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I’m sure most of you have heard of the timing features that have been used in games. The most notable (okay, the first one I can think of…) is in ‘Star Wars: Rogue Leader’ where depending on what time of day it is, levels based on planets change accordingly to dawn, dusk, night, etc. depending on what the time of day really is. It seems like a pretty cool feature, but how can we take it further?
Well, what if it’s raining? With all the modems and Internet access on consoles, we could simply connect to the net (or we may be always hooked up if on a cable connection) and download the weather. Maybe when cable Internet is more standardised we’ll see consoles automatically doing this. Then, in game, the weather would change according to where we are playing. If it rains outside, it rains in game (although, living in the UK, this could lead to some game environments getting flooded :D), if it’s sunny outside, it’s sunny in game, if… (I think you get the picture). A great part of this would be if there was a thunder storm or similar extreme weather. Imagine the great effect this could have on the in-game environment! If this was implemented obviously effects for all weather could not be included, but as it evolved more and more possible conditions could be added, from hailstorms to thick fog, and maybe things like tornadoes (though it’s unlikely you’d be playing games with a tornado on your doorstep…).
I think this could add a lot to games, but obviously it wouldn’t be to everyone’s tastes, we get enough real rain in the UK without virtual rain every time it rains outside. And I suppose each region could get sick of the same old conditions in game. However, I do think it could be great for some genres, particularly RPGs, and probably racing games too. ‘Wave Race: Blue Storm’ allows you to mess around with the weather, imagine of you could have an option for the game to mirror the actual weather outside.
There are other ideas that could help give a better environment in gaming. Developers have already used internal clocks for times of day, why not for seasons too, or having special events on certain days (eg. Christmas). Again, this wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste, perhaps it even goes against what games should be about… if games are escapism, then mirroring the real season or weather may seem stupid. However, I think that it could be really helpful, especially since developers rarely seem to include any weather effects at all, it could be a way of ensuring they have some there.
These may seem pretty much novelty effects, but if developers made sure the weather conditions effected the gameplay they could be much more. For example, if rain put out fire, in say an RPG fire magic would be less effective, the enemies vision could be made worse for the night, making it the best option to wait for a night time raid in a FPS and racers could have slippery conditions in the icy weather, and less grip in the rain. ‘Earthbound’ on the SNES has certain areas where you could not wander about for too long or you’d get sunstroke (the desert) or frostbite (cold, icy areas). If things like these were implemented, making you weaker if exposed to extreme conditions for too long they could add more depth to games. Of course, you could say that people could just cheat and play the game when conditions were best, but it would give each gamer a unique experience depending on when they played the game, and where they were playing. And I think it’d be better to play a hard part of a game when conditions are best rather than resorting to cheats.
I don’t think these changes would be too hard to implement (particularly not the seasons one) and with all the Internet tools for next-gen consoles the weather shouldn’t be too hard either. They should definitely be considered.
Well, what if it’s raining? With all the modems and Internet access on consoles, we could simply connect to the net (or we may be always hooked up if on a cable connection) and download the weather. Maybe when cable Internet is more standardised we’ll see consoles automatically doing this. Then, in game, the weather would change according to where we are playing. If it rains outside, it rains in game (although, living in the UK, this could lead to some game environments getting flooded :D), if it’s sunny outside, it’s sunny in game, if… (I think you get the picture). A great part of this would be if there was a thunder storm or similar extreme weather. Imagine the great effect this could have on the in-game environment! If this was implemented obviously effects for all weather could not be included, but as it evolved more and more possible conditions could be added, from hailstorms to thick fog, and maybe things like tornadoes (though it’s unlikely you’d be playing games with a tornado on your doorstep…).
I think this could add a lot to games, but obviously it wouldn’t be to everyone’s tastes, we get enough real rain in the UK without virtual rain every time it rains outside. And I suppose each region could get sick of the same old conditions in game. However, I do think it could be great for some genres, particularly RPGs, and probably racing games too. ‘Wave Race: Blue Storm’ allows you to mess around with the weather, imagine of you could have an option for the game to mirror the actual weather outside.
There are other ideas that could help give a better environment in gaming. Developers have already used internal clocks for times of day, why not for seasons too, or having special events on certain days (eg. Christmas). Again, this wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste, perhaps it even goes against what games should be about… if games are escapism, then mirroring the real season or weather may seem stupid. However, I think that it could be really helpful, especially since developers rarely seem to include any weather effects at all, it could be a way of ensuring they have some there.
These may seem pretty much novelty effects, but if developers made sure the weather conditions effected the gameplay they could be much more. For example, if rain put out fire, in say an RPG fire magic would be less effective, the enemies vision could be made worse for the night, making it the best option to wait for a night time raid in a FPS and racers could have slippery conditions in the icy weather, and less grip in the rain. ‘Earthbound’ on the SNES has certain areas where you could not wander about for too long or you’d get sunstroke (the desert) or frostbite (cold, icy areas). If things like these were implemented, making you weaker if exposed to extreme conditions for too long they could add more depth to games. Of course, you could say that people could just cheat and play the game when conditions were best, but it would give each gamer a unique experience depending on when they played the game, and where they were playing. And I think it’d be better to play a hard part of a game when conditions are best rather than resorting to cheats.
I don’t think these changes would be too hard to implement (particularly not the seasons one) and with all the Internet tools for next-gen consoles the weather shouldn’t be too hard either. They should definitely be considered.
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I’m sure most of you have heard of the timing features that have been used in games. The most notable (okay, the first one I can think of…) is in ‘Star Wars: Rogue Leader’ where depending on what time of day it is, levels based on planets change accordingly to dawn, dusk, night, etc. depending on what the time of day really is. It seems like a pretty cool feature, but how can we take it further?
Well, what if it’s raining? With all the modems and Internet access on consoles, we could simply connect to the net (or we may be always hooked up if on a cable connection) and download the weather. Maybe when cable Internet is more standardised we’ll see consoles automatically doing this. Then, in game, the weather would change according to where we are playing. If it rains outside, it rains in game (although, living in the UK, this could lead to some game environments getting flooded :D), if it’s sunny outside, it’s sunny in game, if… (I think you get the picture). A great part of this would be if there was a thunder storm or similar extreme weather. Imagine the great effect this could have on the in-game environment! If this was implemented obviously effects for all weather could not be included, but as it evolved more and more possible conditions could be added, from hailstorms to thick fog, and maybe things like tornadoes (though it’s unlikely you’d be playing games with a tornado on your doorstep…).
I think this could add a lot to games, but obviously it wouldn’t be to everyone’s tastes, we get enough real rain in the UK without virtual rain every time it rains outside. And I suppose each region could get sick of the same old conditions in game. However, I do think it could be great for some genres, particularly RPGs, and probably racing games too. ‘Wave Race: Blue Storm’ allows you to mess around with the weather, imagine of you could have an option for the game to mirror the actual weather outside.
There are other ideas that could help give a better environment in gaming. Developers have already used internal clocks for times of day, why not for seasons too, or having special events on certain days (eg. Christmas). Again, this wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste, perhaps it even goes against what games should be about… if games are escapism, then mirroring the real season or weather may seem stupid. However, I think that it could be really helpful, especially since developers rarely seem to include any weather effects at all, it could be a way of ensuring they have some there.
These may seem pretty much novelty effects, but if developers made sure the weather conditions effected the gameplay they could be much more. For example, if rain put out fire, in say an RPG fire magic would be less effective, the enemies vision could be made worse for the night, making it the best option to wait for a night time raid in a FPS and racers could have slippery conditions in the icy weather, and less grip in the rain. ‘Earthbound’ on the SNES has certain areas where you could not wander about for too long or you’d get sunstroke (the desert) or frostbite (cold, icy areas). If things like these were implemented, making you weaker if exposed to extreme conditions for too long they could add more depth to games. Of course, you could say that people could just cheat and play the game when conditions were best, but it would give each gamer a unique experience depending on when they played the game, and where they were playing. And I think it’d be better to play a hard part of a game when conditions are best rather than resorting to cheats.
I don’t think these changes would be too hard to implement (particularly not the seasons one) and with all the Internet tools for next-gen consoles the weather shouldn’t be too hard either. They should definitely be considered.
Well, what if it’s raining? With all the modems and Internet access on consoles, we could simply connect to the net (or we may be always hooked up if on a cable connection) and download the weather. Maybe when cable Internet is more standardised we’ll see consoles automatically doing this. Then, in game, the weather would change according to where we are playing. If it rains outside, it rains in game (although, living in the UK, this could lead to some game environments getting flooded :D), if it’s sunny outside, it’s sunny in game, if… (I think you get the picture). A great part of this would be if there was a thunder storm or similar extreme weather. Imagine the great effect this could have on the in-game environment! If this was implemented obviously effects for all weather could not be included, but as it evolved more and more possible conditions could be added, from hailstorms to thick fog, and maybe things like tornadoes (though it’s unlikely you’d be playing games with a tornado on your doorstep…).
I think this could add a lot to games, but obviously it wouldn’t be to everyone’s tastes, we get enough real rain in the UK without virtual rain every time it rains outside. And I suppose each region could get sick of the same old conditions in game. However, I do think it could be great for some genres, particularly RPGs, and probably racing games too. ‘Wave Race: Blue Storm’ allows you to mess around with the weather, imagine of you could have an option for the game to mirror the actual weather outside.
There are other ideas that could help give a better environment in gaming. Developers have already used internal clocks for times of day, why not for seasons too, or having special events on certain days (eg. Christmas). Again, this wouldn’t be to everyone’s taste, perhaps it even goes against what games should be about… if games are escapism, then mirroring the real season or weather may seem stupid. However, I think that it could be really helpful, especially since developers rarely seem to include any weather effects at all, it could be a way of ensuring they have some there.
These may seem pretty much novelty effects, but if developers made sure the weather conditions effected the gameplay they could be much more. For example, if rain put out fire, in say an RPG fire magic would be less effective, the enemies vision could be made worse for the night, making it the best option to wait for a night time raid in a FPS and racers could have slippery conditions in the icy weather, and less grip in the rain. ‘Earthbound’ on the SNES has certain areas where you could not wander about for too long or you’d get sunstroke (the desert) or frostbite (cold, icy areas). If things like these were implemented, making you weaker if exposed to extreme conditions for too long they could add more depth to games. Of course, you could say that people could just cheat and play the game when conditions were best, but it would give each gamer a unique experience depending on when they played the game, and where they were playing. And I think it’d be better to play a hard part of a game when conditions are best rather than resorting to cheats.
I don’t think these changes would be too hard to implement (particularly not the seasons one) and with all the Internet tools for next-gen consoles the weather shouldn’t be too hard either. They should definitely be considered.
Page: