Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Finally, you can solve the problem of boundaries by requiring the player to move
among defined locations. For example, you might let a player fly from planet to
planet in the solar system by clicking on the planet she wants to go to. The player
cannot go beyond the boundary of the solar system because there are no planets in
interstellar space. The user interface for movement creates a natural limit that
requires no further explanation.
The Temporal Dimension
The
temporal dimension
of a game world defines the way that time is treated in that
world and the ways in which it differs from time in the real world.
In many turn-based and action games, the world doesn't include a concept of
time passing: days and nights or seasons and years. Everything in the world idles
or runs in a continuous loop until the player interacts with the game in some way.
Occasionally, the player is put under pressure by being given a limited amount of
real-world time to accomplish something, but this usually applies to only a single
challenge and is not part of a larger notion of time in the game.
In some games, time is implemented as part of the game world but not part of the
gameplay. The passage of time creates atmosphere and gives the game visual vari-
ety, but it doesn't change the game's challenges and actions. This usually feels
rather artificial. If the player can do exactly the same things at night that she can
during the day and no one ever seems to sleep, then there's little point in making
the distinction. For time to really support the fantasy, it must affect the experience
in ways besides the purely visual.
Baldur's Gate,
a large role-playing game, is a good example of a game in which
time is meaningful. At night, shops close and the characters in the game run an
increased risk of being attacked by wandering monsters. It's also darker and hard
to see. Taverns are open all day and all night, which is reasonable enough, but the
customers don't ever seem to leave and the bartender never goes off shift. In this
way, the game's use of time is a little inconsistent, but the discrepancy serves the
gameplay well because you can always trade with the bartender and pick up gossip
no matter what time it is. The characters do need rest if they've been on the march
for a long while, and this makes them vulnerable while they're sleeping. In the
underground portions of the game, day and night have less meaning, as you would
expect.
VARIABLE T IME
In games that do implement time as a significant element of the gameplay, time in
the game world usually runs much faster than in reality. Time in games also jumps
(as it does in books and movies), skipping periods when nothing interesting is hap-
pening. Most war games, for example, don't bother to implement nighttime or
require that soldiers get any rest. In reality, soldier fatigue is a critical consideration
