Outline for the Second Term Paper

Scientific Fact or Cinematic Fiction? Outline for Second Paper

Violation of Conservation of Mass and Energy in Video Games

1.       Introduction

a.  In the real world, the principles of conservation of mass and energy state that mass can neither be created nor destroyed.

b.  This principle is frequently violated in video games, often for entertainment, gameplay, or story purposes.

2.       Street Fighter VI

a.   Many characters, such as Ryu, Ken, and Akuma for example, feature fireball moves that can be fired repeatedly without limit so long as the player’s character is alive.

b.   Dhalsim in particular is a character that can stretch his limbs to fight in a way that doesn’t quite make sense

c.  Though not related to conservation of mass, many characters also featured “dive kicks” that allowed them to alter trajectory and velocity mid-air in controlled ways that were far from realistic

d.  These inaccuracies to physics serve the purpose of not only creating interesting characters in a mystical sort of martial arts society, but also serve the purpose of creating a diverse set of gameplay styles for specific characters.

3.       The Mass Effect Series

a.  The way guns worked in the Mass Effect series has always been rather baffling. Most guns in the series fired physical projectiles, yet there was no actual ammo system in the universe (according to the rules of the Mass Effect universe)

b.  Not to mention, there were such things as “biotic powers,” which consisted of strange “space magic” energy beams and explosions that often altered space, time, gravity, and mass.

c.  The writers of the Mass Effect series attributed these violations of physics to a fictional element called “element zero” which releases “dark energy” that can modify existing masses when exposed to an electrical current. This is a case where the laws of conservation are bypassed for the sake of story.

4.       Saints Row: The Third

a.  The beginning sequence of the game features an over-the-top skydiving gameplay sequence where, after escaping an airplane, the player has to shoot through random goons in the air and massive amounts of falling cars presumably from the airplane itself. The player has infinite ammo and the amount of cars raining in the sky clearly would not have entirely fit in the plane itself

b.  This level is obviously tongue and cheek and is not meant to be taken seriously, providing the player with an extremely exciting and explosion-gratifying action sequence.

5.       Conclusion

a.   While physics are incredibly important, it is not always necessary for video games to follow realistic physics all the time. Many great games are actually founded upon the premise of broken physics. At the end of the day, it comes down to the game developer’s intent.