RE: Speed kills

One thing that might be of relevance is for military training =
simulations researchers discovered that is was better to train pilots on =
faster than real time simulations i.e. +20% time speed up.  Then when =
the pilots came to do the same thing in real time in the real world they =
found it so much easier because everything seemed so slow.  But also of =
interest I think the researchers discovered that the super speed =
training had to be repeated more often because the brain adjusted to the =
slower real time events quickly.

I had just had the same experience with Mario Kart.  After doing a lot =
150cc racing, I then went back to 50cc racing and it just seemed so =
slow.  I would guess  about half the perceived speed but it isn't half =
the speed in reality !

Jake

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]]On Behalf Of
Brian Hook
Sent: 24 December 2003 22:06
To: [email protected]
Subject: [GD-Design] Speed kills


After talking to some friends about different games and their=20
respective designs, I realized something that is obvious in hindsight=20
-- game speed controls difficulty almost exclusively, at least in=20
action games.  This means fighting games, shooters, platformers, you=20
name it.  The slower the game is, the easier it is.

In fact, this is so obvious that several games have used slow-mo as a=20
power up -- Max Payne 1/2, PoP, and Viewtiful Joe.

And yet games today still insist on using the most idiotic variables=20
to control difficulty.  From the immensely stupid "number of saves" of=20
Hitman 2, to the standard fare like "enemy damage", "hitpoints",=20
"health and ammo availability", they never just adjust the speed of=20
the game to match the response/reaction capabilities of a typical=20
player.

And that's really what separates great action players from mediocre=20
ones, their recognition, decision making and response.

The one game that could be improved the most with this is Madden 2004.=20
 Instead of just affecting the speed of the game by, say, -40%, -25%=20
and 0%, and keeping everything else constant, they tweak a bunch of=20
variables that make it tough for a Rookie player to advance to=20
All-Pro, because the crutches they had on Rookie disappear.

In fact, in the NFL it's even an adage that the difference between an=20
experienced player and a rookie is that "the game slows down" for the=20
experienced player.  This is also true of full contact sparring --=20
experienced fighters "see" the fight at a much slower rate than=20
someone who isn't used to fighting.

Would Soul Calibur be more approachable if there was a novice setting=20
that simply moved 25% slower?   I would argue "hell yes".

Obviously there are "fun factor" issues to consider, like obviously=20
don't make it slow ALL the time, but the general notion is there.

-Hook




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