Term Paper Outline "Laws of Physics In a Video Game World"

I. Introduction

A. Ultra Street Fighter IV (Video Game, 2014)

B. Thesis - The game Ultra Street Fighter IV uses a variety of over the top special effects and exaggerrated physics to present an entertaining fighting game for its audiences.

II. Body

A. Squash and Stretch

1. Characters have very exaggerated proportions in comparison to real-life humans.

2. When performing attacks and other actions, slowing down frames can reveal that limbs may stretch.

3. Especially apparent in the character Dhalsim.

4. In specific hit animations, characters can be seen being squashed or stretched in reaction to enemy character attacks.

5. While these sell the actions visually, squash and stretch does not always happen in real life situations.


B. Action and Reaction

1. Characters have a set reachtion to attacks, regardless of how strong/weak they are hit.

2. Some attacks cause character to be knocked off of their feet.

3. Occasionally characters will react to a hit in the same direction as the attack, rather than moving opposite of the force of the attack.


C. Gravity

1. While characters are varied to feel "heavy" or "light", all characters defy the physical laws of gravity in some way, shape or form.

2. Characters jump at heights much more than humanly possible.

3. Some characters may jump and hover, float, or even change directions in mid air.

4. When falling from air attacks, characters often do not follow logical parabolic arcs.


III. Conclusion

A. Laws of physics are almost always broken in not just Ultra Street Fighter IV, but in nearly all video games.

B. While developers may choose to follow the true laws of physics, almost all the time they are broken in order to deliver a fun game that is entertaining enough to bring you into its world and make you "believe" in it.