Physics Games and Physics-Based Game Downloads

(Rate this game! 244 votes, average: 4.07 out of 5)

Loading...

Walaber’s Trampoline is the best damn trampoline simulator I’ve played. Of course, it’s also the only trampoline simulator I’ve played, but don’t let that diminish my opinion. It really is a very well-made game, and there’s a lot of jumping-up-and-down fun to be had if you can get past the game’s occasionally brutal learning curve.

Trampoline Simulation

The first thing to point out about Walaber’s Trampoline is that the title is very much a simulation. It isn’t a trampoline-inspired physics game, but rather a trampoline simulator. It’s obvious that Walaber–Tim FitzRandolph–is really into the sport. I would be honestly surprised if he wasn’t. The game contains a depth of knowledge of trampoline gymnastics that demonstrates more than passing interest. I now know what a Barani, Half-In Half-Out, and a Rudy are (although I can only do them on a keyboard, so far…)

It’s All about Timing

The core skill in Trampoline is basically the same one found in other character physics games, such as Ski Stunt Simulator: Timing. Getting the feel for when to open up a rotation is everything. It’s a frustrating skill to learn, too. The various positions–tuck, pike, and straight–all have different rotation speeds, and transitioning between them will change your speed too. Complicate this with the fact that twisting also modifies your rotation speed, and you can see how things get hairy.

This leads me to only serious complaint I have about the game. It’s really hard to control your rotation. I really wish the game had mouse control of some kind. There isn’t any way to gradate your speed. You choose either to tuck or not (contrast this to a game like Ski Stunt, where you can slowly open up your flip to finely tune your landing). It is possible to set the initial rotation for a jump in some analog sense, in Trampoline, but by modifying the timing of when you start to hold left or right. Some sort of analog control that isn’t based on time would have been marvelous.

Game Structure

Walaber’s Trampoline has all of the trappings of a complete computer game experience. The bulk of your play time is spent in the “story” mode, where you must complete certain tricks/combos to move forward. The game starts out very gently–and there’s always the “show me” button to have the trick demonstrated–but it soon becomes rather difficult. Personally I enjoyed the competitions and the single trick levels much more than the combo levels. Perfectly landing a 4-trick combo is a lot harder than you might think. Expect to be pressing reset once every 10 seconds or so for a good 20 minutes on some of the stages.

(Walaber’s Trampoline Computer Game Screenshots)

It’s Freeware!

Amazingingly, Walaber’s Trampoline is freeware. Tim could definitely slap a price tag of $19.95 on it and get some sales. It’s on par, production-wise, with a lot of indie efforts, and he certainly has cornered a niche.

Download Walaber’s Trampoline (73 MB) [mirrors]

Make sure you visit Walaber’s page for other fine physics games. He has quite the portfolio building up.

P.S. An Amazing Video

Also, I coincidently bumped into this video today. What’s scary is I can actually identify a few of these tricks after my weekend playing nothing but Walaber’s Trampoline. The video gets into hand balancing later, but the trampoline action at the start is mind-blowing:

(Rate this game! 94 votes, average: 3.38 out of 5)

Loading...

Dillon Cower’s String Theory was created for the second Experimental Gameplay Project competition. It’s a computer game intended to be played with a DDR-style dance pad, although it has keyboard controls as well. It’s fairly short, but has an excellent, innovative implementation of a swinging-style play mechanic that’s fun to play around with.

Swinging About

The controls in String Theory are pretty simple. Your little alien dude has four tentacles, and you can fire them in any of the 8 cardinal/ordinal directions. The tentacles latch on to the environment, but lose their grip after a few seconds. At first I wasn’t firing more than one string in any given direction. This is a mistake–when the game speeds up you really need to fire multiple times in the same direction to move around quickly.

I don’t have a DDR pad lying around at the moment, so unfortunately I wasn’t able to try the game as it was intended. I imagine it would be rather frantic!

Camera Path

The camera in String Theory follows a pre-defined path at a pre-defined speed. You lose if your character moves outside of the screen. Although this makes the game a little hard to learn, at first, it also provides an excellent structure to what would otherwise be a simple physics test. It’s a really simple–if punishing–way to structure the game.

I would love to see this physics mechanic set free of the camera limitations, though. It would be interesting to navigate the character around a free-moving world with some enemies, moving platforms, and other elements to spice things up. There’s definitely some potential here for a larger computer game with more features.

Dulfyns R Savvd

The single level in String Theory isn’t very long (I think 110 seconds or so unless you modify the camera speed settings). Still, it’ll take you a few tries to make it all the way to the end. You’ll spend more time playing than downloading, which is always a good ratio. The game forces you to restart from the beginning when you lose, which can get a little tedious, but it also gives you a chance to experiment a bit and hone your skills.

(String Theory Computer Game Screenshots)

Freeware Rules

String Theory has been released as freeware. It’s a great game on its own right, and its short play time–under a minute–makes it the perfect distraction from work. Just click on your shortcut, play for 30 seconds, and then get back to doing whatever it was you were supposed to be doing. It’ll be our little secret.

Download String Theory Computer Game (3.31 MB) [mirror]

Make sure you head on over to the Experimental Gameplay Project for more information on the competition and to check out the other entries.

(Rate this game! 96 votes, average: 3.24 out of 5)

Loading...

It’ll be hard to escape a Gish comparison when first talking about CINEMAX’s Gumboy Crazy Adventures. The main character is a blob of springs; you roll around, stick to things, and generally interact with your physics environment. At first glance the two games seem quit similar. When you actually play Gumboy Crazy Adventures, though, the similarities quickly dim and you realize you’re playing something completely unique. Something occasionally and horrendously frustrating–but definitely different!

Stunning Visuals

I know this is a website about physics games–and I’ll talk about how well (or not) the controls handle in a second–but Gumboy Crazy Adventures deserves special mention of its standout sound and visuals. In fact, I’d be surprised if the game wasn’t a finalist in at least one of those categories in this year’s IGF. The game simply looks amazing, particularly at native resolution on a nice LCD display. Wow. The ridiculous production polish is actually one reason I’m still playing the game in spite of its physics.

Gumboy Controls

The movement mechanic in Gumboy Crazy Adventures is touchy. Unlike other blob rigs, like Gish, the gumboy has very little give. He ricochets off anything, even slight angles. Rotation instantly snags, catapulting the character forward. There isn’t any of the typical fluidly and absorption of spring-based systems. It’s much more like pinball than a liquid blob.

You actually control the character’s rotation. The game does apply a very slight arbitrary left/right impulse, too, but not enough to provide any real locomotion. I find myself wishing the ball was sloppier and easier to manage when I bounce around for 10 seconds trying to get into a narrow passage. It can be insanely frustrating at times. When I move along a line that flows well, though, I can definitely appreciate the play mechanic as something entirely unique that stands on its own. I just wish that feeling occurred much more frequently than the brutal frustration the later levels happily dish out.

Fetch, Gumboy!

The actual play experience in Gumboy Crazy Adventures is essentially fetching and guiding other objects. In each level you quickly acquire a magnetic repulsion force, which you must use to push various items to these crazy-ass creatures. In one series of levels, you’re required to collect drops of water (which, of course, break open if they fall too far or touch any dreadfully annoying caterpillars).

Because of this play mechanic, the levels have a lot of back-and-forth action. You’re constantly backtracking and maneuvering on routes that cross each other. CINEMAX has done a great job designing the levels with this mind. There are numerous paths designed into each level, yet the stages retain a decent sense of exploration.

(Gumboy Crazy Adventures Game Screenshots)

Variety and Replayability

Gumboy Crazy Adventures has over 40 levels, broken into groups of 5-6 per environment. The stages themselves have a decent amount of variety, and the core gameplay is extended by powerups: jump, sticky, air ball, star ball, and so on. They’ve managed a good job of embellishing the core movement mechanic.

Conclusion

Overall, though, I find myself dissatisfied with the physics in Gumboy. If the game was as fun to play as it was to look at and hear, it would be an instant runaway hit. I still think they have a fantastic game on their hands, and it should do well for them. It isn’t a game that I’ll be replaying as much as others in my physics game library, that’s all. The litmus test I usually apply for physics titles is whether it would still be enjoyable with solid-color placeholder graphics. I’m afraid that Gumboy Crazy Adventures just wouldn’t pass…

Still, the game is a great title overall and definitely worth the $20. Check out the demo!

Download Gumboy Crazy Adventures Demo (42 MB)

The full version of the game is $19.95 and available to purchase at the official website.