Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Term Paper Outline: Warcrafts Funky Physics

Introduction
A.      Video Game: World of Warcraft
B.      World of Warcraft intentionally removes or simplifies aspects of the physical world in order to make the game playable
Body
1.       Momentum get canned…or does it?
a.       Newtons first law doesn’t quite work anymore. There is no sense of inertia present  UNLESS needed for a mechanical/cinematic effect in gameplay
b.      Example include: Running /flight speed is constant with no need to decelerate, travelling on a mount as large as an elephant requires the same time and space to get up to speed/stop as your character running
c.       Counter examples: Deeprun Tram accelerating and decelerating (for cinematic reasons)
2.       Square-Cube Law, or Why aren’t animals bigger?
a.       When applied to biomechanics, the Square-Cube Law explains why certain animals cannot grow past a certain size; in World of Warcraft, animals can be well larger than what would physically be possible in our world.
b.      Examples: Dragons the size of large building. Those same dragons can fly as well as move around with great agility. As well insects of great size exist, contrasting to what can be in our reality.
3.       Too Hot to Handle
a.       Effects such as fire and lighting are easily controlled and manipulated with bare hands with no adverse effects to the player character, yet when released, damage opposing foes.
b.      Examples: Literally every fire spell from warlocks and mages, lightning spells from Shaman. Mages can freeze themselves in blocks of ice with no adverse health effects
Conclusion

A.      World of Warcraft bends the laws of the physical world in order to create a fantastical and rich environment, as well as allow for playability

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