An isometric game is one that uses an isometric approach to the camera. Some popular examples would be games like Diablo, Torchlight, Bastion, StarCraft, or Transistor. Essentially, the camera views the world from an overhead perspective, with a 45-degree angle of rotation.

Why use an isometric camera?

In my opinion, there are mostly three reasons to use an isometric camera. The first reason is style. Having an isometric camera can be a stylistic choice for your sport. The isometric perspective can make a game 3D, even if it is 2D. In a way, it adds a sense of depth to your game. Maybe it’s the pseudo-3D style of how you want to render your game.

Because the Isometric Environment perspective creates the illusion of 3D, there is an evolutionary reason to use it. In general, it’s quick and easy to create a 2D asset for a game.

3D modeling is a more complex process that is also more hardware-intensive. By using an isometric perspective, you can create something that looks sufficiently 3D without creating a 3D model. This can save a developer a lot of time and money, especially in the realm of indie games.

The second reason is related to the gameplay. Maybe for the game, you have in mind, your player needs to be able to see a lot of information on the screen at once. Overhead approaches allow for this.

This is a big reason why most real-time strategy games use an isometric or rotatable overhead perspective. This allows the player to see all the enemies and allies on their screen at any given time. This gives them a lot of information about their current situation and allows them to make more informed tactical decisions.

This makes it easy to pick up and move units on the map. Consider the idea of ​​playing a real-time strategy game from a first-person perspective. It will be incredibly difficult for the player to select and move units around the map when they can only see what is in front of them at any given time.

Consider the above image of an old game called “Age of Kings”. You command an army of medieval warriors. With an isometric view, you can easily select your units and send them around the map. Imagine trying to order all these units without any overhead perspective. It would be a nightmare.