Why can't he just step OVER it?

[otakon17]

Seriously, this trend of a developers lazy attempt to say "You can't go there!" is the inclusion in many third person titles and others that escape my mind for a moment is that waist high and lower barriers can stop a person from pressing onward in a general direction. I remember this crap in Resident Evil 4 mostly, because in some areas the ONLY thing stopping you from taking the easy way around was waist high barriers. Many RPG's did the same thing. "Oh, I can't go this way, it's blocked off" BY A 3 INCH HIGH BARRIER! Those damn invisible walls frustrated me so. Has anyone had this thought but me?

 

[Wierdguy]

You obviously have no idea how rude it is in video-game land to jump over certain specific things that may or may not occationally be jumpable! How inconsidderate!

 

[manythings]

Bionic commando had invisible, undetectable instant-death walls.

I wouldn't call it JUST laziness, the fact of the matter is sometimes something was meant to go there but they ran out of time or had to make changes or abandoned concepts etc. and their only option was just invisible wall it off right now so they can go and do soemthing more important.

 

[Arctarus'sCookie]

[http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/718/5e9cc5a24aeaabd2a7a8241.jpg/]

^this

It seems like you're just ranting about how the level boundaries are made to stop the character from going somewhere too early or from going out of the level.

 

[PissOffRoth]

I understand the need for invisible walls, but they are annoying just the same. Without them, games would either have masses of unused map space just for the sake of realism, or they would all look walled-in and linear. Remember, not every game works as a sandbox. Annoying as they are, invisible walls are important.

I just wish they were made a little better.

 

[Thespian]

That's why Brink is awesome D

 

[Griff Morivan]

I believe MovieBob did a video about this, referring to a wooden door with metal screws that you can not shoot, burn or shatter except with the use of a specific key in a realistic setting.

It's just... that's games.

 

[Player Two]

Yay, game development quirks. Look, I know it's frustrating, but the alternative could be much worse - imagine how shoddy a 'jump' function would be in games like Dragon Age. However, I completely agree when this happens to FPS games: I spend most of the first half of Bulletstorm thinking 'The fuck? No jump button?'

 

[Antisigma]

You cannot step over that because every video game protagonist is stricken with the same debilitating illness that causes their bones to harden until they can handle nothing more than ungainly, ankle-high hops. This also explains why it is generally impossible to pull yourself over chest-high walls.

I understand why this stuff is necessary. I mean, if you put a really tall cliff or long drop at the edge of the level, some innovative person with too much time on their hands will find a way around it. Guaranteed. But this method of solving the problem really does harm immersion/the sense of being an in-game individual with properly functioning limbs.

Maybe they could just fit us all with Fallout-style explosive collars and separate our heads from our bodies when we wander out of the designated area.

 

[sapphireofthesea]

I think it more an issue of what they choose to represent it. I knew one game that simple put enemies that insta killed you there (was third person adenture and if you were good enough yu could still explore) and another that did boundries by the use of radiation and sizable obsticle (in a radiation high setting).
And I tend to agree with the sentiment. It does break immersion a bit when you are running around a place and something (sometimes even something established as breakable or surmountable) stops you because magically it is the wrong one. I would much prefer to see more logical barriers put in place, and it would make the situation seem much more logical.

 

[Grabbin Keelz]

You know there are some games where you can cheat and go past those silly boundries, only to find out that behind them is infinite space and if you step in the wrong direction you will be sent to an infinite hell of falling forever. I think bs barricades are for the best.

 

[Alfador_VII]

Games generally do need these arbitrary barriers, but I like it when they're done more subtly than just having an ankle high fence you can't step over, or a plain old invisible wall.

If you don't notice you're being coralled, the developers have succeeded. If you just accept that certain doors don't open, or cliffs are unclimbable without really thinking about it, it's great

 

[Goofguy]

I guess developers have run out of creative replacements for really high walls and rock faces? I understand the necessity for these invisible barriers, I just think they could be executed a lot better.

 

[The Lugz]

I understand the need for invisible walls, but they are annoying just the same. Without them, games would either have masses of unused map space just for the sake of realism, or they would all look walled-in and linear. Remember, not every game works as a sandbox. Annoying as they are, invisible walls are important.

I just wish they were made a little better.

the mercenaries series made a brilliant move, they have walled off areas with sandbags, obstacles and lines on the mini-map and if you go there you get warned the enemy has air superiority in the area, if you continue to ignore them you die instantly to a hail of bombs.

^ that is how you expertly design game boundaries!

You know there are some games where you can cheat and go past those silly boundries, only to find out that behind them is infinite space and if you step in the wrong direction you will be sent to an infinite hell of falling forever. I think bs barricades are for the best.

i did this in deadmines v1.0 in classic wow, it was very, very fun to see under the world in fact if you travelled far enough you found a snippet of an unreleased world almost like a developer left it there as an easter egg!

Games generally do need these arbitrary barriers, but I like it when they're done more subtly than just having an ankle high fence you can't step over, or a plain old invisible wall.

If you don't notice you're being coralled, the developers have succeeded. If you just accept that certain doors don't open, or cliffs are unclimbable without really thinking about it, it's great

yep, i'd agree on the not noticing part, but i think there should just be a penalty like things shoot at you so you don't want to be there or your avatar can't swim, or cant possibly survive in a certain environment, or whatever depending on the game type
the radiation in cod is a decent solution for example, it's far better than crysis 2's issues with out of bounds players, i fell through a broken polygon in crysis 2 on the single-player and got stuck in the dock / port wall area near the beginning, and i was actually quite annoyed that there was such a glaringly obvious way to break the game.. so boundaries are important, for sure!

it might be a good idea for developers to invent a little spray-can tool that allows player movement in a certain areas, and if you try and exit your avatar will tell you 'i shouldn't be here, bad things could happen'
or, 'i don't think this is the way'
and / or just turn around and flat refuse to go there, but depending on the scenario that could be game-breaking for immersion
it's a topic that could use some serious thought, personally i hate invisible walls and foot high obstacles that stop you dead and you literally need to look down to see them.
that's just as game / immersion breaking to me
they did that in the witcher 2 in a couple of fights you need to be aware of the terrain as there isn't a jump action in that game ( for rp reasons, obviously )
i wont spoil, but those who played it know what i mean i'm sure

 

[ResonanceSD]

Admittedly, "cut" is probably a slight overreaction to a small bush being in the way.

But seriously, it's Pokemon, realism went out the window around 1998

 

[WorldCritic]

Ah yes, the invisible wall, my old enemy who frequently stopped me in many games. And of course the bushes from Pokemon, I never understood those.

 

[teh_Canape]

that's something I like about Crysis 2, you can pretty much go wherever the fuck you want

actually, it rather surprised me whenever I bumped into an invisible wall or map limit

 

[CardinalPiggles]

what you have to remember is everytime they add something to a map or the scenery, they are adding strain to the rendering system, and therefore will make the game more buggy.

although i do agree that it ruins your immersion, the lesser of 2 evils maybe?

 

[The Lugz]

that's something I like about Crysis 2, you can pretty much go wherever the fuck you want

actually, it rather surprised me whenever I bumped into an invisible wall or map limit

i loved that about crysis, but c2 is very console oriented and the best way to get good looking games from consoles is limited fov and boxed in areas, they just have to do it or it gets so hardware intensive it's unreal
it's still quite open compared to other games, but i was really hoping for a more sandbox approach it's one of the main points in crysis that i loved

they improved the guns significantly, i'll take that from crysis 2 at least.