Gaming Studies

[GaryCXJk]

Originally posted by 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.

Not quite. See, Tidus was able to fight a water monster at the beginning of the game without ever having to breathe for air. This could just mean that Spira's waters are oxygen rich.

Anyway, onto the next scene! You can still discuss this topic, and previous topics, as long as you put in the subject of the topic in the subject field. Like above.

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Gaming Studies
Issue #3
Samus' Suit, part 1
Metroid Series - Mechanics

People know that females are agile, and they can be quite strong too. This especially applies to Samus Aran. However, in her quests she is always aided by her power suit. What types of equipment does she have, and how do they actually work? Part one of the workings of Samus' suit, the weaponry.

The Space Pirates already tried to recreate Samus' suit functions, but it is still hard to replicate it, mainly because the Chozo were highly advanced, and because of the Space Pirates they are now completely annihilated. Or at least, that's what they think.

Anyway, to get on the subject, Samus' suit is a wonder by itself. It has lots of functions, and yet it is light enough to combat in it. At least, that's what Nintendo is trying to make us believe that.

One of the features that most of the time is visible is her Power Beam. It is one of the many weapons, and probably the only weapon Samus have in every game, at the beginning. It may seem difficult to use, but once you get the mechanics, it isn't that difficult.

First I have to say that I don't know exactly how it works, it is only estimation, but it is the most likely way the things work. Hey, I'm not the one working for Nintendo.

Let's begin with the fact that the canon replaces her right hand. It's not that she doesn't have a right hand, it's because it's easier for her to carry around. If you have to walk around with a gun in your hand, your fingers could get tired and you might drop it on the way. With a canon attached onto your right arm there is no way you could ever lose it. With the exception of when your right arm gets ripped off, but then you'll notice your weapon is missing.

So, how do we shoot? There are two ways this can work, but I start with the wrong explenation. The trigger could be hidden inside the canon as a button. But why can't this be possible? It's simple. In order to push a button, you'll need to put pressure on a button. But, with a canon around your arm, there is no contra-pressure. So, if you want a button inside the canon, the button must be easily pressed, therefore risking a suicide headshot. Yes, if one simple touch could easily trigger your canon and you are resting your right arm, you might even shoot yourself in the foot.

Howeve, if the trigger is not a button, but an actual trigger which is very much like the trigger of a gun, this might be possible. You just have to make a fist and your first shot is made. Then, when holding the trigger, you can charge the shot, giving it an extra powerful shot when released.

The third method is also likely, but one thing can prove its wrong. The trigger might actually be on top of the canon, or even on the side. The second seems more likely, since the contra-pressure could be the palm of your left hand. However, this might not be the case, simply because it would require both hands. It is faster do do something with only one hand.

Another problem could be how the shot is made. Yes, there is a nozzle, but her friggen hand is also inside the canon. Wouldn't that like, fry her hand? The answer is no. Basically, the nozzle doesn't have to be deep. Basically, the energy can be stored just in front of the nozzle, and from there the energy of that nozzle can be launched. Missiles? No problem. They can be stored around the canon, or in some obscure way we don't have to know about.

But how would Samus change her weapons? Let's start by saying that the game takes place in a further advanced world. You can store multiple powerups in the canon itself. My theory is that the powerups aren't actually stored in the canon (with exception of the ammo-required weapons), but actually programmed. If you take that the Power Beam is just a ball of energy, and that energy can be charged in different ways, you can also imagine that if you program to release the energy in a different way, you get a different type of shot. The Ice Beam might just be normal energy, where the warmth is extracted from, making it a cold energy ray. The Phazon Beam might just be energy directed trough phazon.

Now keep in mind that when she is in her suit with the canon, her hand is always holding the trigger. There are from this point on two ways she could change weapons. First is she could use her wrist to move the trigger to the left / right / up / down to change the configuration, or she could push the buttons on the trigger itself. Both ways work perfectly well, and it could also be a combination of both for more weapon configurations.

Next up, the suit itself.

[maxine]

i actually would see the trigger question as a mysterium if u would look a little realistic to it, cuz you know you can re-shape ur self into a ball and then i find it hard not to touch that trigger button which in this case was the "wrong case" and if it is a trigger you may be able to avoid shooting.. But i like ur articles here =) maybe you could tell us your theory bout the ball shape.

[GaryCXJk]

You obviously hadn't think about safety mechanisms, have you?

[maxine]

What i thought was that if she goes from a standing person to a small ball, everything would get kinda tight in there.. But no, not for the button trigger idea i havent no.

[SaiKar]

I'm not sure how much it helps, but I believe that in Metroid Prime / Prime 2 the odd symbols that appear when changing your weapon are actually the configuration of Samus's fingers inside the cannon itself. Something to think about.

[Razor]

If she had no right hand, I doubt she'd be able to use her gun. Because the Chozo raised her, I doubt they cut off her hand so she could use the suit.

Although, is there not the risk of burning her hand if she over heats the gun?

Also, at the end of MP2: BAM! Hand.

[Prpl_Mage]

Great work Gary

If you use the x-ray visor in Metroid Prime you can see the bones of the fingers. But im not sure if there is something in MP2...

But it looks like the energy is stored on the outside(thinking about MP1/2), when changing weapon, there is a "blip" "blip" noise and then the cannon grows in one direction(up,forwads, sides), and when it does you can see those shining things were the upper parts were before the gun expanded.
And my guess is that the hand is in the middle and the energy flows in an upper layer.

[GaryCXJk]

Originally posted by SaiKar
I'm not sure how much it helps, but I believe that in Metroid Prime / Prime 2 the odd symbols that appear when changing your weapon are actually the configuration of Samus's fingers inside the cannon itself. Something to think about.

Yes, that's what I thought too, only a bit different. When Samus is in her suit, her hand permanently holds the trigger. There are from this point on two ways she could change weapons. First is she could use her wrist to move the trigger to the left / right / up / down to change the configuration, or she could push the buttons on the trigger itself. I might accompany my theories with images when I make an article page on my site.

I'll update my current article by the way with the things I just said, since I forgot to add them.

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Gaming Studies
Issue #4
Samus' Suit, part 2
Metroid Series - Mechanics

People know that females are agile, and they can be quite strong too. This especially applies to Samus Aran. However, in her quests she is always aided by her power suit. What types of equipment does she have, and how do they actually work? Part two of the workings of Samus' suit, the suit itself.

How can a suit that's FullMetal (haha, stupid pun), be light enough to preform high-speed manouvres? Well, basically, it isn't. Today, people are experimenting with robots which could aid partially paralysed people in moving. After a while, it might even be possible to create exoskeletons, an outer skeleton which can aid in movement. So, it could be possible that Samus' suit is one big exoskeleton. Basically, the suit anticipates on Samus' movements, so that Samus wouldn't have to put too much effort in moving around. This way, the suit can be as heavy as they want, though it would be wise to still use the lightest but strongest material for the suit. This theory can be proven with the Gravity Suit, which aids Samus in moving and jumping underwater.

Unfortunately the suit is still sensitive to electric fields, which can disable some functions of the suit. But why wouldn't it disable her movements? Perhapse there still is a fail safe for the limbs, so that at least these things get protected against such things.

The suit by itself is great, but in combination with the gun and the helmet it is a good hunting tool. The controls of the many functions of the suit are however not inside the suit. This would make it too vulnerable for malfunctions. To keep the controls safe, it is safe to assume the controls are actually inside the canon. Remember where I said that the canon features can be changed with a combination of both the trigger placement and buttons? Keep that in mind, and you know how Samus can drive many other features, like the visor, morph ball and many other upgrades.

There might however be one feature which would not be driven by the canon, and that is the space jump. This would also be just ineffective, it would be simpler to put the mechanism inside the boots themselves. When Samus makes another jumping reflex in the air, an air boost is triggered. However, this must be recharged with a pressure, achieved by just standing on the ground. Using the air inside the boots is a waste of oxygen. This oxygen is valuable for Samus to survive.

But wouldn't the suit be then filled with carbondioxide? Well, it might be possible to turn carbondioxide to oxygen and carbon by using extreme heat or pressure or some other mechanism. Man, I wish I paid more attention to my chemistry lessons.

And how would Samus do her, well, needs? Well, there is only one sollution to it. She actually has to undress. Yes, she can't do it in her suit. This would seem like a logic sollution, but what you would then forget is the fact that she actually wears her bathing suit under the power suit.

Now, let's get onto the protective ability of the suit. It's easy, actually. It can protect itself from extreme heat and cold with a combination of heat shields and an isolating layer. This could be made from glass or any other non-metallic compound, like carbon. Since metal doesn't isolate well, it isn't a good isolation product.

But there are other things besides heat and cold. How about phazon? Also an easy thing. In order to deflect the radiation of phazon, your suit has to be protected with... yes, phazon. However, this phazon must be made radiation-free. This can be possible, because the Chozo who made this upgrade probably made it decennia before Samus arrived on Tallon IV. The Dark Suit can be created by just splitting a normal power suit into two halfs: a dark side and a white side.

Like I said before, the visor can be controlled using the canon. The workings are not that hard. Heat vision is already possible, and x-ray vision can be made possible by radiating a low ammount of x-rays, and displaying the rays reflected back to the helmet. It has to be a low amount of x-rays in order to not cause any cancer in her own body.

The scan visor is a visor that is used to scan data. To leave enough buttons to scan the area, Samus uses the same trigger to shoot enemies. This leaves her without offensive powers. Yes, using the trigger is the only way to activate the scan visor's scanning ability.

Next issue, the final part of the suit: the other features, including...

[Razor]

OH THE SUSPENSE!

[WarxePB]

As for the 'bodily functions' thing. In Fusion, they couldn't remove her Power Suit because it was too integrated with her body or something, which rules out the undressing thing. My theory is that the Power Suit provides her with all the nutrients her body needs in pure form, rather than through food.
Either that, or the suit uses the waste for power or something.

[Drighton]

Never played Metroid. *braces for impact*

Anywho, I can't say I would be able to constructively contribute to this study. Till the next one.

EDIT: The one after the next one  

[GaryCXJk]

Originally posted by Warxe_PhoenixBlade
As for the 'bodily functions' thing. In Fusion, they couldn't remove her Power Suit because it was too integrated with her body or something, which rules out the undressing thing. My theory is that the Power Suit provides her with all the nutrients her body needs in pure form, rather than through food.
Either that, or the suit uses the waste for power or something.

They couldn't remove it because the X-virus had made the suit intergrate with the nervous system. And yes, Samus CAN undress. Or could.
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Gaming Studies
Issue #5
Samus' Suit, part 3
Metroid Series - Mechanics

People know that females are agile, and they can be quite strong too. This especially applies to Samus Aran. However, in her quests she is always aided by her power suit. What types of equipment does she have, and how do they actually work? Final part of the Metroid Suit series, the other functions.

There are some features left in Metroid in need to be explained, like the morph ball.

So I start with the Grapple Beam. The Grappling Beam is a nice piece of art. It actually only consists of energy. How can energy hold a single person? The answer isn't that simple, mainly because energy isn't solid. However, one theory could be that the energy is a sort of magnetic ray. It can "hook" itself onto certain things because the energy needs to be earthed. The use of ions is phased out, because you would need both positive and negative ions, and they would mainly split in water.

Actually, the whole world of Metroid is just freaky. I mean, energy sucking flying jellyfish who suck on heads? The only way to shake them off is by rolling into a ball and using a bomb.

And so we finally come to the screw attack. Yes, a feature which seems actually unlikely to be preformed in a 3D world. It however did happen, in Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. I never played that game before, so I can't really say how it works. I do think it has to do with a special energy field around Samus when she is quickly rotating in the air. This energy also gives Samus a jump boost.

Okay, I've been delaying this part, but it's finally time for the Morph Ball. This has been the freakiest feature of all of Samus' functions. She rolls herself up in a ball, and when she's done, she can unroll herself without even breaking a single bone. How the hell is that possible?

Well, for starters, she has been injected with Chozo DNA. This could give her some physical advantages. Secondly, she doesn't seem to have a large breastsize, so that's also a pro.

I think that her body just de-energises, something that doesn't seem too possible, but you would compare it with Pokémon, where even big Pokémon could fit in small air-tight balls. If you take that in account, you can imagine how she can control the ball. Yes, by just using her brains.

However, one of the Space Pirates logbooks in Metroid Prime could prove its wrong. There they experimented with the morph ball, but all of the pirates came out broken. This could mean two things. One, they were really compressed, thus, of course, breaking every bone in your body. Or two, their bodies couldn't re-energise right, so they would come out broken anyway.

Freaky stuff, anyway.

It also seems that Samus can lay energy bombs, so that she can kill enemies or give herself a boost. With Power Bombs she can blow up stuff. Both features just rely on releasing energy of the ball itself. She does not use her own energy. Same goes for the Boost Ball, in which she could focus energy and release it outside the ball, in the opposing direction of where she wants to go. The Spider Ball seems logic, it just uses electro-magnetism to stick onto special rails.

So, finally, we got rid of all the features Samus has. That only leaves one feature: Samus herself. Well, she doesn't need to be explained, does she?

[GaryCXJk]

Gaming Studies
Issue #6
Ghost possesion
Geist - Culture

People are all afraid of ghosts, mostly because they scare us. But why are we afraid? Can they even harm us? And how is it like to be a ghost? Maybe the game Geist gives us an answer.

Geist is all about being a ghost, but it also lightens one aspect of being a ghost: not only scaring people, but taking over people. This concept isn't new. In the movie Ghosts Patrick Swayze takes over the body of Whoopie Goldberg to make contact with his love.

Being a ghost isn't all fun. In the game you must take posession of creatures in order to "survive". The goal was to uncover the truth.

According to folklore ghosts only exist when somebody dies before his / her time has come. If you get murdered, or get involved in an accident, you most likely turn into a ghost. You will need to fulfill your destiny in order to pass on. I have yet to find out from when this dated.

Even more intresting is where the ghost possession comes from, and from which time it dates. This too is unknown to me, and the internet doesn't give me a good idea of where it started. What is true is that ghosts can scare people. They show their presence by moving things and such. In the game people and animals can only be possessed when being scared.

This idea too isn't new. In most cultures you can't influence somebody if that person doesn't believe in it. VooDoo and HooDoo only works if the other person believes in it. Many curses only work when that other person believes in it. The only way to make somebody believe in ghosts is to scare them. If somebody is scared, they are more likely to become scared.

This principle is being used in the game, and the people who made the game know of this principle. It's a shame that the game itself didn't turn out that great.

Note that I don't take a stand on whether or not ghosts are true. I only show how certain cultures look against ghosts.

[Drighton]

I think there is a good explaination for the belief of ghosts. But I won't go into it.

However, I do think that the whole legend/myth of ghosts comes from the past when people didn't understand much about what was happening to people. "Possession" quite possibly did occur, but most likely in the form of Schizophrenia or other mental illnesses which would result in a multiple personalities or seizures.

People who would not understand this illness could be led to believe that this mentally-ill individual displaying an extra personality or spontanious convulsing was in fact "possessed" by a spirit creature.

This is a logical explaination. Not exactly what I believe, however. To put it simply, I think there is more of a demonic influence that contributes to the myths of ghosts, aliens, etc. Of course, there could be other factors also involved, such as that mentioned above.

[Drighton]

Did you burn out on articles Jerry? (I'm calling you Jerry now, Jerry)