Lazlo
2002.06.09, 10:22 PM
I am a wrestling fan. Most people say wrestling is fake, to which I say "It is entertainment, its something to watch, like South Park or Farscape, which are faker than wrestling". Anyway, wrestling fake/real is like mac-vs-pc, and I don't want a flame war our hands, so I will get to my point.
Professional wrestling games have been very poor in their last few incarnations. WWF RAW for xBox had potential, but when it was released it left far too much to be desired. Wrestling games have always been more of a Street Fighter like game than a true-to-life wrestling match, and even the story modes (none in Raw, semi-okay one in Smackdown1-3) are still only mild and don't do the shows they are based on justice.
After putting alot of thought into it, I have found that a wrestling game (not to mention most sports games) are a great test bed for many different video game technologies (crowd simulation, skeletal animation, cloth rendering, high quality textures and models, role playing designs, business modeling, level of detail techniques, partical effects for fireworks, etc).
In this post I will take you thru each of the above listed techs and how they could/can be put to use in a wrestling game.
------------------------
Crowd Simulation : Crowds are a major part of any sport. Without an audience, there can be no event. Simulating a crowd may not seem easy, but I believe that for a realistic movement of a crowd, a 2D coordinate system could be used. Each person in the audience would be a dot on a 2D plane, each having a sphere around them making them move away from other dots, like wrestlers and even security guards. If a wrestler moved toward a barracade, the security guard dots would move into position and push back the crowd, and then let them back into their origional positions when the wrestlers move away. If the wrestlers went into the crowd, the guards would keep the crowd away from any danger.
The crowd in the arena would have to be broken up into segments of maybe 20-25 people each. Each section would have a number of different levels of detail. Maybe 10ft, 20ft, 40ft, 80ft, 160ft+. From 40 and up the crowd could simple be flat billboard-type crowds that are found in most wrestling games (even RAW on the xBox, weird). Audience members would still be lower detail than the wrestlers. At 160ft, the sections of the crowd would just be a flat shape with a texture.
Crowd cheers are one thing that has yet been done right, but it is understandable. Truly dynamic cheers in any sports game seem next to impossiable, unless you have an RPG like system implemented that the crowd engine can syphon data from for calculations.
---------------------
RPG System : You may be asking yourself, "Why would an RPG system be needed in a Wrestling game?". Wrestling is a soap opera of sorts, though I would like to see people on Days of our Lives do a Moonsault from the top turnbuckle and land on their feet. Having RPG-style stats could build for more interaction between in-game wrestlers.
All wrestlers would use some basic stats. Strength, dexterity, intelligence, technical, and speed. Other stats would be...
Attitude (positive-to-negitive scale), which could be a big part of wrestlers starting fueds with eachother. Attitude could also be used on a per-wrestler basis, where some wrestlers like eachother, while others hate eachother. Wrestlers in Stables (3-5 person teams) would have a shared Attitude, which would effect if they interfere in matches to help eachother.
Risk (percent scale), shows how risky a wrestler would be with moves. A wrestler that takes low risks would not do many High Risk maneuvers, nor would he/she climb to the top rope. Risk would also depend on Dexterity and Technical abilities. Someone with more balance has a better chance in performing more High Risk moves without risking their body. The Hardy Boys are a good example of this type of wrestler.
Injurys can also affect a wrestler. Neck, legs, arms, shoulders, ribs, etc. All have major effects.
--------------------
Business Modeling : I have always felt that a Wrestling Business simulator (SimWWF) would be better than a Wrestling Fighting game. I want to be the owner, signing talent, setting up cards (matches), designing the set and video screen area, hiring camera men and photographers, getting arena and television contracts, holding pay-per-view events, sending wrestlers on tours, and trying to keep the company in business.
This business simulation could also lead to an online Promotion War (like WWF vs WCW vs ECW back in the 90s).
--------------------
Now there are things in current games that would be brought over, like Create-A-Wrestler, but other things would need to be added, like Create-A-Pyro, add your own Wrestler-Opening Video, theme songs, show openers. Basically, full customization.
Yes, a wrestling simulator, from what I have posted, is a great undertaking, but the rewards are almost unlimited in the eyes of wrestling fans. Being able to set up their own WWF Raw, WCW Nitro, or Wrestlemanias on their computer and have them act like a TV show rather than just another game is the dream of any wrestling mark (fan).
Professional wrestling games have been very poor in their last few incarnations. WWF RAW for xBox had potential, but when it was released it left far too much to be desired. Wrestling games have always been more of a Street Fighter like game than a true-to-life wrestling match, and even the story modes (none in Raw, semi-okay one in Smackdown1-3) are still only mild and don't do the shows they are based on justice.
After putting alot of thought into it, I have found that a wrestling game (not to mention most sports games) are a great test bed for many different video game technologies (crowd simulation, skeletal animation, cloth rendering, high quality textures and models, role playing designs, business modeling, level of detail techniques, partical effects for fireworks, etc).
In this post I will take you thru each of the above listed techs and how they could/can be put to use in a wrestling game.
------------------------
Crowd Simulation : Crowds are a major part of any sport. Without an audience, there can be no event. Simulating a crowd may not seem easy, but I believe that for a realistic movement of a crowd, a 2D coordinate system could be used. Each person in the audience would be a dot on a 2D plane, each having a sphere around them making them move away from other dots, like wrestlers and even security guards. If a wrestler moved toward a barracade, the security guard dots would move into position and push back the crowd, and then let them back into their origional positions when the wrestlers move away. If the wrestlers went into the crowd, the guards would keep the crowd away from any danger.
The crowd in the arena would have to be broken up into segments of maybe 20-25 people each. Each section would have a number of different levels of detail. Maybe 10ft, 20ft, 40ft, 80ft, 160ft+. From 40 and up the crowd could simple be flat billboard-type crowds that are found in most wrestling games (even RAW on the xBox, weird). Audience members would still be lower detail than the wrestlers. At 160ft, the sections of the crowd would just be a flat shape with a texture.
Crowd cheers are one thing that has yet been done right, but it is understandable. Truly dynamic cheers in any sports game seem next to impossiable, unless you have an RPG like system implemented that the crowd engine can syphon data from for calculations.
---------------------
RPG System : You may be asking yourself, "Why would an RPG system be needed in a Wrestling game?". Wrestling is a soap opera of sorts, though I would like to see people on Days of our Lives do a Moonsault from the top turnbuckle and land on their feet. Having RPG-style stats could build for more interaction between in-game wrestlers.
All wrestlers would use some basic stats. Strength, dexterity, intelligence, technical, and speed. Other stats would be...
Attitude (positive-to-negitive scale), which could be a big part of wrestlers starting fueds with eachother. Attitude could also be used on a per-wrestler basis, where some wrestlers like eachother, while others hate eachother. Wrestlers in Stables (3-5 person teams) would have a shared Attitude, which would effect if they interfere in matches to help eachother.
Risk (percent scale), shows how risky a wrestler would be with moves. A wrestler that takes low risks would not do many High Risk maneuvers, nor would he/she climb to the top rope. Risk would also depend on Dexterity and Technical abilities. Someone with more balance has a better chance in performing more High Risk moves without risking their body. The Hardy Boys are a good example of this type of wrestler.
Injurys can also affect a wrestler. Neck, legs, arms, shoulders, ribs, etc. All have major effects.
--------------------
Business Modeling : I have always felt that a Wrestling Business simulator (SimWWF) would be better than a Wrestling Fighting game. I want to be the owner, signing talent, setting up cards (matches), designing the set and video screen area, hiring camera men and photographers, getting arena and television contracts, holding pay-per-view events, sending wrestlers on tours, and trying to keep the company in business.
This business simulation could also lead to an online Promotion War (like WWF vs WCW vs ECW back in the 90s).
--------------------
Now there are things in current games that would be brought over, like Create-A-Wrestler, but other things would need to be added, like Create-A-Pyro, add your own Wrestler-Opening Video, theme songs, show openers. Basically, full customization.
Yes, a wrestling simulator, from what I have posted, is a great undertaking, but the rewards are almost unlimited in the eyes of wrestling fans. Being able to set up their own WWF Raw, WCW Nitro, or Wrestlemanias on their computer and have them act like a TV show rather than just another game is the dream of any wrestling mark (fan).