edweird
02-28-2007, 02:21 PM
I've always been a very vocal supporter of physics in games. That's why I'm here, I suppose. As a kid, I was convinced that physics simulation was the future of gaming, and even tried my hand at coding physics engines back when I spent my free time making dodgy games. Imagine my excitement when, in 1998, the much anticipated Trespasser finally hit the shelves. Finally, a game that took the use of physics seriously enough for gameplay to revolve around it. But was it any good?
I have some very specific memories of playing this game. I remember pushing bits of wood, boxes and chairs onto pursuing predators from a balcony. I remember feeling so vulnerable as I ran, as fast as my slow legs would carry me, from building to building in a town infested with creatures much faster than me. I remember practically holding my breath as I went face to face with a raptor, desperately grabbing for things to throw at it, and somehow managing to push it off a precipice at the last moment, as it came in for the kill. I remember piling up boxes to get somewhere unreachable, just to see what was up there.
Weapons (and certainly ammo) were relatively scarce in this game, and easy to make mistakes with, which really helped create a sense of being there and being helpless.. but what made the experience truly unique was that your foes weren't pre-animated characters.. but rather physically enabled creatures that interacted with the world, and you, in a very physical way. You existed in the same physical environment, though you were slower and weaker, so there was a sense that you needed to use the environment intelligently in order to survive. Anything movable could be a shield, a weapon, a trap, a diversion.. and you were free to do anything you wanted to, to interact with the game in your own way. You often didn't know if an approach would work or get you killed, and there was a certain thrill in taking your chances. My best experiences with this game were when I tried to use the environment against a predator, failed and scrambled away for dear life, or on occasion, prevailed against the odds.
Of course, the game's rough edges are evident, and while they may make the game seem clumsy to play for some people, I always felt that the awkwardness added immersion and authenticity to your struggle. You had to contend with your physical inadequacies, and succeed by planning your moves carefully. There were, of course, various technical bugs in the game too, and there's nothing immersive about getting a blue screen and rebooting your system. The sheer ambition of the developers resulted in them going over budget, and needing more time than they had to finish the product. Unfortunately the game was rushed out with many features cut, and many more left unpolished. I can only imagine how good this game could have been if the developers had more time and resources.
Where I feel this game truly innovated, was in it's procedurally, physically animated creatures. There is a genuine sense that you're interacting with living animals, when they themselves have weight and are contending with the laws of physics in a dynamic environment. The combination of A.I. and physics is an important one, and will without a doubt become increasingly important in the future of gaming. Developers don't seem to have caught on to this (anyone know of any other games that did\do this?), which has been disappointing... but then few developers make the effort to push their format forward nowadays, it's all about re-releasing genre formulas with fresh (but samey) coats of paint. Unfortunately, ambition carries with it far greater risk of failure, and in that sense Trespasser is as much a warning to developers as it might be an inspiration. At least we have Valve (who incidentally have said that Trespasser was a source of inspiration for HL2), Will Wright, and so on, to help push the boundaries from time to time.
Basically, I loved Trespasser, and that it still has an active modding community, despite having not been designed for modding at all, must say something good about it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Park:_Trespasser
Share your thoughts\experiences :)
I have some very specific memories of playing this game. I remember pushing bits of wood, boxes and chairs onto pursuing predators from a balcony. I remember feeling so vulnerable as I ran, as fast as my slow legs would carry me, from building to building in a town infested with creatures much faster than me. I remember practically holding my breath as I went face to face with a raptor, desperately grabbing for things to throw at it, and somehow managing to push it off a precipice at the last moment, as it came in for the kill. I remember piling up boxes to get somewhere unreachable, just to see what was up there.
Weapons (and certainly ammo) were relatively scarce in this game, and easy to make mistakes with, which really helped create a sense of being there and being helpless.. but what made the experience truly unique was that your foes weren't pre-animated characters.. but rather physically enabled creatures that interacted with the world, and you, in a very physical way. You existed in the same physical environment, though you were slower and weaker, so there was a sense that you needed to use the environment intelligently in order to survive. Anything movable could be a shield, a weapon, a trap, a diversion.. and you were free to do anything you wanted to, to interact with the game in your own way. You often didn't know if an approach would work or get you killed, and there was a certain thrill in taking your chances. My best experiences with this game were when I tried to use the environment against a predator, failed and scrambled away for dear life, or on occasion, prevailed against the odds.
Of course, the game's rough edges are evident, and while they may make the game seem clumsy to play for some people, I always felt that the awkwardness added immersion and authenticity to your struggle. You had to contend with your physical inadequacies, and succeed by planning your moves carefully. There were, of course, various technical bugs in the game too, and there's nothing immersive about getting a blue screen and rebooting your system. The sheer ambition of the developers resulted in them going over budget, and needing more time than they had to finish the product. Unfortunately the game was rushed out with many features cut, and many more left unpolished. I can only imagine how good this game could have been if the developers had more time and resources.
Where I feel this game truly innovated, was in it's procedurally, physically animated creatures. There is a genuine sense that you're interacting with living animals, when they themselves have weight and are contending with the laws of physics in a dynamic environment. The combination of A.I. and physics is an important one, and will without a doubt become increasingly important in the future of gaming. Developers don't seem to have caught on to this (anyone know of any other games that did\do this?), which has been disappointing... but then few developers make the effort to push their format forward nowadays, it's all about re-releasing genre formulas with fresh (but samey) coats of paint. Unfortunately, ambition carries with it far greater risk of failure, and in that sense Trespasser is as much a warning to developers as it might be an inspiration. At least we have Valve (who incidentally have said that Trespasser was a source of inspiration for HL2), Will Wright, and so on, to help push the boundaries from time to time.
Basically, I loved Trespasser, and that it still has an active modding community, despite having not been designed for modding at all, must say something good about it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jurassic_Park:_Trespasser
Share your thoughts\experiences :)