[hnnameblah365]

I think the source of the maturation adds another interesting twist to the story.

A lot of 2D games today are built with 3D engines, and use modern GPU-assisted tech like shaders for lighting and effects. The path to better 2D needed to pass through a 3D phase just for the tooling.

Tooling is where I think the games industry stores most of its culture. The studios burn through a generation of devs within a decade, so it's risky to leave it in their heads.