Jonas Raphael L.

Palomo (193786)

MATH 10 GGG

Chasing Realism

The concept of video games goes as far back as the early 1960s, where computer
scientists began designing simulations and discovered that their output was fun and
entertaining. Games such as 3D Tic-Tac-Toe, Snake, Pac-man, Pong and other games that
became popular culture in some parts of the world. Most games were played in the arcade until
console gaming had emerged, and not so long after, mobile phone video games were possible.
Today, we’re at a time where gaming has reached its peak, where computers and gaming
consoles have become much more powerful. The advancements in technology in the modern
world is directly proportional to the quality of video games. What amazes most people,
including the writer of this report, is how video games are able to create a whole new different
world that is able to resemble reality through video graphics and realistic physics.

However, the greatness of video games would be non-existent without the help of
Mathematics. The shapes and figures used in 3D games come from geometry, and the Angry
Birds wouldn’t be able to hit the Pigs if the game wasn’t able to calculate trajectory.
Mathematics is basically everything when it comes to video games. It is an important aspect to
video games, mainly in animations and physics. In this paper, I would like to focus on the topic
of video game physics and argue the mathematics behind it.

An acting prerequisite to understanding video game physics is Mario jumping forward.

As explained by Stenquist (2017), an indie game developer, most people would assume that it
only has something to do with Mario being programmed to move upwards on the Y-axis and
move forward on the X-axis, but in fact, has something to do with the game calculating a
parabola for Mario to possibly jump up and down.

Getting into more complicated mathematics, the physics of the current sports games,
namely basketball and football, are one of the best examples of how mathematics is applied to
video games. According to an article by Machin (2011), he implies that basketball has a direct
relationship to mathematics, specifically physics. He states an example that refers to the First
Law of Motion where a basketball player gathers inertia to set a jump shot right after dribbling.
He also explains that trajectory is an important part of shooting to determine how the players
react if the shot misses. A higher trajectory of shooting equates to a higher bounce on the rim
if it misses, where taller players can rebound the ball while a lower trajectory will throw
defenders out of position. Also, the dribbling the basketball is connected to the Third Law of
Motion where pushing the ball downwards will create a reaction where the ball comes back to
the players hand. All the concepts of physics in basketball has been mastered into gaming
development, thus creating a game that mimics real life.

Sports aren’t the only examples of physics being applied to video games. Last year,
Sony released a Spiderman (PS4) video game that had sold 3.3 million copies worldwide. The
game made the player feel as if he/she were Spiderman because of the swinging and combat
mechanics. I would like to focus on how Spiderman swings with his webs. Although it is a
fictional character with abilities that are not possible in the real world, the people who
developed this game had success incorporating real-world physics to Spiderman. Spiderman’s
web slinging relies on his momentum, which is equal to the product of mass and velocity, to
swing with consistency and traverse great distances in a fast manner. Another thing to mention
is that tension force is present when Spiderman swings on his web, allowing him to
hypothetically swing smoothly due to the equal distribution of forces from opposite sides.

Mathematics is independent, while physics utilizes mathematics in order to model the

real world. It’s amazing how in the span of 20 years, technology has become so advanced that
we’re able to create a visualization of objects and external forces on the screen. To summarize
it all, mathematics is essential to video game development. Most of the time, we only the
aesthetic graphics on the screen but seldom wonder about the numbers behind it.