Video Game Realism
Realistic Games, Metal Gear, Grand Theft Auto
As the systems that run video games become more powerful, developers are able to add more complex elements to these games. The big one: Realism.
With advanced 3D graphics, the characters in some modern games look so lifelike it's actually frightening. But beyond just the graphics, creators have also been trying to make the game play more realistic as well.
Medic?
In old shoot-em ups, there was usually some kind of health meter on the screen that was depleted every time the character was injured. When the character was shot too many times of stepped on too many spikes, the player simply had to find some kind of health power-up and the health bar was refilled.
In role-playing games, if they player had been hit too many times in combat, it was simply a matter of drinking a potion, visiting a healer or casting a heal spell.
But in trying to bring a more realistic experience to gamers, developers have slowly started changing the way healing is done.
For example, Metal Gear Solid 3 introduced the "Survival Viewer" which players would need to learn to navigate in order to keep the main character alive.
Have you been shot? You'll have to dig the bullet out with a combat knife, apply disinfectant, suture the wound shut and finally, apply a band-aid.
Break a bone? It'll need to be splinted.
Feed Me
Metal Gear Solid 3 also introduced the need for food into the game environment. Don't enough and the character becomes lethargic and can't hold a gun straight anymore.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas also made a hungry main character. They didn't quite go all the way though. If the player doesn't feed their character for a while, the good old health bar starts to drop slowly.
So it's important to make pit stops with those stolen cars to fuel up on food.
The Problem with More Realism
These features are pretty neat and add a bit to the immersion experience that is gaming but they lose out by only going halfway.
Take the Survival Viewer in Metal Gear Solid 3, for example.
Sure, soldiers have had to splint broken bones on the battlefield, but no one is immediately fine afterwards. For the game to be truly realistic, a broken arm should mean not being able to use two-handed weapons until he's had some time to heal. Or a broken leg would mean limping. Oh, and digging a bullet out of your own skull? There's really nothing to say about that.
In the case of San Andreas, while the character needs to fed, it's interesting to note that none of those stolen cars ever seem to run out of gas.
Finally, with the exception of a few strange titles, very few video game characters need to stop and go to bathroom.
Conclusion
Should games go for realism? A 100% true-to-life game that required eating, bathroom breaks and realistic injuries (including instant death to player from head-shots, not just the bad guys) would most likely be frustrating and annoying. Besides, all-out realism would mean no save games and not even the ability to start from the beginning after dying.
So if a neat trick enhances game play, so be it, as long as it's not something obtrusive in the name of being realistic.
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