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 Post subject: Do mechanics have to make sense in games?
PostPosted: Fri Nov 24, 2017 12:19 am 
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Silly guy
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So I was told a few months back that my game has pretty strange mechanics, which I do agree on. However, someone said the game doesn't make sense at all. I have my main character jumping on giant leaves and flowers that propel them into the air. Yeah, that doesn't make much sense at all. I also have my character making steam out of a heated to burst jug flying steam into the air to grow a flower. All in all itis pretty strange, but I kind of like it.
I thought about this for awhile and looked around to see and read articles online. It should make more sense than this. What do you all do to make sure your mechanics make sense?

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 Post subject: Re: Do mechanics have to make sense in games?
PostPosted: Fri Nov 24, 2017 1:30 am 
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Kootie Patootie
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Game mechanics should have some basis in the mechanics of reality that people can recognize. Yoshi's flutter kick, for instance, implies that the traction of air can overpower the force of gravity. This obviously couldn't happen in reality, but the principals of traction achieving net vertical velocity make sense (this is what happens when we swim underwater).

Leaves propelling somebody into the air is similarly reasonable, because anybody can recognize elasticity in a spring effect. Super Mario Bros. 3 has a very similar mechanic with those green elastic platforms. Leaves and petals aren't sufficiently elastic to spring anything upwards in reality, but this is a conceivable effect.

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 Post subject: Re: Do mechanics have to make sense in games?
PostPosted: Fri Nov 24, 2017 9:44 am 
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Does Super Mario Bros. make sense? A plumber* who's been eating a little too much Italian food* can jump several times his height. Bricks can float in the air for no obvious reason. Eating a mushroom makes you double in size. Touching a flower gives you the ability to throw fireballs - without getting burned yourself. Those are some pretty funky things, even in a fantasy world.

Video games have the right to suspend reality, and that's what makes them enjoyable! Some games take greater liberties with realism, of course, and it's usually nice if there's some kind of "grammar" that connects game elements, but video games don't have to make a lot of sense to be fun.

* This might or might not be consider canonical. I don't care.

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