A Fundamental Problem With Video Games.

[Terminate421]

It depends on a game. Walking is important for being able to gently aim around a corner in shooters or have momentum.

In Elder Scrolls, I'll admit at times I'd just walk from building to building within the same city.

Its relatively important to have in most shooters.

 

[Erana]

Doesn't this kinda detract from the realism of the game?

No, because it is an experience constructed by man to engage man. Its the same reason that, even when painting photo-realistically, a good artist knows how to compensate in the image for what appears off or unrealistic, just to keep the audience from being unnecessarily distracted or uncomfortable.

Sorry it bothers you, OP, and it technically is unrealistic, but having infinite run with a walk and possibly a sprint option is, for the majority of titles, just the best they can do. :/

 

[OldDirtyCrusty]

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.

This sounds like a good designed use for a sprint/evade button.
I had more the simple action adventure/fps in mind while typing this.
Maybe i give demon`s souls another try (just couldn`t get into it even if i like the setting).

 

[Lilani]

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?

When it comes to things such as narrative discourse, there are two things called "suspension of reality" and "minimal departure." Suspension of reality is the surrendering of certain pieces of logic which would apply in the "real world" in exchange for the fictional logic. In the case of Mass Effect, it would bethat in the future we will have technology that can heal us in real time. Or in Portal or Half-Life the way you just never stop to rest even though days are going by. Minimal departure is getting the person having the experience to attain the level of suspension of belief required for it to not bring them out of the experience. In other words, selling the logic to them without over or under explaining it.

The problem with this is in games, we've come to expect this sort of thing now. It's become one of those things we're just willing to believe--it doesn't take much minimal departure to get us to buy it. This has been programmed into our heads since the original Mario Brothers. And when game worlds are so large, an average walking pace simply doesn't allow the game to flow very well. The thing that messes up the minimal departure isn't too much speed, but rather not enough. If the player is having to spend a long time walking from place to place, yes it is more realistic, but it makes a lot more of the game about walking. And a game like Mass Effect isn't really supposed to be about walking. It's running and shooting and killing stuff and saving the galaxy. So the constant running reflects that higher sense of urgency, more on an artistic and thematic way rather than a literal "Shepard is a marathon runner" way.

So it's a matter of balancing that minimal departure, and making sure what you do to achieve it doesn't affect the goal of your game. I'm sure walking would suit some kinds of games just fine, and I have slowed myself down to walk sometimes just for a change of pace (but usually the walks are SO slow it's just not worth it). But it's definitely not for every game.

 

[Olas]

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 .

Exactly, I hate when games force you to walk too. That's even worse than just being like Usain Bolt and running everywhere. But either way games have to compromise between being slow and tedious or being unrealistic. It doesn't seem like it's possible to have both.

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.

I'm pretty sure SOME games aim for a level of realism. My beef isn't with Super Meat Boy or Fez, it's with games like Call of Duty or Mass Effect that pretend to be set in the real world(and by extension should try to be realistic).

 

[Olas]

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?

I never said I had a solution. I don't. That's why I consider it a fundamental problem. No matter what you're gonna have to settle with either a tedious game, an unrealistic game, or one that's a little of both. See the dilemma?
I've actually tried walking around whenever I'm not in the middle of a fight before and it was boring as hell, eventually I just gave in and toggled run back on.

I think the weird question at the heart of this is 'why does having to walk in a video game feel like torture, when walking in real life doesn't bother us at all.'