It’s summer over here in the Southern Hemisphere, and in my neck of the woods that means rainy season. This gets me thinking about environmental effects in games and how far they have come.
I love some good water physics, perhaps mostly because we had it quite rough back in the day. Super Mario Bros. was likely my first encounter with water levels, and I hated them. I always tried to skip them. There was another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game that brings back awful memories…and then there is my least favorite Tomb Raider game, Chronicles. One level has you infiltrating and escaping from a submarine, and while the water physics were OK for the time it just wasn’t fun playing an entire level with them.
Things are much better nowadays, with entire games like Subnautica and the much shorter and more relaxing ABZU taking place entirely underwater. I still have a mental block about them, and have played neither of those games.
Rain physics, on the other hand, I can appreciate. Nowadays, there are even fabric effects. They may have taken it a little far in Fatal Frame: Maiden of the Black Water with the characters dressed in arguably the most impractical attire for exploring a creepy ghost mountain, but they “wetness” mechanic is neat – basically, the more waterlogged you are (represented by a lily icon that blooms as your character gets drenched) you become more vulnerable to the attacks of ghosts. Maybe this just works better for me because I associate water with dying, at least in the context of video games.
Over to you, TAY!
- What game has your favorite water physics? Can be rain, or anything!
- Worst underwater gaming experience?
- Name a game mechanic that generally puts you off games
Get involved!
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