I-General_Concept
ratios	I-General_Concept
continue	O
to	O
evolve	O
,	O
static	O
2D	O
images	O
need	O
to	O
be	O
re-rendered	O
each	O
time	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
keep	O
pace	O
,	O
or	O
potentially	O
suffer	O
from	O
the	O
effects	O
of	O
pixelation	B-Algorithm
and	O
require	O
anti-aliasing	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Re-rendering	O
a	O
game	O
's	O
graphics	O
is	O
not	O
always	O
possible	O
,	O
however	O
;	O
as	O
was	O
the	O
case	O
in	O
2012	O
,	O
when	O
Beamdog	O
remade	O
BioWare	O
's	O
Baldur	B-Application
's	I-Application
Gate	I-Application
(	O
1998	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
does	O
not	O
affect	O
real-time	O
rendered	O
polygonal	O
isometric	O
video	O
games	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
as	O
changing	O
their	O
display	B-General_Concept
resolutions	I-General_Concept
or	O
aspect	O
ratios	O
is	O
trivial	O
,	O
in	O
comparison	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
projection	O
commonly	O
used	O
in	O
video	O
games	O
deviates	O
slightly	O
from	O
"	O
true	O
"	O
isometric	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
limitations	O
of	O
raster	B-Algorithm
graphics	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lines	O
in	O
the	O
and	O
directions	O
would	O
not	O
follow	O
a	O
neat	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
pattern	O
if	O
drawn	O
in	O
the	O
required	O
30°	O
to	O
the	O
horizontal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
modern	O
computers	O
can	O
eliminate	O
this	O
problem	O
using	O
anti-aliasing	B-Algorithm
,	O
earlier	O
computer	O
graphics	O
did	O
not	O
support	O
enough	O
colors	O
or	O
possess	O
enough	O
CPU	O
power	O
to	O
accomplish	O
this	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
,	O
a	O
2:1	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
pattern	O
ratio	O
would	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
draw	O
the	O
and	O
axis	O
lines	O
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
these	O
axes	O
following	O
a	O
≈	O
26.565	O
°	O
(	O
)	O
angle	O
to	O
the	O
horizontal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Game	O
systems	O
that	O
do	O
not	O
use	O
square	B-Algorithm
pixels	I-Algorithm
could	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
yield	O
different	O
angles	O
,	O
including	O
"	O
true	O
"	O
isometric	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
isometric	B-Application
graphics	I-Application
in	I-Application
video	I-Application
games	I-Application
began	O
with	O
Data	O
East	O
's	O
DECO	B-Application
Cassette	I-Application
System	I-Application
arcade	O
game	O
Treasure	B-Application
Island	I-Application
,	O
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
in	O
September	O
1981	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
was	O
not	O
released	O
internationally	O
until	O
June	O
1982	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
isometric	O
game	O
to	O
be	O
released	O
internationally	O
was	O
Sega	O
's	O
Zaxxon	B-Application
,	O
which	O
was	O
significantly	O
more	O
popular	O
and	O
influential	O
;	O
it	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
Japan	O
in	O
December	O
1981	O
and	O
internationally	O
in	O
April	O
1982	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Zaxxon	B-Application
is	O
an	O
isometric	O
shooter	O
where	O
the	O
player	O
flies	O
a	O
space	O
plane	O
through	O
scrolling	O
levels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
early	O
isometric	O
game	O
is	O
Q*bert	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Warren	B-Application
Davis	I-Application
and	O
Jeff	O
Lee	O
began	O
programming	O
the	O
concept	O
around	O
April	O
1982	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Q*bert	B-Application
shows	O
a	O
static	O
pyramid	O
in	O
an	O
isometric	B-Application
perspective	I-Application
,	O
with	O
the	O
player	O
controlling	O
a	O
character	O
which	O
can	O
jump	O
around	O
on	O
the	O
pyramid	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
1983	O
,	O
the	O
isometric	O
platform	O
game	O
arcade	O
game	O
Congo	B-Application
Bongo	I-Application
was	O
released	O
,	O
running	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
hardware	O
as	O
Zaxxon	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
same	O
is	O
possible	O
in	O
the	O
arcade	O
title	O
Marble	B-Device
Madness	I-Device
,	O
released	O
in	O
1984	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1983	O
,	O
isometric	O
games	O
were	O
no	O
longer	O
exclusive	O
to	O
the	O
arcade	O
market	O
and	O
also	O
entered	O
home	O
computers	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Blue	B-Application
Max	I-Application
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
8-bit	I-Device
family	I-Device
and	O
Ant	B-Application
Attack	I-Application
for	O
the	O
ZX	B-Operating_System
Spectrum	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Ant	B-Application
Attack	I-Application
,	O
the	O
player	O
could	O
move	O
forward	O
in	O
any	O
direction	O
of	O
the	O
scrolling	O
game	O
,	O
offering	O
complete	O
free	O
movement	O
rather	O
than	O
fixed	O
to	O
one	O
axis	O
as	O
with	O
Zaxxon	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ZX	B-Operating_System
Spectrum	I-Operating_System
magazine	O
,	O
Crash	O
,	O
consequently	O
awarded	O
it	O
100%	O
in	O
the	O
graphics	O
category	O
for	O
this	O
new	O
technique	O
,	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
Soft	O
Solid	O
3-D	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
year	O
later	O
,	O
the	O
ZX	B-Operating_System
Spectrum	I-Operating_System
game	O
Knight	B-Application
Lore	I-Application
was	O
released	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
Knight	B-Application
Lore	I-Application
,	O
many	O
isometric	O
titles	O
were	O
seen	O
on	O
home	O
computers	O
–	O
to	O
an	O
extent	O
that	O
it	O
once	O
was	O
regarded	O
as	O
being	O
the	O
second	O
most	O
cloned	O
piece	O
of	O
software	O
after	O
WordStar	B-Application
,	O
according	O
to	O
researcher	O
Jan	O
Krikke	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
examples	O
out	O
of	O
those	O
were	O
Highway	B-Application
Encounter	I-Application
(	O
1985	O
)	O
,	O
Batman	B-Application
(	O
1986	O
)	O
,	O
Head	B-Application
Over	I-Application
Heels	I-Application
(	O
1987	O
)	O
and	O
La	B-Application
Abadía	I-Application
del	I-Application
Crimen	I-Application
(	O
1987	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Isometric	B-Application
perspective	I-Application
was	O
not	O
limited	O
to	O
arcade/adventure	O
games	O
,	O
though	O
;	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
the	O
1989	O
strategy	O
game	O
Populous	B-Application
used	O
isometric	B-Application
perspective	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
|	O
caption1	O
=	O
A	O
television	O
set	O
drawn	O
in	O
near-isometric	O
2:1	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
art	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
(	O
Enlarged	O
to	O
show	O
the	O
pixel	B-Algorithm
structure	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Throughout	O
the	O
1990s	O
several	O
successful	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
Syndicate	B-Application
(	O
1993	O
)	O
,	O
SimCity	B-Application
2000	I-Application
(	O
1994	O
)	O
,	O
Civilization	B-Application
II	I-Application
(	O
1996	O
)	O
,	O
X-COM	B-Application
(	O
1994	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
Diablo	B-Application
(	O
1996	O
)	O
used	O
a	O
fixed	O
isometric	B-Application
perspective	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
But	O
with	O
the	O
advent	O
of	O
3D	B-Architecture
acceleration	I-Architecture
on	O
personal	O
computers	O
and	O
gaming	O
consoles	O
,	O
games	O
previously	O
using	O
a	O
2D	O
perspective	O
generally	O
started	O
switching	O
to	O
true	O
3D	O
(	O
and	O
perspective	B-Architecture
projection	I-Architecture
)	O
instead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
can	O
be	O
seen	O
in	O
the	O
successors	O
to	O
the	O
above	O
games	O
:	O
for	O
instance	O
SimCity	B-Application
(	O
2013	O
)	O
,	O
Civilization	B-Application
VI	I-Application
(	O
2016	O
)	O
,	O
XCOM	B-Application
:	I-Application
Enemy	I-Application
Unknown	I-Application
(	O
2012	O
)	O
and	O
Diablo	B-Application
III	I-Application
(	O
2012	O
)	O
all	O
use	O
3D	O
polygonal	O
graphics	O
;	O
and	O
while	O
Diablo	B-Application
II	I-Application
(	O
2000	O
)	O
used	O
fixed-perspective	O
2D	O
perspective	O
like	O
its	O
predecessor	O
,	O
it	O
optionally	O
allowed	O
for	O
perspective	O
scaling	O
of	O
the	O
sprites	O
in	O
the	O
distance	O
to	O
lend	O
it	O
a	O
"	O
pseudo-3D	O
"	O
appearance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
during	O
the	O
1990s	O
,	O
isometric	B-Application
graphics	I-Application
began	O
being	O
used	O
for	O
Japanese	O
role-playing	O
video	O
games	O
(	O
JRPGs	O
)	O
on	O
console	B-Device
systems	I-Device
,	O
particularly	O
tactical	O
role-playing	O
games	O
,	O
many	O
of	O
which	O
still	O
use	O
isometric	B-Application
graphics	I-Application
today	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
include	O
Front	B-Application
Mission	I-Application
(	O
1995	O
)	O
,	O
Tactics	B-Application
Ogre	I-Application
(	O
1995	O
)	O
and	O
Final	B-Application
Fantasy	I-Application
Tactics	I-Application
(	O
1997	O
)	O
—	O
the	O
latter	O
of	O
which	O
used	O
3D	O
graphics	O
to	O
create	O
an	O
environment	O
where	O
the	O
player	O
could	O
freely	O
rotate	O
the	O
camera	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
titles	O
such	O
as	O
Vandal	B-Application
Hearts	I-Application
(	O
1996	O
)	O
and	O
Breath	B-Application
of	I-Application
Fire	I-Application
III	I-Application
(	O
1997	O
)	O
carefully	O
emulated	O
an	O
isometric	O
or	O
parallel	O
view	O
,	O
but	O
actually	O
used	O
perspective	B-Architecture
projection	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Isometric	O
,	O
or	O
similar	O
,	O
perspectives	O
become	O
popular	O
in	O
role-playing	O
video	O
games	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Fallout	B-Application
and	O
Baldur	B-Application
's	I-Application
Gate	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
some	O
cases	O
,	O
these	O
role-playing	O
games	O
became	O
defined	O
by	O
their	O
isometric	B-Application
perspective	I-Application
,	O
which	O
allows	O
larger	O
scale	O
battles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
include	O
the	O
Shadowrun	B-Application
Returns	I-Application
series	O
(	O
2013-2015	O
)	O
by	O
Harebrained	O
Schemes	O
;	O
the	O
Pillars	B-Application
of	I-Application
Eternity	I-Application
series	O
(	O
2015-2018	O
)	O
and	O
Tyranny	B-Application
(	O
2016	O
)	O
by	O
Obsidian	O
Entertainment	O
;	O
and	O
Torment	B-Application
:	I-Application
Tides	I-Application
of	I-Application
Numenera	I-Application
(	O
2017	O
)	O
by	O
inXile	O
Entertainment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Obsidian	O
Entertainment	O
in	O
particular	O
wanted	O
to	O
"	O
bring	O
back	O
the	O
look	O
and	O
feel	O
of	O
the	O
Infinity	O
Engine	O
games	O
like	O
Baldur	B-Application
's	I-Application
Gate	I-Application
,	O
Icewind	B-Application
Dale	I-Application
,	O
and	O
Planescape	B-Application
:	I-Application
Torment	I-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lastly	O
,	O
several	O
pseudo-isometric	O
3D	O
RPGs	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Divinity	B-Application
:	I-Application
Original	I-Application
Sin	I-Application
(	O
2014	O
)	O
,	O
Wasteland	B-Application
2	I-Application
(	O
2014	O
)	O
and	O
Dead	B-Application
State	I-Application
(	O
2014	O
)	O
,	O
have	O
been	O
crowdfunded	O
using	O
Kickstarter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
titles	O
differ	O
from	O
the	O
above	O
games	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
in	O
that	O
they	O
use	O
perspective	B-Architecture
projection	I-Architecture
instead	O
of	O
parallel	O
projection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
thumb|right|Comparison	O
of	O
several	O
types	O
of	O
graphical	B-Algorithm
projection	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
"	O
isometric	B-Application
perspective	I-Application
"	O
is	O
frequently	O
misapplied	O
to	O
any	O
game	O
with	O
an	O
—	O
usually	O
fixed	O
—	O
angled	O
,	O
overhead	B-Application
view	I-Application
that	O
appears	O
at	O
first	O
to	O
be	O
"	O
isometric	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
include	O
the	O
aforementioned	O
dimetrically	O
projected	O
video	O
games	O
;	O
games	O
that	O
use	O
trimetric	O
projection	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Fallout	B-Application
(	O
1997	O
)	O
and	O
SimCity	B-Application
4	I-Application
(	O
2003	O
)	O
;	O
games	O
that	O
use	O
oblique	O
projection	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Ultima	B-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
(	O
1997	O
)	O
and	O
Divine	B-Application
Divinity	I-Application
(	O
2002	O
)	O
;	O
and	O
games	O
that	O
use	O
a	O
combination	O
of	O
perspective	B-Architecture
projection	I-Architecture
and	O
a	O
bird	B-Application
's	I-Application
eye	I-Application
view	I-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
Silent	B-Application
Storm	I-Application
(	O
2003	O
)	O
,	O
Torchlight	B-Application
(	O
2009	O
)	O
and	O
Divinity	B-Application
:	I-Application
Original	I-Application
Sin	I-Application
(	O
2014	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
,	O
for	O
instance	O
,	O
titles	O
which	O
use	O
polygonal	O
3D	O
graphics	O
completely	O
,	O
but	O
render	O
their	O
graphics	O
using	O
parallel	O
projection	O
instead	O
of	O
perspective	B-Architecture
projection	I-Architecture
,	O
such	O
as	O
Syndicate	B-Application
Wars	I-Application
(	O
1996	O
)	O
,	O
Dungeon	B-Application
Keeper	I-Application
(	O
1997	O
)	O
and	O
Depths	B-Application
of	I-Application
Peril	I-Application
(	O
2007	O
)	O
;	O
games	O
which	O
use	O
a	O
combination	O
of	O
pre-rendered	O
2D	O
backgrounds	O
and	O
real-time	O
rendered	O
3D	O
character	O
models	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
The	B-Application
Temple	I-Application
of	I-Application
Elemental	I-Application
Evil	I-Application
(	O
2003	O
)	O
and	O
Torment	B-Application
:	I-Application
Tides	I-Application
of	I-Application
Numenera	I-Application
(	O
2017	O
)	O
;	O
and	O
games	O
which	O
combine	O
real-time	O
rendered	O
3D	O
backgrounds	O
with	O
hand-drawn	O
2D	O
character	O
sprites	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Final	B-Application
Fantasy	I-Application
Tactics	I-Application
(	O
1997	O
)	O
and	O
Disgaea	B-Application
:	I-Application
Hour	I-Application
of	I-Application
Darkness	I-Application
(	O
2003	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
advantage	O
of	O
top-down	O
oblique	O
projection''	O
over	O
other	O
near-isometric	O
perspectives	O
,	O
is	O
that	O
objects	O
fit	O
more	O
snugly	O
within	O
non-overlapping	O
square	O
graphical	O
tiles	O
,	O
thereby	O
potentially	O
eliminating	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
an	O
additional	O
Z-order	B-Algorithm
in	O
calculations	O
,	O
and	O
requiring	O
fewer	O
pixels	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
