Why haven't they gotten this right? Part III: Player Interactions - RaychelSnr's Blog

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RaychelSnr's Blog

Why haven't they gotten this right? Part III: Player Interactions Stuck

Posted on June 24, 2009 at 11:49 AM.

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Apparently, Derek Jeter is a ghost.

For the longest time, he has ran through his fellow digital replications on the baseball diamond whenever the camera gets close to him. I once saw him run straight through the wall chasing a foul ball!

It seems that developers, even in 2009, can't get player interactions right.

No matter the sport, no matter the game, no matter the company. Players go straight through each other or objects in their environment, sometimes even when the ball is in play. And even if the ball is in play, they sometimes tend to bounce off things and each other with no sign they are hitting stuff.

I think the visual aspect of a game (and thus the realism factor) would be greatly enhanced if players interacted properly with their environments. If two football players bump shoulders on the field, we should see that happen. If two guys are jostling for positioning in the paint, we should see something more than a single canned animation. Sports gaming just feels so scripted overall because of the lack of player interaction.

What do you think? Are player interactions a big deal to you? Do you think a game does this head and shoulders above the rest? Let's get some talk started on this subject...now!

Comments

# 1 TheTodd84 @ Jun 24

Three words that SHOULD change the gaming world if developers were just willing to take a risk for a year...

Euphoria, Euphoria, Euphoria.

Is it difficult to implement? Probably, but once you figure it out, all bets are off. Until gaming companies use this software, player interactions will NEVER be real. Ever. In any sport. Mark my words.

Euphoria, Euphoria, Euphoria.

# 2 statum71 @ Jun 24

True. Even the best sports game on the market (in my opinion) MLB The Show has this problem.

# 3 DubTrey1 @ Jun 24

I for one think that the devs care, and would have collision detection in every game made - But I doubt things are as cut and dry as we all would like to think they are in the world of development. I agree however that if there is a solid middleware available or awesome system such as Euphoria available to utilize - then by all means use if possible. Easier said than done I am sure on both ends. All of us would like to have it in all games we play, especially sports titles - but I doubt this is something that is easily pulled off technically.

# 4 apps80 @ Jun 25

One of my favorites is when your running back runs into the back of your offensive linemen, and runs in place. You just wind up mashing your analog all around trying to get out. That's one that has been there from the very first madden.