A Fundamental Problem With Video Games.

[Olas]

While playing the first Mass Effect earlier today I was reminded of something that's always bugged me about certain video games; it's especially prevalent in 3D action/adventure games, but others as well.

Okay so hear me out. Most games I've played give you the option to either walk or run when moving around. In some there's a toggle button, others it's about how hard you push on the joystick. Now how much of the time do you actually spend walking? Be honest. Almost none right? Why walk around leisurely when you can just go faster by running instead? It makes sense why you'd choose not to. Hell, if there's an option for me to dash or sprint I'll usually do that as much as possible too.

But in real life we almost always walk wherever we go, it's tiring to run after all.

Doesn't this kinda detract from the realism of the game?
Sure sometimes it makes sense to run in games, like in the middle of a violent mission/quest/etc. The problem is we (or at least I) tend to run even when we're in a hub area like the Citadel, or Kakariko village. We run even when our character is in no particular hurry.
It can look kinda silly when my Shepherd is sprinting through the Citadel at full speed just to talk to people and trade weapons and all the other characters I pass are just casually strolling.

Anyway does this bug anyone else or am I just crazy/impatient?

PS: I'm not saying games should force you to walk, I'd dislike that even more. I'd take unrealistic gameplay over slow tedious gameplay any day. The problem is that I have to choose between those 2 options in the first place.

 

[Bryce323]

The problem really surfaces after you've become familiarized to an area. A game can only be so dynamic, so eventually you'll hit the 'been there, done that' point and know who all the NPCs are, know their dialog, know what the town looks like, etc. What's the point of walking when there is nothing new to engage with or discover?

There is always the option of forcing yourself not to run if you're into that. In my opinion, we choose games for entertainment, and will often take the actions that provide the most entertainment. In this case, running around everywhere speeds you through stale content allowing you quicker access to fresh, engaging content.

But damn, I wish I had the stamina of these game characters sometimes.

 

[ultrabiome]

i can think of multiple games off the top of my head that don't allow you to run indefinitely, and usually there are combat tactics associated with it (stealth, running away, rushing, etc), so the choice of running/walking is a reasonable one.

although it does seem weird to run in town, being artificially stopped from running in town might be more 'realistic' in terms of behavior in the outside world but would drive players insane, especially due to the repetitiveness often associated with being in town. at some point realism has to give to player preferences. we are playing games after all, not boring life simulators.

 

[Hal10k]

If I could sprint at full speed without regard for inertia or my own endurance in real life, you bet your ass I'd do it. I'd be like the Flash's great-grandson, after a few generations of bad genes worked their way in. Able to continuously run at a moderate pace!

 

[BloatedGuppy]

It can look kinda silly when my Shepherd is sprinting through the Citadel at full speed just to talk to people and trade weapons and all the other characters I pass are just casually strolling.

Shepard wasn't running FAST ENOUGH in ME3, in my opinion. There were Fairly Important Events afoot, and Shepard is naffing around looking for artifacts and haggling over the price of Medi-Gel.

 

[krazykidd]

You are just crazy. Why the hell would i want to walk in a game? I personally hate game that have a stamina meter . Because i always end up running till my meter is out , wait for it to fill up then run some more . Or worst tap the sprint button .

 

[XMark]

We expect to be entertained while playing games. A five-minute walk to the corner store in real life is no biggie, but in a video game it's an eternity.

If I were totally immersed in a matrix-like virtual reality MMORPG all day long, I'd accept regular walking speed, but in regular games when I want my fun NOW I'd rather run everywhere even if it's not realistic.

 

[RJ 17]

While playing the first Mass Effect earlier today I was reminded of something that's always bugged me about certain video games; it's especially prevalent in 3D action/adventure games, but others as well.

Okay so hear me out. Most games I've played give you the option to either walk or run when moving around. In some there's a toggle button, others it's about how hard you push on the joystick. Now how much of the time do you actually spend walking? Be honest. Almost none right? Why walk around leisurely when you can just go faster by running instead? It makes sense why you'd choose not to. Hell, if there's an option for me to dash or sprint I'll usually do that as much as possible too.

But in real life we almost always walk wherever we go, it's tiring to run after all.

Doesn't this kinda detract from the realism of the game?
Sure sometimes it makes sense to run in games, like in the middle of a violent mission/quest/etc. The problem is we (or at least I) tend to run even when we're in a hub area like the Citadel, or Kakariko village. We run even when our character is in no particular hurry.
It can look kinda silly when my Shepherd is sprinting through the Citadel at full speed just to talk to people and trade weapons and all the other characters I pass are just casually strolling.

Anyway does this bug anyone else or am I just crazy/impatient?

It's called RPing, my friend. CAN you sprint your way from shop to shop, floor to floor on the Citadel? Of course. But there are plenty (like myself) that specifically prefer to walk places for exactly why you said: makes it seem more real.

Seeing as how running is often not the default, but rather a toggle or (in the case of ME) holding down a button. If it bugs you...why do you do it? You can have Shepard walking around all you want, seems like this is a self-inflicted irritation.

Conversely, what would be your solution to the problem? Have running just completely removed from games?

It can look kinda silly when my Shepherd is sprinting through the Citadel at full speed just to talk to people and trade weapons and all the other characters I pass are just casually strolling.

Shepard wasn't running FAST ENOUGH in ME3, in my opinion. There were Fairly Important Events afoot, and Shepard is naffing around looking for artifacts and haggling over the price of Medi-Gel.

Now THIS I can agree with...even in combat zones with the weapon drawn, it seems like Shepard's default max speed (when not holding down A to sprint) is ridiculously slow...I just remember Shepard moving around a lot faster in ME 2.

Maybe she's just getting old. u.u

 

[dimensional]

No never had a problem with this if you want to walk you can but why would you? I want to get on with the game asap not walk very slowly around because thats realistic seriously if all games started to make me walk 90% of the time I would stop playing games with large open spaces.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

No never had a problem with this if you want to walk you can but why would you?

Realism of course!

I also think it would tremendously beneficial to games if you had to stop frequently to eat and poop.

Also, if you get cut by a sword, there should be a fairly high possibility you'll get sepsis and die.

 

[Zantos]

No never had a problem with this if you want to walk you can but why would you?

Realism of course!

I also think it would tremendously beneficial to games if you had to stop frequently to eat and poop.

Also, if you get cut by a sword, there should be a fairly high possibility you'll get sepsis and die.

What do you reckon there's a mod to one of the Fallouts that makes you do this. It would not surprise me if someone really thought having to go to the kahzee every so often would improve the game.

Actually, we have done this a couple of times in pen and paper RPing. It can be fun, so long as no one's taking it too seriously.

 

[OldDirtyCrusty]

i can think of multiple games off the top of my head that don't allow you to run indefinitely, and usually there are combat tactics associated with it (stealth, running away, rushing, etc), so the choice of running/walking is a reasonable one.

although it does seem weird to run in town, being artificially stopped from running in town might be more 'realistic' in terms of behavior in the outside world but would drive players insane, especially due to the repetitiveness often associated with being in town. at some point realism has to give to player preferences. we are playing games after all, not boring life simulators.

That gives me an idea. Wouldn`t it be great to let every npc be as hectic as the main player? The immersion would be ruined but then offline players could pretend the game is some kind of mmo.
Let them run around around "go catch your quest, go go go!".



In the upcomming Dragon`s Dogma you have limited run if remember it correct (only played the demo).
I hate to be forced to slow down my character but i also like the ability to walk. I loved it in the new Batman games. Walk silent towards a attacking group and just countering the first guys is awesome. I also loved to walk calm around Armadillo with good marston, just tipping my hat and greeting townsfolk.

I apriciate both options but i don`t like it when designers use an extra sprintbutton with todays gamepads. With every game it´s almost the same and i always think of how many better ways there are to use this one button. Lost potential.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

What do you reckon there's a mod to one of the Fallouts that makes you do this. It would not surprise me if someone really thought having to go to the kahzee every so often would improve the game.

Actually, we have done this a couple of times in pen and paper RPing. It can be fun, so long as no one's taking it too seriously.

I actually liked Fallout mods that forced you to eat and drink, as struggling for survival is, to me, a core element of the post-nuclear milieu. Sadly, many of them also wanted to force you to sleep, which was inexpressibly tedious.

A dose of realism can really leaven the experience and add to the immersion in RPGs, but there are some things that will just never translate into entertaining game play. Walking painfully slowly, alas, is one of them.

 

[Zantos]

What do you reckon there's a mod to one of the Fallouts that makes you do this. It would not surprise me if someone really thought having to go to the kahzee every so often would improve the game.

Actually, we have done this a couple of times in pen and paper RPing. It can be fun, so long as no one's taking it too seriously.

I actually liked Fallout mods that forced you to eat and drink, as struggling for survival is, to me, a core element of the post-nuclear milieu. Sadly, many of them also wanted to force you to sleep, which was inexpressibly tedious.

A dose of realism can really leaven the experience and add to the immersion in RPGs, but there are some things that will just never translate into entertaining game play. Walking painfully slowly, alas, is one of them.

They were great. I wouldn't want to play with them on all the time, but it was pretty fun. Just saying when you're roleplaying bowel movements, that's maybe going a little bit far. Which side of "Having to walk painfully slowly" it would be on in the unnecessary scale is debatable.

 

[dimensional]

No never had a problem with this if you want to walk you can but why would you?

Realism of course!

I also think it would tremendously beneficial to games if you had to stop frequently to eat and poop.

Also, if you get cut by a sword, there should be a fairly high possibility you'll get sepsis and die.

Ill thankyou to keep realism out of my games please next thing you know ill have to do a boring repetitive job 8 hours a day in game to earn enough money to keep my character alive, I get plenty of realism in real life Im playing to try and escape from that crap.

 

[targren]

Video games aren't about "realism." If they were, the most popular game would be "Desert Bus." Or a simulator where you sit for 6-8 hours (realtime) in school or at work.

Traveling between points, especially in 3D games, is between the action. The entire point is to get back to the action. If games forced you to slow down like you're talking about remove "fun" and "entertainment" for the sake of "realism", it would be a stupid design decision. If "reality" was so goddamn wonderful, we wouldn't be playing video games for entertainment.

 

[ultrabiome]

I apriciate both options but i don`t like it when designers use an extra sprintbutton with todays gamepads. With every game it´s almost the same and i always think of how many better ways there are to use this one button. Lost potential.

in demon's souls, circle is used to run (held down), but a quick press executes a backstep, and a quick press plus a direction does an evasive roll, all of which are very useful in combat.

also:
how fast you can move is directly related to your equipped weight (walking or sprinting)
how much noise you make is also dependent on movement speed and equipment, which has major consequences for stealth
sprinting drains stamina, which reduces the number of attacks you can execute or block until it refills
sprinting isn't instantaneous, nor is stopping

i agree if there isn't any reason not to run, but if there are mechanics in place to make walking preferable in many situations, then assigning a button to run (as well as evasion) can be a reasonable decision.

 

[hazabaza1]

I remember the intro to Mafia 2 had me walking through the snowy city. That was cool.
'S'all about the atmosphere, I guess.

 

[DoPo]

Okay so hear me out. Most games I've played give you the option to either walk or run when moving around. In some there's a toggle button, others it's about how hard you push on the joystick. Now how much of the time do you actually spend walking? Be honest. Almost none right? Why walk around leisurely when you can just go faster by running instead? It makes sense why you'd choose not to. Hell, if there's an option for me to dash or sprint I'll usually do that as much as possible too.

But in real life we almost always walk wherever we go, it's tiring to run after all.

The problem with walk or run is that it's usually either "slow stroll" or "brisk pace" in terms of speed. Even if the animation is of actually running, your character is not moving at running speed. Not one bit. And actually, I do move in brisk pace in real life. I've had friends call me out more than once, because my normal walking speed is a bit faster than theirs. I have long legs, so that helps.

So "running" is actually misnamed. You aren't "running" around as much as "walking fast". And I'm pretty sure you can walk fast around everywhere you go. At least I do it all the time and I haven't seen a problem.