<![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics - Kotaku Comments]]> http://cache.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/kotaku.com.png <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics - Kotaku Comments]]> http://kotaku.com Sun, 13 Apr 2008 11:38:56 MDT Sun, 13 Apr 2008 11:38:56 MDT http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5168777 @mashedbuttons:

As a fellow Hamiltonian I offer congrats on the coverage this project is getting! The mod was great as was the essay. Great work.

Sir_Realist

]]> 9:379100:c5168777 Sun, 13 Apr 2008 11:38:56 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5168186 @DireWombat:

Greetings... Im Jacob, the other person responsible for this mod.

Fear not... we are thick skinned and really appreciate any feedback you have... Of course we took some liberties on the paper to make it more concise... and I agree Descent deserves a spot (though Quake absolutely trounced it as far as 'success'). AND i agree that perhaps we are being optimistic about the potential of euphoria... but keep in mind that this paper was to be written for someone who had only a very basic understanding of gaming... so some liberties were taken to make it readable for them.

@Spoiler Duck:

We are in the Multimedia program at Mcmaster... which is fairly open to any thesis ideas. The criteria is that the project branches over multiple mediums... so ours was a mod, a website, and a presentation.

Thanks for the support and feedback... as I said we are appreciate anything you guys have to say about the mod.

mashedbuttons

]]> 9:379100:c5168186 Sun, 13 Apr 2008 09:39:51 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5168162 @Calen:

Hey Calen. Thanks for dropping by. It's rare when we get some developer comments in here. As far as the mod not being from a famous site, well ... some people wear tin foil hats. You catch my drift? Haha.

dead_red_eyes

]]> 9:379100:c5168162 Sun, 13 Apr 2008 09:34:04 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5167869 Polywhirl isn't being a dick at all...

Bernard McGraw

]]> 9:379100:c5167869 Sun, 13 Apr 2008 08:05:57 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5166743 @Witzbold:
I wait for the day where you can make decisions that would seem logical in real life and apply them to games. The first time this even occured to me was playing the Half-Life 2 demo, in Ravenholm, where I broke a piece of wood in half before shooting it at a zombie, theorizing that the sharp end would do more damage. Surprisingly, I was right, and that's one of the reasons I simply love that game.


man_in_gauze

]]> 9:379100:c5166743 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 20:54:36 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5166338 Hmm, this makes me much more interested in McMaster University as a secondary education option now.

mquest

]]> 9:379100:c5166338 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 19:44:24 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5166010 @Spoiler Duck: It was fairly easy because the Professor who supervised it does some research in game studies, so taking an academic approach to video game physics was not hard to sell. I'm not sure how common it is in general, but "game studies" seems to be getting quite hot and legitimate.

Calen

]]> 9:379100:c5166010 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 18:46:50 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5165732 @Calen: How difficult was it to get the University to green-light your thesis? While in general the academic community is extremely open to new things, there does seem to be an odd stigma attached to video games.

My head of department (English Literature at Lancaster University, UK) was very intrigued by the study of video games, so that's proposal-pending, but I was uncertain if that was the norm or not. To be honest, I'd love to see more academic study on the medium, despite it not yet being mature enough to have any true sense of canon or sublime greatness.

Spoiler Duck

]]> 9:379100:c5165732 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:59:16 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5165716 @ca$h -back by request!: Or Maggie. My bad.

ca$h

]]> 9:379100:c5165716 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:56:17 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5165713 Just played through it. It's a fun little thing that takes about 30 minutes and is pretty entertaining to play around with. Good job guys.

@Polywhirl: I really don't think Owen would point you into a virus. Fahey, maybe, but not Owen.

ca$h

]]> 9:379100:c5165713 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:55:49 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5165586 Hello ALL!

I'm one of the creators of the project!

It makes me very happy to see people interested in it, and for those of you who are worried about the "non famous" nature of the site:
[www.moddb.com]

It's Also on ModDB.

Calen

]]> 9:379100:c5165586 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:31:04 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5165457 Its pretty cool, i tryed it out :D

Viper

]]> 9:379100:c5165457 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:04:25 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5165335 @Abishai: Good call with the Linux love. My bad. :D

Trai_Dep

]]> 9:379100:c5165335 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:40:46 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5165327 Jesus is that really all it takes to do a thesis at that uni? Man I wanna sign up and do a lame mod with sparse commentary!

Seriously though its VERY lite on information. Well done though?

Jaysius

]]> 9:379100:c5165327 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:39:49 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5165277 sounds alot like lost coast, but with physics

adas1023

]]> 9:379100:c5165277 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:27:39 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5165027 @dead_red_eyes: Ah, no. iBook G4. I'm hoping to save up and replace it with a Macbook Pro sometime within the next year or so. I'm told a Windows compatible machine is often a requirement for work in the industry.

Spoiler Duck

]]> 9:379100:c5165027 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:41:57 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164999 @Spoiler Duck:

There's always boot camp, that is if you're using an Intel-Mac.

dead_red_eyes

]]> 9:379100:c5164999 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:36:43 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164984 @Witzbold: The only virus I ever encountered was my father's fault, he has no idea what are the scary parts of the net.

ggodo

]]> 9:379100:c5164984 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:34:10 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164967 As someone who is doing his undergrad dissertation on 'Video Games As Literature', it was cool to see a more scientific academic approach to the subject. Having speed-read the essay, I found it informative and enjoyable, though not as in-depth or well-written (though this may be down to the author's department's own personal writing guidelines) as I would have liked.

I wish I had a PC to try the mod out, but alas, Macs do have their downfalls.

Spoiler Duck

]]> 9:379100:c5164967 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:31:31 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164856 @Trai_Dep: Can have the same results with a PC and Linux. No idea why you'd want a PC with Linux or a Mac though...

Abishai

]]> 9:379100:c5164856 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:14:37 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164837 So rest assured Polywhirl, you can install this mod without any worries.

dead_red_eyes

]]> 9:379100:c5164837 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:10:41 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164832 @DireWombat:

I just finished reading it, and indeed ... there's lots of good stuff to be had there.

Also, I just installed this mod on my OLD ass PC. Guess what? It didn't blow up, and I didn't get a virus!

Specs:

ABIT AV8 Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3500+ ~2.2GHz
Super Talent PC3200 [400Mhz] 2048MB RAM [2 x 1GB]
Western Digital Raptor 74 GB 10,000rpm 8Mb cache
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT 256Mb AGP 8x
Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2

dead_red_eyes

]]> 9:379100:c5164832 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:09:48 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164817 @Polywhirl: Live and learn kid, live and learn.

You dont get stronger by getting more scared of things.

Witzbold

]]> 9:379100:c5164817 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:08:12 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164809 @DireWombat: Quite personally I enjoyed the article. Since for me seeing the advancements in complexity is the fun part.

Which is why on the subject of physics which is pretty present in the modern day games, how well a company can do them is a big buying point for me. Just becuase I like to screw around and see what I can do in the game.

Also the physics alone really do help add to the realism of the world itself.

Is going to be nice in the future when we get games that get rather close to real world physics where objects are not "welded" onto the map and pretty much everything will be breakable to some extent. Ill be looking foward to those days to come granted Im sure it will be real far away.

I think possibly the next interesting big step "could" be shown in the next StarWars game judging by the demo footage we have seen so far. Also possibly the new Red Faction.

Good times are ahead of us and the article does help bring back the memories of watching the evolution of games in general.

Witzbold

]]> 9:379100:c5164809 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:07:20 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164774 @Witzbold: @dead_red_eyes: Man, that's harsh. I'm not a noob to the internet or anything. I just happened to wreck my PC when I was 6 or so by downloading a virus.

Since then, I've been kind of edgy around downloading anything.

Polywhirl

]]> 9:379100:c5164774 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:02:35 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164735 What do people think of the essay? I thought it was great as a brief overview of the history of game physics, and it had some cool bits of information I hadn't known before.

On the other hand (WARNING: Criticism to follow, those prone to taking offense by proxy please read no further), I would have loved to see a more academically rigorous treatment of the topic. There were a few questionable assertions (Quake was the first successful 3D game? Descent wasn't THAT obscure, was it?) and some less-than-objective parts (effusive, though perhaps deserved, praise for Nintendo, concrete statements of what the effects of the Euphoria engine WILL be, etc.). Some more cited sources for their facts would also be nice.

None of that is meant to take away from the essay for what it is (and it's a good read, I recommend it). I'm just looking forward to the day when we start seeing more of the rigorous, thorough scholarship we see for other media done on video games.

That may sound kind of boring, but when it happens it will be an indication that games are winning a seat at the big kids' table in discussions of art and entertainment.

DireWombat

]]> 9:379100:c5164735 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:57:20 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164677 @Polywhirl: Anyways with your original statement if you wait for things to go up on steam you could be waiting for quite some time.

Unless this thing gets so popular like garysmod that they decide to pick it up.

If not just wait till folks put it up on places like fileplanet and such.

Witzbold

]]> 9:379100:c5164677 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:48:25 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164665 @Witzbold:

Hahaha!

dead_red_eyes

]]> 9:379100:c5164665 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:46:40 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164611 @dead_red_eyes: Be nice he just found teh internetz. ;D

Actually no dont.

------

The only time when a mod actually broke something is because I put shit in the wrong folders. Back in the old school UT days of "install it yourself" mods.

Thankfully shit has gotten a lot better and more folks actually know how to use the "self installer" programs.

Ah good times of playing "does this piece fit" with the various file types when the author forgets to include a read me with the package.

Witzbold

]]> 9:379100:c5164611 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:36:31 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164607

I've been running my system w/o any third-party virus protection for more than a year and a half with no problems. At all. :D
[www.letsgodigital.org]

Trai_Dep

]]> 9:379100:c5164607 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:35:56 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164587 Greaaat...

[gf77.net]

ErskinPig

]]> 9:379100:c5164587 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:31:32 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164584 Garry's Mod allows me to explore new ideas with physics...and shoot people with a trashcan loaded with dynamite and watermelons.

BenKenobi88

]]> 9:379100:c5164584 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:31:20 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164564 @Polywhirl:

You're not going to crash your entire system because of some Half Life 2 mod. Don't be so over dramatic.

dead_red_eyes

]]> 9:379100:c5164564 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:26:50 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164530 Well.. I have see people build CIRCUITS in garrys mod, using logical gates. Half-Life is crazy in stuff related to physics and simulation :D

Tei

]]> 9:379100:c5164530 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:20:53 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164487 @Polywhirl: I never suggested you had Norton. All I meant by that was that the big Anti-Virus Software companies like to blow the problem out of proportion, so people tend to be much more careful than they need to be. Norton was just an example, didn't mean to imply anything there.

QualityJeverage

]]> 9:379100:c5164487 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:13:25 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164469 @Polywhirl: Dont tell me you are actually foolish enough to NOT PAY ATTENTION to where you are getting your files from.

Seriously now.

You sound like someone who just found the internet yesterday.

Witzbold

]]> 9:379100:c5164469 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:10:51 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164451 @Polywhirl: its rahter easy to see what sources are trustworthy or not, they dont need to be offical sites, if a download is popular and you see tons of people downloading it and none of them complain about viruses, tehn what are you worried about?

kommanderk

]]> 9:379100:c5164451 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:07:52 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164442 @Polywhirl: I think you're being overly paranoid. I ran my computer without an anti-virus program even installed for about 6 months. I finally decided to download one a couple days ago and had it scan my system. Wanna know how many viruses it found? Zero.

I also didn't have a spybot scanner on the system. I downloaded that as well. It found maybe 20 entries, and most of those were just cookies.

Viruses aren't as huge a problem as people would have you believe.

kylenalepa

]]> 9:379100:c5164442 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:05:59 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164439 @QualityJeverage: What would make you think I have Norton? I said I don't like viruses.
I use Avast. It's much better, and sounds all pirate-like.

Though after checking out the site some more, I think I'll download this one. It's supervised by a professor at the university. If he's in on a virus conspiracy, there's lawsuit money to be made.

Polywhirl

]]> 9:379100:c5164439 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 14:05:31 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164392 @Foggynotion: Hey I go to Mcmaster. :D

Iceking5

]]> 9:379100:c5164392 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:58:12 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164347 @Polywhirl: But see, there's the problem that a lot of people have.

People like to run around yelling that any non-mainstream site must be crawling with viruses in every nook and cranny, but that's just not the case.

%99.9 of the time, all you need is common sense. I've been on the internet for years, and I can count on one hand the amount of actual viruses my system's been infected with. If you really do want to be cautious, scan files before you open them. But really, viruses aren't nearly as big a problem as Norton would like you to think.

QualityJeverage

]]> 9:379100:c5164347 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:52:14 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164320 @Polywhirl: It sounds like mine. I'll give this one a download, it looks interesting.

Aethyr

]]> 9:379100:c5164320 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:48:16 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164306 @QualityJeverage: Actually, I'm not missing much, and I'm also missing out on a ton of "enjoyable" viruses.
I mean, I already get to enjoy hundreds of home-brewed mods that have been checked and cleared by official, big-name sites. It's not like I'm missing anything major. I still got to play all of Yahtzee's games, try out Garry's mod, play Sam and Max, etc. There's a crapload to do on the internet. Risking crashing my entire system for one single mod does not sound like my idea of a good time.

Polywhirl

]]> 9:379100:c5164306 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:46:33 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164294 As a Physicist, I approve this message.

It's actually a good read to anyone that is interested in how it adds to game design.

Molbork

]]> 9:379100:c5164294 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:45:11 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164283 @Polywhirl: You sir, are missing the internet.

QualityJeverage

]]> 9:379100:c5164283 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:43:35 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164278 Very cool. The more academic literature about gaming the better.

Also, I want a McDegree from McMaster University.

Foggynotion

]]> 9:379100:c5164278 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:43:14 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164266 It actually looks cool, and I'm interested in trying it, but I hate downloading from non-famous sites.
Is it up on Steam, or will it go up on there eventually?

Polywhirl

]]> 9:379100:c5164266 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:42:24 MDT <![CDATA[A Half-Life 2 Mod and a History of Video Game Physics]]> http://kotaku.com/379100/a-half+life-2-mod-and-a-history-of-video-game-physics#c5164264 Sounds awesome
I will be downloading this when i go home

Cuban__B

]]> 9:379100:c5164264 Sat, 12 Apr 2008 13:42:02 MDT