Comments on: Real is Boring http://www.aelon.net/2004/08/real-is-boring/ Random babblings from a few digitally inclined people Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:59:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: Holliday http://www.aelon.net/2004/08/real-is-boring/#comment-138 Wed, 01 Sep 2004 11:15:45 +0000 http://www.aelon.net/2004/08/real-is-boring/#comment-138 Nagash: Definitly true, real world settings do have their appeal. I was more of supporting Cyrris in that a truly realistic setting rather limits what can be done in a game. If I am playing Rainbow Six: Raven Shield and a wall disintegrates and some floor tiles get sucked in a swirling firey vortex to hell... it might be a tad out of place. Although I guess it gives "Fight Terrorism Wherever it Hides" a new meaning. Nagash: Definitly true, real world settings do have their appeal.

I was more of supporting Cyrris in that a truly realistic setting rather limits what can be done in a game. If I am playing Rainbow Six: Raven Shield and a wall disintegrates and some floor tiles get sucked in a swirling firey vortex to hell… it might be a tad out of place.

Although I guess it gives “Fight Terrorism Wherever it Hides” a new meaning.

]]> by: Cyrris http://www.aelon.net/2004/08/real-is-boring/#comment-134 Wed, 01 Sep 2004 08:44:03 +0000 http://www.aelon.net/2004/08/real-is-boring/#comment-134 I'm thinking I may have titled the post incorrectly. I agree that realism isn't boring - but rather that games not bound by developers caught up in realism are more appealing, more often. Quite a lot so, infact. Holliday is right though, when he said something I hadn't thought of - that our expectation of realism (and due to lacking technology, that expectation not being met), would obviously make realism games less immersive, because we can easily nit-pick at every little thing that isn't exactly realistic. I’m thinking I may have titled the post incorrectly. I agree that realism isn’t boring - but rather that games not bound by developers caught up in realism are more appealing, more often. Quite a lot so, infact.

Holliday is right though, when he said something I hadn’t thought of - that our expectation of realism (and due to lacking technology, that expectation not being met), would obviously make realism games less immersive, because we can easily nit-pick at every little thing that isn’t exactly realistic.

]]> by: Lord.Nagash http://www.aelon.net/2004/08/real-is-boring/#comment-132 Wed, 01 Sep 2004 02:42:36 +0000 http://www.aelon.net/2004/08/real-is-boring/#comment-132 Holliday: A real world building is a rather boring level visually. Hallways upon hallways of similiar looking rooms. - Halo anyone? Just because it is real doesn't mean the level design has to be boring. How many buildings do you see where it all looks exactly the same? Holliday: A real world building is a rather boring level visually. Hallways upon hallways of similiar looking rooms. - Halo anyone?

Just because it is real doesn’t mean the level design has to be boring. How many buildings do you see where it all looks exactly the same?

]]> by: Holliday http://www.aelon.net/2004/08/real-is-boring/#comment-129 Tue, 31 Aug 2004 14:21:38 +0000 http://www.aelon.net/2004/08/real-is-boring/#comment-129 Oh and I believe a combination of this thinking is why Half-Life was so succesful and Half-Life 2 looks so promising. They take an ordinary world and feel and mix with it extrodinary situations. Half-Life's architecture was both challenging yet plausible in design. A real world building is a rather boring level visually. Hallways upon hallways of similiar looking rooms. In Half-Life they made the game's 'out of this world' challenges have a foot base in reality. This lets you identify strongly with the world you are in while at the same time letting the developers take you for a ride into the abnormal. Weapons consisted of real world and sci-fi. Situations were anything from simply getting around a busted bridge to hitching a ride on an alien flying kite thing. All the puzzles stayed in the realms of realistic common sense. Some madman didn't arrange 20 crates in a room for you to move into key positions with matching glowing runes or anything. It was more of "I need to get there, now how am I going to do this with the skills I have?" Oddly enough the Xen levels which were totally fantasy were the least enjoyable part of the game. Perhaps because while your character was still rooted in reality his environment was not, leaving you feeling rather limited compared to the limitless world around you. Oh and I believe a combination of this thinking is why Half-Life was so succesful and Half-Life 2 looks so promising. They take an ordinary world and feel and mix with it extrodinary situations. Half-Life’s architecture was both challenging yet plausible in design.

A real world building is a rather boring level visually. Hallways upon hallways of similiar looking rooms. In Half-Life they made the game’s ‘out of this world’ challenges have a foot base in reality. This lets you identify strongly with the world you are in while at the same time letting the developers take you for a ride into the abnormal.

Weapons consisted of real world and sci-fi. Situations were anything from simply getting around a busted bridge to hitching a ride on an alien flying kite thing. All the puzzles stayed in the realms of realistic common sense. Some madman didn’t arrange 20 crates in a room for you to move into key positions with matching glowing runes or anything. It was more of “I need to get there, now how am I going to do this with the skills I have?”

Oddly enough the Xen levels which were totally fantasy were the least enjoyable part of the game. Perhaps because while your character was still rooted in reality his environment was not, leaving you feeling rather limited compared to the limitless world around you.

]]> by: Holliday http://www.aelon.net/2004/08/real-is-boring/#comment-128 Tue, 31 Aug 2004 14:12:12 +0000 http://www.aelon.net/2004/08/real-is-boring/#comment-128 I think that realism games and 'make believe' games can both achieve the same level of immersion they just have to approach it in different ways. Up until recently any 'realism' game is going to fall flat, in terms of accurately mimicking its world, because the technology isn't there. The real world is interesting in its complexity and detail. Now with physics and near-photo realistic graphics we are coming closer to accurately displaying the real world. In a fantasy or sci-fi game the developers not only have a lot of freedom but they can also make outlandish connections make sense. If I am playing a mutant space alien from planet Oookaraboo and I can't jump higher than 2 inches I can't really make a complaint. But if I am playing a human character and I Know that I could climb up over that barrel in my way it just seems silly if I can't. I guess when you play a realistic game you come in with expectations that ultimately cannot all be met, yet. I think that realism games and ‘make believe’ games can both achieve the same level of immersion they just have to approach it in different ways. Up until recently any ‘realism’ game is going to fall flat, in terms of accurately mimicking its world, because the technology isn’t there. The real world is interesting in its complexity and detail. Now with physics and near-photo realistic graphics we are coming closer to accurately displaying the real world.

In a fantasy or sci-fi game the developers not only have a lot of freedom but they can also make outlandish connections make sense. If I am playing a mutant space alien from planet Oookaraboo and I can’t jump higher than 2 inches I can’t really make a complaint. But if I am playing a human character and I Know that I could climb up over that barrel in my way it just seems silly if I can’t. I guess when you play a realistic game you come in with expectations that ultimately cannot all be met, yet.

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