I was watching a video comparing Avowed to Oblivion, and it struck me how much Oblivion let you interact with just about everything. You could pick up items, push them around, and they would stay in place permanently. If you shot an arrow, it would follow physics and land where it fell until you decided to retrieve it. Considering that games like Avowed might skip this for reasons such as not having ammo, I can’t help but wonder why so many modern games overlook this interactive physics element that was so cool in Skyrim and Oblivion. Is it hard to implement, or just not seen as a priority anymore?
3 Answers
Another factor is the focus on graphical quality over physics. Back in the day, immersiveness was driven by physics, like in Half-Life 2, but now it’s more about visuals. Developers tend to pick what adds the most value without bogging things down with complex codes that don’t necessarily enhance gameplay.
Object permanence can blow up save files in games. When you keep track of so many items and their states for hours of gameplay, it can lead to significant issues like crashes and corruption of your saved data. While it could easily be implemented, the consequences make developers cautious about it.
Right? Just one tool or cup left on the ground can lead to serious issues down the line, especially after you’ve spent hours in the game.
Developers often skip physics like that because they think it’s not worth the resources. Bethesda really stands out as one of the few studios making open-world games that embraces this. Other studios might see it as more trouble than it’s worth, especially with how glitchy it can make the game.
I get that! But even for casual play, those glitches can be fun and immersive. Like in Fallout 4, I’ve used that physics to create traps in really creative ways. I’d take a few bugs for the sake of entertainment!
True! And let’s not forget how these mechanics work differently in multiplayer versus single-player; it complicates things a lot!