Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
control the direction it is facing, this can happen even more easily in the air.
However, most players have only one control mechanism, the joystick. To simplify
flight, the left-right motion of the joystick controls both the rudder and the aile-
rons simultaneously, producing automatically coordinated flight.
CREATING THE SENSE OF SPEED
In a flight simulation, simply going fast is rarely the point. Most players either try
to fly accurately and aerobatically or are engaging in aerial combat. Although speed
is an important factor in the game, conveying that sense to the player isn't critical
to the experience.
In driving simulations, however, the sense of speed is all-important. Here are some
ways to create it:
Give the player a speedometer.
This is the most obvious way to inform a
player of his speed, but it creates a purely logical awareness, not a visceral one. It
might also help to give him a tachometer so he can see that the engine is near its
maximum potential.
Vary the driving surface.
Don't present a smooth ribbon of black, but make
the road a series of continuously changing dark grays. (Look back at Figure 17.7,
GT Legends
, to see this done well.) The rate at which these color gradations move
toward the car helps create the feeling of speed. Don't just use a set of random dots,
though, or at high speed the player will just see a static, flickering surface. It's bet-
ter to implement these cues as a series of narrow strips parallel to the road's edges.
Also, on roads (as opposed to racetracks), be sure to implement the dotted white
line down the center. The sight of the lines flicking by provides a continuous visual
cue to the speed, as well as a good way to tell when the vehicle is speeding up or
slowing down. (In a flight simulator, the equivalent is to be sure the ground is as
detailed as possible.)
Include roadside objects.
A continuous fence, guardrail, or strip of grass
doesn't do much to give the player a feeling of motion. Make sure there are lots of
trees, road signs, and bridges. Anything that rises vertically beside the road or that
passes over or under the car helps create the impression of motion.
Use sounds.
The sound of the engine is the most obvious auditory cue, but you
can also include road noise (the sound the tires make on the pavement), wind
noise, and tires squealing as the vehicle rounds corners. Another excellent cue is a
Doppler shift as the car passes, or is passed by, some noise-making object.
G-FORCES
The driver of any vehicle feels a variety of forces affecting her body: acceleration,
deceleration, and centrifugal force. The forces give a lot of valuable feedback about
the behavior of the vehicle. Unfortunately, in a home-based simulator, you can't
