216: A Persistence of RAM

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

A Persistence of RAM

From the shifting day cycles of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest to the temporal loop of Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, developers continue to find creative ways to integrate the passage of time into their games. Dan Squire looks at the evolution of in-game time systems and how they help create a more immersive experience for players.

Read Full Article

 

[KDR_11k]

I hate day/night cycles in games, all they really tend to do is make you wait around bored for the right time for whatever you're going to do next.

 

[Xigageshi]

I love day night cycles, one of my most memorable experiences in my early gaming years was sitting atop epona on a hill, watching the sunset... then running from the redead that would climb from the ground at night

also, majora's mask, I wish someone would make another game like this, it was such a wonderful idea, the towns folk meeting at odd hours, thieves stealing hand bags, all things that, after witnessing them once, you could rely on them to happen again, allowing you to change the outcome or even stop it all together. "I know the thief runs this way, so if I wait here I can jump out in front of him!" such a wonderful mechanic

 

[Grand_Marquis]

It certainly speaks to the diverse philosophies of play that the first two responses about day/night cycles wound up being so diametrically opposed. In fact, that in itself almost calls for its own separate article..

 

[Andy_Panthro]

I think one of the first instances of time progression in a game I can recall is in King's Quest 2. As you completed each stage of your quest, the time would move on (and with it, some new places become available).

Quest for Glory used it's day/night cycle especially well. Different monsters, shops open/closed, and of course you can't break into someones house during the day...

 

[Mopbucket]

I like the aesthetics of day/night cycles, but when it affects gameplay it can be obnoxious. Like The Elder Scrolls series, where all the NPCs sleep away half their lives. There is NOTHING to do in town at night, no shopping, no getting quests, nothing (besides robbing houses). Instead of adding immersion it is a huge barrier, because you constantly have to hit wait and count the hours tick down until it's the time you need it to be.

Awesome article, though.

 

[Dramatic Flare]

One of the memorable games I've played was Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. It had a day night cycle that was controlled by your progression in-game. However it starts at night and everything felt really oppressive. Then you finally had the daylight shine through and it felt less like just trying to survive, you gained a bit of hope for the characters.
At least I did.

 

[civver]

Interesting article. Now how about adding more examples from non-Nintendo games? Article could have been longer and more detailed too.

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

Interesting article. Now how about adding more examples from non-Nintendo games? Article could have been longer and more detailed too.

I used to be a shameless Nintendo fanboy. I didn't intend it to come out in the article, but I suppose some things can't be helped.

 

[Bobbyskizza]

I liked how day/night worked in fallout 3, things were closed at night and it was easier to sneak about but as long as their were no enemies about i could till the bar, shop whatever opened by speeding up time.

 

[squid5580]

If they want to put in a day/night cycle I am fine with it under 1 condition MAKE IT MATTER! There is just to many games that use the day/night cycle and the only thing it affects is me screwing with either the gamma in the game or the settings on my TV so I can actually see WTF is going on. Why bother with alot of details if you are just going to turn off ther lights and we can't see them to enjoy? And for the love of all that is holy don't have stores and such open and close accordingly. Nothing beats having to stand around waiting for some internal clock while Ican't progress any further because there is something I need.

 

[Alexander_Q]

Giving the ability to control the progression of time to the player renders the realistic flow of day to night redundant

I heartily agree. But I also think they need to give the player more reason to appreciate the cycle before they can expect us not to abuse it. In Fallout 3 for example, closing all of the shops for a good player leaves you with very little to do. How about some stores that are only open at night, or characters that are only there at night? How about the addition of other people who are sneaking around and trying to break into things?

Adding other things that need to be taken care of, such as hunger and thirst, will give the player more to do during the cycle.

 

[Proteus214]

One thing that I think is a nice thing to have for games with an intricate day/night cycle is a kind of "schedule" that you can reference at any time so that the player can plan ahead for the things that they want to accomplish or what events they want to see or interact with. Without a tool such as this, I think that day/night cycles can be a bit of a chore to some players. The Bomber's Notebook from Majora's Mask immediately comes to mind.

 

[Abedeus]

The only games I liked day/night system were Pokemon Silver/Gold and Oblivion, because in both games it kinda added more spirit, and yeah, made them more immersive.

Pokemon moreso, since the time changed in real time.

 

[Rodger]

I hate day/night cycles in games, all they really tend to do is make you wait around bored for the right time for whatever you're going to do next.

I'm going to have to agree with this. I've played several games with day/night cycles and while it starts out as a fairly interesting aspect of the game, later you find yourself sitting around doing nothing because the game wants you to do something at a specific time of day and its not that time yet. Etrian Odyssey, Pokemon Gold/Silver (which added specific DAYS, hoo-frickin-yay!), Rune Factory 2 come to mind. In all three of them I didn't mind or even notice the day/night cycle, but as the games go on and more events require waiting for specific times/days it got incredibly tedious to the point where I was just about ready to stop playing. In Rune Factory 2 specifically it got so bad that I'd leave the game going while I'd watch youtube videos or read.

Frankly, I think day/night cycles shouldn't be tied to in-game events so much unless they're incredibly minor/not at all required for the plot. Otherwise, its up there with forced level grinding, fetch quests, and repeating dungeons/levels/stages/etc as a device that exists just to lengthen gameplay rather than enrich it. I don't want to wait for the sun to set so I can get the mystical Moon Key to keep going, I want to be able to go at my own pace, and I don't see why that should be such an absurd demand.

 

[Generic_Dave]

I felt Infamous and Prototype both suffered due to the lack of a proper day / night cycle. Everything did change, especially in Prototype, but the distinction was just between the missions rather than just a general day / night cycle.

Mercs 2 also, but that let me launch nukes and also survive a tactical strike at ground zero, so I'll forgive it. Actually I could forgive all three games.

Not having it didn't make these games worse, but I feel they would have been better with it. Although having said that, I crash a lot more in GTA 4 at night...hhhmmm...but yes, I'd have to say it wouldn't be Liberty City without darkness.

 

[Krumm]

But.. "Having indications of time in your game helps people get involved"? How does that relate to RAM or persistance?

A Persistence of RAM
as in
The Persistence of Memory
as in
That melty clock painting by Salvidor Dali


I didn't realise is until the second page, and Dali is one of my favourite artists