Hi Dark, Well, I think the real issue here is balance. That is to say a balance between challenge and simplicity. Obviously, jumping over laser bolts etc is unrealistic from a mathematical and physics point of view, but it is an instance where the developer chose balance over realistic physics in order to give the player a chance to dodge shots etc. That in no way invalidates my point that a bit of physics can improve the analog mechanics of a game.
For example, let's assume we have a character on an ice world. The very terrain itself can present a number of challenges for the player. Walking through snow would introduce an element of resistance and slow the player down. Climbing up a hill or bank of snow would further decrease the player's speed. If a player runs up to a patch of ice he/she could slide across using a bit of physics modeling to use the ice to his/her advantage to gain a burst of speed. This may not apply to a classic game like Mario etc but that is beside the point. The point that analog movement and mechanics tied to some realistic physics could really up the challenge and introduce some more issues to deal with in game besides the mechanics itself. I would, however, agree with you that realism is less important than good game mechanics. Unfortunately, we don't have any accessible games with mainstream quality game mechanics, and until we have a decent example of that audio game developers who have not had experience with mainstream games will likely continue to implement less satisfactory mechanics in their own games. Even I am a bit vague on some of the concepts because it has been better than 20 years since I have played any NES, SNES, and Atari games and wasn't thinking about such things at the time to notice them. So in my own way I am in the dark on certain game mechanics myself. Cheers! On 5/27/14, dark <d...@xgam.org> wrote: > Hi Tom. > > I certainly think your correct with incrimental movement speed which > increases gradually to a maximum, this is certainly the way most classic > games worked, however I would not confuse these sorts of things with > realistic physics sinse the physics in most classic games is anything but, > indeed the behavioutr and in game movement of objects is usually calculated > to be consistant within that game's frame of reference mor than any sort of > > realistic representation of the time things take to move in reality. > > To take one example, mega man's basic shot moves roughly at what I believe > is two or three times his walking speed. most enemy shots move faster or > slower, but even the fastest projectiles in the game such as Dr. Wily's > plasma shots move at roughly the same speed Mega man does when he does his > very smallest jump. This means that a skilled player can do tiny jumps over > > each shot and not be hit, but make the jumps too big and though you'll miss > > one shot the next will hit you on your way down. > > In reality this makes absolutely no sense, sinse it'd be very difficult to > have anything (much less deadly energy blasts), move so slowly that someone > > would be able to jump over them. In the context of the game world however it > > makes an awsome challenge, and one which requires true mastery from the > player. > > Of course, plenty of classic games did have surfaces as you describe which > affected the player's movement, but these were usually just like the > aforementioned plasma, ie, calculated to be good obstacles for the player > rather than to be realistic. > > For example I am currently trying Super castlevania again (last time I > didn't get past world 7). There is one stage which takes place over mud > pools. If you get Simon belment dropped in the mud he takes roughly half a > second to sink up to his head level and then it's curtains, meaning you need > > to be pretty quick to press jump to hop out again. > > Again, completely unrealistic, but a real challenge in the game. > > This isn't to say realistic physics is a bad idea. Obviously for any sort of > > sim game, and for games that attempt to mirror a realistic experience of > combat or weapon use rather like the call of duty style fps genre, or even > some of the less radical sf themed fps games, however for the sort of > classic atari or Nes style games we're discussion, heck even for snes style > > more complex side scrollers such as Super Castlevania I'd personally argue > that realism isn't as important as a coherent set of game mechanics that > contribute to the over all challenge. > > Thus for example if you decided to have say a side scrolling jungle level > ala Tarzan Jr or Q9, but have the player chased by a rampaging rhino and > needing to jump over tracts of long grass which would halve their movement > sppeed while traversing them, well that would be a pretty fun challenge > irrispective of whether grass is really that urcsome or not. > > Beware the grue! > > Dark. > > > --- > Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org > If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to > gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. > You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at > http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. > All messages are archived and can be searched and read at > http://www.mail-archive.com/gamers@audyssey.org. > If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, > please send E-mail to gamers-ow...@audyssey.org. > --- Gamers mailing list __ Gamers@audyssey.org If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to gamers-unsubscr...@audyssey.org. 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