Gaming Studies

[GaryCXJk]

This idea came from, I don't know, they just came out of a sudden. I'll be writing articles here, in this topic. They will try to explain how certain things could work in the real life. Anyway, read and enjoy.

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Gaming Studies
Issue #1
Super Mushrooms
Super Mario Bros. series - Biology

Everybody knows them, the Super Mushrooms from the Super Mario Bros. series. Nobody actually knows how they work. Mario just eats a mushroom and grows in size and strenght. How does he do that? Here some theories about the Super Mushrooms and other mushrooms in the Mushroom Kingdom.

Let's first start with the fact that Mario does not eat the mushrooms. That's a common mistake with the Super Mushrooms, and I will get back on this, but let's say that the Super Mushrooms serve other purposes than just growing.

If you try to search for something that is sort of similar to the Super Mushrooms, you might have certain drugs in mind, one in particular: steroids. Steroids are muscle enhancers. They stimulate the growth of muscles. This does not mean they make you stronger, but they can. The same thing you will see with Super Mushrooms. The only difference is that steroids are not exactly temporarily, they can have permanent effects.

This lead to believe that the Super Mushrooms are a sort of drugs. Because of that, people believed that in order to grow you would need to eat them. There are a few things that would contradict this theory.

Although Mario RPG isn't from Nintendo, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is. Both give the same usage of Super Mushrooms. When eaten, it would improve your health, replenish hitpoints, but does not cause growth. Also, in the Mario Kart series, according to some not part of the Mario storyline, the Super Mushrooms serve as boost fuel.

The fact is that Super Mushrooms contain mystical powers, which can be used in several ways. When used orally, it can be used to heal you from inside. In Mario Kart these powers can be set loose to give your kart a boost.

This only leaves one thing, the growth. When Mario, or any person, touches the Mushroom, they will grow. However, goombas or other enemies won't grow. How is that possible? First, according to the teachings of telekenesis, you first need to concentrate in order to trigger certain things, like distant movement. You will need to equalise your own energy with the energy of the object. If you keep that in mind you will know how Super Mushrooms could work: if your energy is equal to the Super Mushrooms, you can unleash its energy and use it to make yourself grow. However, untrained minds would not grow, and it's clear that most characters from Super Smash Bros. Melee are not trained minds.

This leads me to the following theory. What if you only needed to be open for its magic to equalise? This would make more sense. Goombas only focus on Mario, while Mario can also focus on the Mushroom. This also explains how one goomba can grow because of a Super Mushroom (demonstration of NEW Super Mario Bros.). A third theory is that its energy can be unleashed by using force, meaning you'll need to squeeze it. This also explains how Mario could grab a Super Mushroom without triggering it.

If you keep all this in mind, you come to the conclusion that touching it is the only way to make yourself big. Eating it only gives other outcomes. It's a mistake most people make.

[Drighton]

I think I'm gonna like these. Sometimes I think of things like this. Like, how do you double-jump (jump, then a second jump -in mid-air mind you- with nothing to push off from) ??

So is this gonna be a weekly thing? bi-weekly? monthly? Is there a subscription fee?

"Hmm. Your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter." - Homer, The Simpsons, Episode 4F10 "Mountain of Madness"

[Prpl_Mage]

Yupp, this is the kind of things that makes it worth to come back.

I hope that you continue to write, um...Keep it up!

(I always thought of the supermushroom as one of those yeast fungus things used for baking...You know, putting it in your dough and then into the oven)

[FFL2and3rocks]

Odd thing to write an article on. o_0

Heh, usually when someone does a video game study, it has something to do with Grand Theft Auto.....

[Drace]

A totally worthless article, but still fun to read. I wonder what would happen if you insert a Super-Mushroom analy(sp?).

[Drighton]

Originally posted by Drace
A totally worthless article, but still fun to read.

Thats why he posted it here and not in PCGaming Monthly or on IGN.com

I wonder what would happen if you insert a Super-Mushroom analy(sp?).

Thats called a suppository. It would probably act as a VERY effective super-laxitive.

[GaryCXJk]

Originally posted by Drighton
Thats called a suppository. It would probably act as a VERY effective super-laxitive.

That would most likely happen, unless the squeeze theory is proven right. I go with the squeeze theory by the way.

I'm planning on doing one as soon as possible, only once in a day. This doesn't mean an article every day by the way.

The next one will be about two animals, an RPG and cloning.

Or blitzball.

[Drighton]

Either way Gary, the real world application of video game physics or whatever the hell kind of fancy name you can give it is a damn good idea.

[GaryCXJk]

Gaming Studies
Issue #2
Blitzball
Final Fantasy X series - Physics, Chemistry, Sports

How long can you hold your breath? Fact is that you can't breath underwater. That makes you wonder. How can Blitzball exist in Final Fantasy X? A match can last five minutes, but even longer when there is a sudden death. Basically, it can last forever. How can a man survive that long under water?

Blitzball is a sport you normally won't see in real life. The rules are simple. You pass the ball to each other or go to the goal and score by shooting with your foot. You may hold the ball in your hand, but others can tackle you to steal the ball. The point is to get at least seven goals or have the most goals until five minutes have passed. All this happens under water.

This all seems unreal, but then again, it is Final Fantasy. The question is, how would everybody survive under water?

Let's start by saying that the waters of Spira are rich of oxygen. Not just rich of oxygen, like our rich of oxygen, but almost the same concentration of oxygen in the water as in the air. Much higher would not be possible and would even be dangerous, much lower would result in suffocation.

I could compare it with real life. Basically the way oxygen can dissolve in water is 3.1 ml / 100 ml water. I don't know if this is the average, but that obviously isn't enough (the amount of oxygen in the air is about 21%). Then again, it is Final Fantasy.

Now, let's just ignore the fact that in this world, there's no way you could actually dissolve this much oxygen in water. What if you could? Well, the main problem would be that your lungs would fill with water, and therefore you wouldn't die because of lack of oxygen, but because of moist in your lungs. Then again... you get the point.

But let's get over to the ball. How can a ball overcome the laws of physics? We know the volume of air is lower than of water, therefore a ball filled with air would just float up. This is a mistake people would make. They would fill the ball with just air. However, if you were to fill the ball with something heavier than air, it wouldn't be a point. If the ball would have about the same density as water, the ball would just float into mid-air. Or mid-water.

But then there is another thing that has to be overcome. What goes up must come down. And in blitzball you play in a sphere that exists only of water. There are no borders made off glass. The only thing I can think off is a sort of gravity forcefield around the ball. It would only affect the water, since the field is too low to affect the human body.

The only problem still stays the water thing. However, I did hear from my brother that it was possible in our reality to dissolve enough oxygen in water to breathe underwater. It however would still leave the moist. Then again, it's Final Fantasy.

[Prpl_Mage]

This was o good one, always wondered how they can breath so long.
But just as you, i told myself "Itīs final fantasy".

And what if the ball is heavier? It should be able to be thrown underwater... But, well it shoul sink to the bottom(the bottom of the sphere).

[WarxePB]

Hmm... Perhaps the people of Spira have larger lungs than regular humans, and the blitzball players undergo training to hold their breath for 10-20 minutes at a time. Or maybe they have "gills" that allows them to extract only oxygen from the water.

[Dragonium]

Of course, if the water was, in fact, pure liquid oxygen, then players could breathe it, and it would be warmed as they did so, forcing it to change back into a gas. This would mean that they would take in an unhealthy amount of oxygen, but it would be possible to learn to take small breaths.

But how would it stay liquid without changing? Perhaps if there were some form of reverse catalyst, which would stop the physical change, then the gas would stay liquid in any temperatures (A packed blitz stadium would likely be around 25-28 degrees).

As regards to the shape of the arena, the physical state comes into it again. Gases are free, solids are packed and cannot shift, but liquids assume the shape of their container, or more specifically, whatever holds them. If liquid oxygen, which you would expect to be quite loosely arranged particle-wise, was introduced into an area of high air pressure, then the less dense oxygen would stay in the shape it was arranged in. Perhaps if a spherical "mold" was made from high pressure air (Air jets?), then it would be possible to hold liquid oxygen in a sphere without restraint.

Also, if the liquid was heated, then it would become less dense, and as such be easier to hold.

Meh, anyway, I love all this Games Philosophy. You should write more. I remember I did a few of these a while ago, one for Magic and one for Dragons, I think. I'll see if I can find them in the dusty catacombs of the Draggy:// drive.

[Grandy]

 

What goes up must come down. And in blitzball you play in a sphere that exists only of water. There are no borders made off glass. The only thing I can think off is a sort of gravity forcefield around the ball. It would only affect the water, since the field is too low to affect the human body

 There's a cutscene where you can see some giant rings spinning near the water, I believe those has something to do with that. It generates a force field around the water, to make it stay there, but if you want to leave, you can, just need to push a little more.

[Drighton]

Its always possible that these FF characters have a different physical makeup than we do, which would make it possible for Tidus to have gills or a second set of water breathing lungs or whatever. Hell, Zidane had a tail! Whats with that!?

I never looked much in FFX, so I don't know practically anything about the game. I do know that in FFXII, there are characters listed as being human. If they did a simliar bio on tidus, that could just blow this speculation out of the water (no pun intended).

Edit: And keep these coming Gary! Maybe you should make a website... or someone make one and put these up.

[Drace]

It's also possible that they have some sort of breathing device that we just don't see. Maybe it's in the mouth.