selectparks - Physics Lesson

Physics is the 'new black'. A couple of years ago, the new black was realistic water, and before that it was stencil shadows.

But with all the fuss about dedicated physics cards, we have to start wondering what we're going to do with all this collision-detection, rigid-body dynamics and related technology. Up until now Physics has been far down the causal chain within the event continuum of videogames. Physical events in games typically occur after primary game events but rarely do they steer or drive gameplay itself; a symptom and not a cause for play. Pinball is an example of a game that reverses this priority as is the stupidly addictive classic Bridge Builder. As it stands Physics is the best supporting actor, or trusty bass-guitarist of the game experience, wheras it could play a lead role in the broader design itself.

The clip above (a series of Rube Goldberg experiments for a Japanese TV show) is loaded with material that could be re-purposed for a game design. Force, torque, mass, anistropic friction, collision etc are all key elements in an outcome.

Don't get me wrong, I love to throw a toilet every now and again, I'd just like more interesting reasons to do it.

More on the the Rube Goldberg Device here, including some Rube Goldberg HL2 experiments we've blogged about in the past.

Besos Marta for the linkto!

Update: Chris O'Shea from Pixelsumo just sent through this fine link to a site dedicated to the topic. Cheers!