Dynamic Geometry

Creators: Alexander Bruce
Engine: Unreal Tournament 2004
Modification: UT2K4 Level Component

Last Update: 17th June 2007
Current Status: Working. Mostly hardcoded.
Further Development: Including further configurability to remove hardcoded components.
Download: Not yet available

Description: Reconstructing the world you play in...

Demonstration / Purpose

Translating the Snake Metaphor

Background Information

Recursive Interaction

Compound Recursion

Dynamic Fading Textures

Further Development

Page 2 - Process - From Snake to Dynamic Geometry

If my true initial intention was just to translate Snake into 3D, I could have used something along the lines of the particle characters system that I later began work on to create something like this:

There's nothing wrong with these, but at the end of the day, all we've still got is Snake, which is a game, not a system. What I was actually interested in developing was the Snake metaphor. Lets ignore the fact that the game is even called "Snake", and break down what really happens: there are places that you can go, places that you cannot go, and items that make you grow longer. If you move to a place you cannot go, whether it is somewhere you have recently been or a wall, the game ends.

Following these basic rules instead, we can portray the 2D pixellated world as a 3D tiled floor, whilst still observing the same gameplay mechanics. If a tile exists, the player may move there, otherwise, they'll fall through the floor into oblivion, and hence the game ends. If the tiles disappear when the player gets off them, a tail of empty spaces begins to form. If I were to implement an upgrade that extends the amount of time tiles stay open for, we've now got the Snake metaphor in Unreal:

Because we haven't specifically stuck to a game itself, instead only taking the rules behind it, we've now got a system that can allow for many more applications. What we've got here is tiles that respond to player movement and disappear when they're no longer being stepped on. However, we can take this further into the realm of Dynamic Geometry by allowing other kinds of interaction as well, such as tiles that "open" when shot or bumped, or tiles that can respond to those around them, allowing for interactions like destroying bridges or cutting holes.

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