Comments on: Sink Or Swim? The Game Designer’s Conundrum

By: Adam Redsell

Adam Redsell — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 05:21:02 +0000

You forgot another thing: a majority of swimming controls are just plain terrible, especially Nintendo’s. They should be inverse, for starters!

By: Paul Hudson

Paul Hudson — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:09:03 +0000

I’d like devs to include a drowning sequence. “yup he’s not gonna make it, call in the safe guards”

By: Trent Strickland

Trent Strickland — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:40:12 +0000

I enjoy plot reasons for not being able to swim. Sly can’t swim because they remark in the manual they should have taken swimming lessons when they were young, but were too busy practicing their theiving skills. Cole can’t go in the water because he electrocute himself. simple. I wish Assassin’s creed could have had a one line explanation “You can’t swim because all your weapons will cause you to sink like a stone”.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:17:16 +0000

I reckon they should just add the ability to swin in games, and let the person playing decide if they want to or not.

When i used to play GTA2, i hated having to restart when i fell in the water. Same with GTA3, but when they added it into vice city and san andreas, i soon became really bored of it – but dropping my bike in the water and swimming back to shore was much better than watching some stupid “wasted” scene and having to restart. But like i said, this became boring.

So i reckon they should just add it and let us do what we want with it.

By: Darius

Darius — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:58:31 +0000

Bob you got it in one. That was the most enjoyable swimming in a game ever! Only thing that comes close is wave race 64 but doesnt count methinks

By: Victor Barrage

Victor Barrage — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:47:39 +0000

I think a significant ommission from this article is the use of water in Quake.

Water significantly changed the game play in Quake:
• Game physics changed – slower moving, jumps off the bottom were more floating.
• Weapon effectiveness changed when under water. Also, because of the difference in player speed, you had to lead the target with your weapon a lot less if they were under water.
• Stealth – moving in water could create extra noise and draw attention to yourself. Or if used effectively could hide your presence.
• Change in ‘atmosphere’ – obviously you could drown under water. I also felt that being under water was a little bit like being on some alien planet with a think poisonous atmosphere.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:05:47 +0000

That’s the truth. If you’re going to have a Water Temple (which I must admit to detesting), you’ve got to have decent swimming mechanics.
Torpedo-speed? Check.
Electric shield? Check.
Leaping about like a flying fish? That’s a ‘check’.

By: Bob!

Bob! — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:14:05 +0000

Swimming as that weird sea creature in Majora’s Mask was AWESOME!