[games_access] Top 3 Top 3

Tim Chase agdev at thechases.com
Sun Dec 2 18:05:52 EST 2007


> What if a game uses a physics engine? Slowing down the ball in a
> physics based pinball game will make it unplayable. The ball won't
> have enough momentum to carry it through the pinball obstacle course.
> A solution could be slow motion play mode, but that also presents
> other problems. Using slow motion can impact the timing of scripted
> events and messages being sent and received by the internal game
> systems.

In physics-based simulations, "time" is a constant only to the
degree that it's a variable that's only been set once (or is
established as a fixed harmonic of your system-clock).  One only
has to look to games such as _Prince Of Persia:  Sands of Time_,
and the Max Payne games where time-manipulation is part of the
game-play.  Granted, bunging with time in a multi-player game is
a certain road to a flop; but in a single-player game, changing
the rate of time to allow "slow motion" is doable.

-tim





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