作者：AARON RUTKOFF

比起科学，电子游戏的物理元素更倾向于艺术，即要求游戏设计师保持现实性与乐趣相一致的一种精细技巧。设计师们并不可能每次都做到平衡：如果游戏内部的物理元素太过逼真，你的游戏便会变得很无聊；过度简化动作规则的话，游戏玩法也会显得呆板。

26岁游戏开发者Matthew Wegner（Fun-Motion.com博客主）说道：“如果我们拥有一个能够完美复制现实性的物理引擎，那么玩家就需要完全相同的技能去玩游戏，就像他们在现实生活中感受到的那样。”举个例子来说吧，游戏中的好莱坞式汽车追逐序列将要求玩家使用专业特技车手所具有的技能。

Wegner说道：“这就像是在要求那些想要逃离现实的人们去追逐更多现实性一样。”

在Fun-Motion.com中，Wegner记录了现代游戏创造者对于牛顿力学原理的最佳尝试。他的评价围绕着一个问题：是什么让游戏内部的物理元素更能让人满足？

物理元素

Fun-Motion.com突出了一列基于物理元素且经过Wegner评估的游戏。他的用户友好型评估包括嵌入式视频片段，即Wegner自己所剪辑的，让读者能够在决定下载游戏前更好地理解游戏玩法。

该网站上的每一款游戏都包含了下载链接。许多游戏都是免费的，而那些要求付费的游戏也会提供免费样本版本。Wegner的列表是假设玩家会使用Windows PC，但他同时也创造了基于Mac的游戏列表。

尽管Wegner的评价总是会直接揭露物理系统的缺陷或者游戏玩法中让人失望的元素，但是他也总是会尽量控制自己的语调：即使他非常讨厌一款游戏，但是他的评价也会尽量突出这款游戏的创造性或成功之处。

本身也是游戏设计师的Wegner知道创造一款真正令人满足的游戏有多困难，他也希望自己的网站能够鼓励更棒的物理原理的出现：“我希望开发者能够在游戏玩法基础上思考物理元素—-玩家是如何真正与这些物理元素互动并使用它们，而不只是将其当成是创造多余视觉效果的工具。”

基于Wegner的标准怎样才能成就一款物理游戏？在他所罗列的物理元素中有些条目具有非常明显的意义：就像在“固体平衡”中，玩家将像在幼儿园里玩的那样搭建积木，而当游戏中的重力将其搭建的高楼倾倒时，他们便输掉了游戏。

或者像是《Zen Bondage》，这款名字较为特别的游戏便只是围绕着一块木头延伸字符。也许这听起来很枯燥，但是Wegner这么描述游戏的执行，“这几乎接近完美。我也很快便能找出一些完善方法。”

Ski Stunt Simulator(from fun-motion)

但是这些物理游戏只是一些小杂耍。带有特别物理系统和蜿蜒学习曲线的游戏才能真正激起Wegner的热情。对他来说较为经典的例子（游戏邦注：即激励他创建Fun-Motion）便是《Ski Stunt Simulator》，这是一款非常微妙的游戏，重新创造了人们对现实生活中滑雪技能的需求。

在这款模拟游戏中，鼠标是玩家控制滑雪者的唯一工具：向上移动鼠标，滑雪者将摆正姿势；向下移动的话滑雪者会蹲伏。滑雪者的姿势是取决于真正的近似惯性。就像在现实中滑雪，滑雪者姿势的改变将决定跳跃—-在这种情况下，通过用力推动鼠标向前能够为玩家的蹲伏助力。（备受期待的电子游戏捷径将通过分配按键创造滑雪者的跳跃而呈现出复杂的物理元素。《Ski Stunt SImulator》并未使用任何按键。）

Wegner说道：“学习曲线非常陡峭，但是技能上限却非常之高。”“陡峭”也许是一种较为保守的说法—-根据预期在挑战斜坡前至少需要花费几个小时才能精通基本的游戏控制。但是精通游戏后将能真正感受到它的魅力：Wegner逐渐沉迷于这款游戏并向创造者索求源代码，希望能够创造属于自己的更极端的版本。

理念

Wegner的受物理原理驱动的博客面临了一个类别挑战：几乎每一款数独游戏都使用了物理元素。甚至连《超级玛丽兄弟》，这款经典的任天堂8位体游戏也设置了基本规则去控制重力，惯性和碰撞。换句话说就是物理元素。

但是根据Wegner，这里也存在差别：“《马里奥》的行动非常机械。当你按压一个按键时，他便会跳跃，但与任何其它时候你按压跳跃按键的方式一样。”

这便是区别Fun-Motion所考虑的物理游戏价值与失败者的要点，尽管管理者承认他自己的标准过于主观。比起马里奥式的捷径，Wegner更喜欢那些具有允许玩家探索多种多样动作的物理系统的游戏。

将《Gish》（Wegner最喜欢的游戏之一，它让玩家去控制一个胶状的斑点）与《马里奥》的游戏体验进行比较。他解释道：“《马里奥》只有一个单一的玩家跳跃动作，而《Gish》具有各种各样的跳跃动作。尽管只有一个跳跃按键，但是跳跃的实际结果却会基于斑点的状态而发生改变。”

与Wegner所欣赏的其它复杂物理游戏中表现的一样，资深的《Gish》玩家也会通过理解游戏精妙的机制而创造能力去跳得更加巧妙。

还有其它条目呈现的是经典游戏的“物理”进化。还记得《Pong》和《Breakout》吗？在Fun-Motion上，Wegner评价了《Plasma Pong》和《BreakQuest》，即认为它们基于物理系统重新塑造了早前的游戏类型。同样的物理元素基本原则仍保持不变—-但是视觉质感和物理复杂性似乎发生了巨大的改变。例如在《Pong》的重制中，玩家可以基于划桨控制流动动态，创造真空装置或等离子体去改变球体的移动。

在Fun-Motion的游戏几何中有些是基于“ragdoll系统”，即在游戏环境中呈现跛行躯体的形象。ragdoll角色通常都具有人体的重量和惯性，但却缺少肌肉控制和刚硬的骨架，所以通常很难设计。因为它们缺少身体控制，所以ragdoll能够成为物理系统合适的小白鼠。

Wegner自己关于ragdoll类型的条目《I Hate Clowns》是一款能在网页浏览器上体验到的游戏。在游戏中你将向飞行的小丑娃娃投掷派盘。为了迎合更高级的ragdoll爱好者，《布偶站在》设置了一对一的竞赛，《Ragdoll Matrix Reloaded》设置了子弹躲闪机制，而受欢迎的《跳楼英雄》也丢下了一个可怜的娃娃让玩家看到之后的暴力场景。

创造者

对于Wegner来说，对于电子游戏物理元素的追求只是一种业余爱好。而他真正的工作是Phoenix-based Flashbang Studios（游戏邦注：他与两名大学伙伴共同创建的休闲游戏公司）的开发总监。

他自己的一些基于物理元素的创作也包含于Fun-Motion游戏列表中，包括《Amoeball》的一个版本，但是他的工作室所创造的最出名的游戏还是《Beesly’s Buzzwords》和《Glow Worm》，它们均获得了独立游戏节的提名。这些游戏，就像他们公司最近为Cisco Systems而完成的员工培训测试游戏都未太过注重物理元素。

Wegner并不是一名正统的游戏创造者，只能说是物理元素的热爱者：他并未接受过计算机教程或物理科学的培训。他说道：“我上艺术学院是为了成为游戏产业中不错的关卡设计师。我一直拥有不错的技术。”

现在是休闲游戏能够赚钱，但是Wegner希望他最终拥有资源能够通过自己的工作室去创造一款完整的物理游戏。

这样的游戏是否会掀起一股热潮？所有玩家都基于我们在现实世界中的体验而分享直觉，这将能够将休闲游戏与物理游戏维系在一起。

Wegner说道：“我认为这便是物理游戏备受瞩目的一大原因。我们不需要投入更多的理解。物理元素便是人类的第二天性。”

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

How Videogames Manage To Turn Physics Into Fun .

By AARON RUTKOFF

Videogame physics is more art than science, a subtle craft that demands game designers square realism with fun. That balancing act doesn’t always work out: Make the in-game physics too real, and your game will be a bore; oversimplify the rules of motion, and gameplay will feel stilted.

“If we had a physics engine that perfectly duplicated reality, then players would need the exact same skills to play a game as they would to act it out in real life,” says 26-year-old game developer Matthew Wegner, the man behind the blog Fun-Motion.com. A Hollywood-style car chase sequence in a game, for example, would require the skills of professional stunt drivers.

“That’s asking a lot for someone who’s looking to escape from reality,” Mr. Wegner says.

At Fun-Motion.com, Mr. Wegner chronicles the best attempts of modern game makers to reinvent Newton. His reviews revolve around one question: What makes in-game physics satisfying?

The Gimmick

The crux of Fun-Motion.com is a list of physics-focused games that have been evaluated by Mr. Wegner. His user-friendly assessments include embedded video footage, edited by Mr. Wegner himself, which allows readers to get a sense of the gameplay before committing to a download.

Every game on the site includes download links. Many games are free, with those that require payment offering free sample versions. Mr. Wegner’s list assumes players will use a Windows PC, but he has also created an sub-index of games that work on Macs.

While Mr. Wegner’s write-ups don’t hesitate to expose hiccups in a physics system or disappointing elements of gameplay, the tone is unusually restrained for game reviews: Even when he ultimately sours on a title, his reviews take pains to highlight innovative or successful parts of a game.

As a game designer himself, Mr. Wegner knows firsthand just how tricky it is to create a truly satisfying game, and he hopes his Web site encourages smarter game physics: “I want developers to think of physics at the gameplay level — how the player is actually interacting with and using the physics, rather than thinking of physics merely as a tool for superfluous visual effects.”

What makes something a physics game using Mr. Wegner’s criteria? Some of the entries on his list deploy physics in the most-obvious sense: In “Solid Balance,” for example, the player balances building blocks just like you did in preschool, losing when the in-game force of gravity pulls the tower down.

Or there’s “Zen Bondage,” an oddly named game that involves little more than winding a string around a block of wood. That may sound dull, but Mr. Wegner writes that the implementation “is damn near flawless. I would be hard-pressed to find something to improve.”

But these physics games are a sideshow. It’s games with extraordinary physics systems and steep learning curves that bring out Mr. Wegner’s true passion. The classic example for him — the game that moved him to launch Fun-Motion — is “Ski Stunt Simulator,” an excruciatingly nuanced game meant to recreate the demands of real-life ski acrobatics.

The mouse is the only control over the skier in this simulation: move the mouse up, and the skier straightens his posture; down, the skier crouches. The skier’s body is subject to a very real approximation of inertia. Just as in actual skiing, it is the change in the skier’s posture that sets up a jump — in this case, by thrusting the mouse upward to pop out of a crouch. (The expected videogame shortcut would be to circumvent complicated physics by simply assigning a button to make the skier jump. “Ski Stunt Simulator” uses no buttons.)

“The learning curve is harsh, but the skill ceiling is very, very high,” Mr. Wegner says. “Harsh” may be an understatement — expect to spend at least a few hours mastering the controls on level ground before attempting tricks on the slopes. But mastery brings its privileges: Mr. Wegner became so obsessed with this game that he asked the creators for their source code and developed his own more extreme version.

The Idea

Still, Mr. Wegner’s physics-boosting blog faces a categorical challenge: nearly every game this side of Sudoku makes use of physics. Even “Super Mario Bros.,” the 8-bit Nintendo classic, has basic rules that govern gravity, inertia and collision. In other words, physics.

But there’s a difference, according to Mr. Wegner: “Mario’s actions are very canned,” he explains. “When you a press a button, he jumps — but in exactly the same way as any other time you press the jump button.”

That’s what separates physics games worthy of Fun-Motion’s consideration from the also-rans, although even the curator admits that his criteria is subjective. Rather than Mario-style shortcuts, Mr. Wegner is interested in games whose physics systems let players explore nearly infinite varieties of motion.

Compare “Gish” — one of Mr. Wegner’s favorites, in which players control a gelatinous blob that can be made sticky, slick or heavy — to the Mario experience. “Where Mario has a single-player verb for jumping, ‘Gish’ has numerous synonyms for jumping,” he explains. “There is a jump button, but the actual result of that jump will vary widely depending on the blob’s state.”

And, true to form for the complex physics games Mr. Wegner admires, experienced “Gish” players develop the ability to jump more ably only by understanding the game’s subtle mechanics.

Other entries represent “physics-up” evolutions of classic games. Remember “Pong” and “Breakout”? At Fun-Motion, Mr. Wegner reviews “Plasma Pong” and “BreakQuest,” remakes of the old genre-defining titles with physics systems on steroids (and possibly psychedelic drugs). The same basic principles of physics remain unchanged — a ball bouncing off a paddle — but the visual textures and physical complexity have been dramatically enhanced. In the “Pong” remake, for instance, players can control the fluid dynamics around their paddle, creating vacuums or plasma slicks to alter the motion of the ball. Try doing that on an Atari.

Then there’s Fun-Motion’s collection of games based on “ragdoll physics,” in which limp-bodied figures are let loose in a game environment. Ragdoll characters typically have the weight and inertia of human bodies but lack muscle control and rigid skeletons, which are hard to design. Because they lack body control, ragdolls make excellent guinea pigs for physics systems.

Mr. Wegner’s own entry in the ragdoll genre — “I Hate Clowns” — can be played inside a Web browser. Basically, you’re throwing metal pie tins at goofy flying clown dolls. For more advanced ragdoll enthusiasts, there’s one-on-one fighting in “Ragdoll Masters,” bullet dodging in “Ragdoll Matrix Reloaded,” and the ever-popular “Stair Dismount,” in which you drop a poor ragdoll down a staircase and watch violence ensue.

The Creator

Videogame physics is an after-hours hobby for Mr. Wegner. For a day job, he’s the development director of Phoenix-based Flashbang Studios, a casual-gaming company he founded with two college buddies.

Several of his own physics-focused creations are included in the Fun-Motion game list, including a version of volleyball played by rival amoebas, but his studio is best known for “Beesly’s Buzzwords” and “Glow Worm,” both nominated for awards at the Independent Games Festival. These games, like an employee-training-quiz game his company recently completed for Cisco Systems, don’t have a heavy emphasis on physics.

Mr. Wegner’s pedigree is also unorthodox for a game maker and physics hobbyist: He has no training in computer programming or physical science. “I went to an art school with the intention of becoming some kind of level designer in the games industry,” he says. “I was always fairly technical.”

For now, casual games pay the bills, but Mr. Wegner hopes he’ll eventually have the resources to create a fully-formed physics game of his own through his studio.

Would such a game be a hit? All gamers share an intuition for physics based on our real-world experiences — which might help bridge the gap between casual games and physics games.

“I think that’s one of the reasons physics games are compelling,” Mr. Wegner says. “There isn’t much understanding to spread. Physics is really second nature to humans.”(source:wsj)