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Clock Watching For Improved Gameplay?

Posted by simoniker on from the brian-stimpson-suitably-impressed dept.

Thanks to GamerDad for their editorial discussing the use of a PC/console's internal clock to drive gameplay. The article starts by looking at GBA title Boktai, which "...knows what the time of day is and adjusts the onscreen graphics and gameplay to coordinate with the conditions", and also applauds "...a number of notable games that have used the internal clock in a console to either drive gameplay or allow for timed release of features", referencing Nintendo's Animal Crossing in particular. But the author also advocates simpler time-based rewards, as used in titles like Ikaruga: "Instead of having all the goodies that come with repeated play be unlocked through tasks, how about releasing some of those things dependent on how many hours you spend playing a game?"

50 comments

  1. Tamagotchi's by glassesmonkey · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Isn't this the same as the Tamagotchi electronic pets that you have to feed at certain times and sleeps based on internal clock. Also those robotic pets (AIBO, etc) that have similar behaviors.

    1. Re:Tamagotchi's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I heard the last Tamagothci died in captivity about two years ago.

  2. Good by Mod+Me+God · · Score: 1

    I remember I used to play Wing Commander on my 386DX 20MHz, but when I upgraded to a 486DX 50MHz the game sped up to the state it was unplayable as it didn't use the clock to set tempo.

    Clocks are good.

    --
    --

    FreeNET user? Comfortable with the adverse selection?
  3. A few games I remember that used the system clock by odellp · · Score: 2, Interesting

    This reminds me of a few games that have used the system clock in ingenious ways.

    In the Curse of Monkey Island On the first Island there is a clock tower that displays the same time as your system clock and if you click on it Threepwood would say the time to you (the time is ... at the beep, BEEP)

    Dungeon Keeper 2 would tell you a funny one liner (can't remember what exactly) if you were playing the game in the early hours of the morning, somewhere around 3am I beleive.

    Warcraft 2 would have christmas lights on the building ons christmas.

    Either No Regret or No Remorse would play christmas music on Christmas day.

  4. Nethack of course by Przepla · · Score: 3, Informative

    Nethack used such features for a years. Lycantrophy happens often at nights, undeads are stronger around midnights, Friday the 13th, really brings bad luck, and all dogs-alike creatures reacts to phase of the moon.

    --
    When in doubt, go to the library. - Ron Weasley in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
  5. I hate it when it happens by hubertt · · Score: 1

    God, I'm playing always in the night... I would have darkness everywhere :)
    Hubert

  6. Here's an idea ... by 1in10 · · Score: 1

    How about just making the games fun to play so you don't need unlockable content to entice people to play more?

    If the game is fun enough, people will want to play it for the game, not because they're obsessive/compulsive about "finishing" it.

    1. Re:Here's an idea ... by DS-1107 · · Score: 2
      Well I'd claim that you are at fault.

      The Hunt for features is by most gamers (that I know anyway) seen as a fun thing, and something to brag about to others that play the game; for example the goal to reach the AX levels in F-ZERO without a AX-Arcade version of the game will take a lot of my time, and I'll respect anyone that makes it.

      So for me, a really good games have a extra, if not more, challenge setting once you beat it the first time; one reason is that I must always the hardest first, forcing me to go the easy way is a good thing; or perhaps some fancy art gallery to show your friends (if the hi-score doesn't say enough).

      But the main reason is not hide stuff you want, but to introduce the game to the player gently. A new F-Zero players might not be better off from being able to play MASTERCLASS and get beaten to death by it, then starting smoothly with NOVICE feeling good about themselves. Most games actually introduces parts of the game to you as you play, and again this is to avoid you running into a wall with all the options available to you. Baldur's gate 2 did not go so gently towards the player as BG1, as after a fast introduction to battle it just threw you out in the world with a dozen or so paths/quests for you to choose from... I know many that stopped playing the game due to all the options it gave you.

  7. Hours Played by superultra · · Score: 1

    Actually, there are several games that do reward players for the more hours put into a game. The one off the top of my head is Project Gotham Racing and its prescursor Metropolis Street Racing. Those games are so damn hard that my first impression of the time-based rewards were that they were pity awards ("Ahhh poor player has only unlocked one car in TEN hours of play, here's a lame-ass car for your troubles). The more recent Otogi seemingly does the same thing.

    And don't forget Seaman for the DC, which was more time based than it was task-based. It had that, AND Leonard Nimoy's voice! What else can you ask for in a game?

    Is it possible that some people just don't WANT to be reminded of how many hours they've played?

    1. Re:Hours Played by DS-1107 · · Score: 1
      heh - the same with IKARUGA

      I guess the writer missed the fact that you can get every feature in Ikaruga locked up after 20 minutes or so - no worries at all, just beat the game on normal without 2 lives not using a continue all the way through.

      but to be nice they hand you the stuff after hours played as well.

    2. Re:Hours Played by Jimmy_Chi · · Score: 2, Interesting

      On a related side note: Metropolis Street Racing was the first game I played that also used the internal clock to adjust gameplay. When you first play the game, you choose your time zone, and from then on that's the time in the game.

      The kicker was that the different cities were in different time zones. So if you lived in NY and its (realtime) noon, but were racing in Japan at the moment, it'd be (gametime) nighttime where you're racing because of the time zone difference. If you were racing on NY though, you might catch an in-game sunset at the same time you catch it out your window at home. ...I got a kick out of it...

    3. Re:Hours Played by pyrrhonist · · Score: 1
      Actually, there are several games that do reward players for the more hours put into a game.

      SoulBlade kept a total time played count, and would unlock the boss character if you played it long enough.
      It was probably easier to just beat the game without any continues, though.

      --
      Show me on the doll where his noodly appendage touched you.
  8. First time, then weather. by ProgrammerCat · · Score: 1

    Basing events and unlocking of goodies around the system clock is cool, but if game consoles are going to be network-connected, then I want a game that can mirror local weather conditions.

    For example, if I'm playing the latest Final Fantasy during the winter, it'd be cool to have flurries, or snowstorms, or blizzards if that's what's going on outside. Or hot humid days that slow down the characters during the summer.

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    *meow!*
    1. Re:First time, then weather. by FunkSoulBrother · · Score: 1

      flight simulator 2004 does this, its pretty cool.

      I'm not so sure about Final Fantasies, which are set in another universe, but it would be cool to have real-world games take advantage of this when appopriate.

      It would be a neat side feature, to say, Madden Football games, if when you played a Buffalo-Miami game and it was pouring in Miami in real life, it was also raining in game.

    2. Re:First time, then weather. by SmallFurryCreature · · Score: 1

      Yeah bit FS you can switch it OFF. Else it would suck if you live say in holland. 99% grey and overcast. Wheee. Where as people in california would never ever see a single cloud. Bastards.

      --

      MMO Quests are like orgasms:

      You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.

    3. Re:First time, then weather. by ProgrammerCat · · Score: 1

      Fair enough. But suppose you were playing GTA6 while a hurricane was howling its way past Miami. Wouldn't it be cool if the game's weather mirrored real conditions? After all, you could probably pull a righteous heist during the storm. And if the hurricane actually tore through Miami and wreaked havoc? Looting a go go, baby!

      --
      *meow!*
    4. Re:First time, then weather. by pyrrhonist · · Score: 1
      it'd be cool to have flurries, or snowstorms, or blizzards if that's what's going on outside. Or hot humid days that slow down the characters during the summer.

      ...or not being able to play Winter Games at all, because it's summer, etc.

      --
      Show me on the doll where his noodly appendage touched you.
    5. Re:First time, then weather. by Kwil · · Score: 1

      Black & White does this.
      However, since time proceeds faster than normal, a snow storm that lasts all night in the real world can end up lasting months in the game.

      --

      That Jesus Christ guy is getting some terrible lag... it took him 3 days to respawn! -NJ CoolBreeze

    6. Re:First time, then weather. by ProgrammerCat · · Score: 1

      Really? I didn't know that Molyneaux had thought of emulating weather. Since I only do console gaming, I never played Black & White. I heard it was somewhat overrated, though.

      I suspect that Iron Maiden's new album, Dance of Death will end up badly underrated. Up the Irons!

      --
      *meow!*
    7. Re:First time, then weather. by Londovir · · Score: 1

      Actually, I remember tons of prerelease paperwork for NFL Fever 2003 (I think) for the XBox that claimed exactly that - if you had your XBox set up on XBox Live, you would get actual weather for the games you were playing. They were trying to hype up the reality angle pretty heavy. Too bad when the game came out, that "feature" got ignored...

      --
      Londovir
  9. Boktai? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I thought Boktai knew whether it was day or night, not due to some internal clock, but due to the light sensor on the cart?

    Oh wait, that IS how it is... =P

    1. Re:Boktai? by TripleA · · Score: 1

      That is correct. However, the point of the light sensor is not to know day from night, but to know if the player is in the sunligth or not. Vampires die in the sunlight, and the game is about vampires.

    2. Re:Boktai? by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      apparently it has both, a clock and a sensor, according to the games web-page.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
  10. the big N is hip to this by i0wnzj005uck4 · · Score: 1

    Let's not forget the Pokemon games with the internal timer. It was really cool that catching some pokemon forced you to play at night. Also, there's Smash Bros Melee, which requires a certain number of matches / hours played to unlock certain secrets.

    However, this can also be a pain in the ass. It took me forever to do certain things in Animal Crossing because I ended up having time to play only at night. I missed a lot of great events. I set the clock forward in another game and then somehow only had free time during the day... I like it better when time's not an option, when I can play at my own pace.

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    - Cloud
  11. This is nothing new... by loftwyr · · Score: 1

    Nethack has been doing that since the beginning. You never want to play on Friday the 13th....

  12. More like this by superultra · · Score: 1

    I loved that about MSR too. You know, I've always wondered why we don't see this more, especially in sports games.

    What with always-on net connections like XBL, is why not pull the exact weather for the stadium's zipcode?

  13. There are several games. by mike_lynn · · Score: 1

    Many Nintendo games make use of the clock in interesting ways, but even better are the ones that provide Easter Eggs on holidays (which is great, if they pick Christmas, as most people find out about those ones ;)). But it's not the only platform. The .HACK// games on the PS2, for instance, reward you new sounds and images depending on the number of hours you've played your current saved game.

  14. Cmon, Game & Watch definetly did it best by UltimaL337Star · · Score: 0

    Their clock could tell time

  15. Midnight Madness! by carou · · Score: 1

    "Pro Pinball: Timeshock" had a special mode which would be enabled if you were in the middle of a game when the stroke of midnight passed. It put about 10 balls on the table, with about two minutes of ball saver, and did other things turn all the bumpers up to maximum strength. It was worth almost no points at all, but a lot of fun!

    1. Re:Midnight Madness! by Sir+Toby · · Score: 1
      Who Dunnit is a pinball machine that also has a "Midnight Madness" mode activated at midnight. This mode however was worth quite a bit of points, and always pissed off the other players if you hit it during a pinball league game.

      Who Dunnit Rulesheet

      --
      Slashdot Required Reading
  16. You Don't Know Jack does this too. by Myself · · Score: 1

    During the wee hours of the morning, I started YDJK up to hear the normal intro replaced with "aaaand welcome! to the insominiac edition of you don't know jack!"

    I'm pretty sure it had knowledge of other holidays too, I think it had a few special questions for columbus day and stuff. Have to dig out the CDs and find out.

    1. Re:You Don't Know Jack does this too. by 75th+Trombone · · Score: 1

      Yep, it recognizes Bastille Day, Halloween, Christmas, and even Super Bowl Sunday. Play one of the episodic versions on Super Bowl Sunday and you get a football/sports episode. :)

      And of course it also does the other cool stuff, like responding differently whether you buzz in constantly or never buzz in, how often you answer incorrectly, and even referencing your earlier stupid, wrong answers.

      Jellyvision has a whole manifesto and philosophy about making games that appear to interact in such ways. They call it iCi, the Interactive Conversation Interface. Their website has more.

      It's kind of funny to read all this deep-ish game philosophy, and think that the result of that is a smart-ass host who says "Player 2, you piece of chicken-shit, you didn't even buzz in!!" ;)

      --
      The United States of America: We do what we must because we can.
  17. Dungeon Keeper 2 by Prien715 · · Score: 1

    I'm a night guy, and because of that this game really cracked me up. I was up playing one night and it first told me that it was the witching hour and that curses were half-price. Finally, about 3 AM a voice announced "your nocturnal prowess has earned you a special gaming tip: GO TO BED". Needless to say, I had a little laugh and took the hint.

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    -- Political fascism requires a Fuhrer.
  18. Raptor does this on designers' birthdays by Evil_Way · · Score: 1

    If you play on the one of the designer's birthdays, Raptor: Call of the Shadows will give you a silly song for the beginning instead of the usual Apogee ditty.

    1. Re:Raptor does this on designers' birthdays by Black+Hitler · · Score: 1

      Rise of the Triad did something similar -- if you played the game on certain holidays, the group picture showing the five heroes would be altered in some way (i.e. one of the characters would be wearing a sombrero on Cinco de Mayo, a witch's hat on Halloween, etc.). Also if you played on Christmas the music on the first level was replaced with a bouncy Christmas tune.

  19. Turn off weather emulation, then. by ProgrammerCat · · Score: 1

    Fair enough. But if $GAME_DEV is capable of mirroring real-world weather conditions, it should be a trivial matter to include an option to disable weather emulation. Don't like it? You don't have to use it.

    Besides, how is your PS${WHATEVER} going to obtain weather data for emulation without a net connection?

    --
    *meow!*
    1. Re:Turn off weather emulation, then. by pyrrhonist · · Score: 1
      Fair enough. But if $GAME_DEV is capable of mirroring real-world weather conditions, it should be a trivial matter to include an option to disable weather emulation.

      I was joking. I don't think anybody would do anything quite that extreme.

      However, I can imagine that the Japanese might actually do something like have the game runnable only at certain times of the day (and not be able to turn it off) in a Japan-only release. So, for instance, you'd have to play Silent Hill at night.

      Besides, how is your PS${WHATEVER} going to obtain weather data for emulation without a net connection?

      I suppose that you could package a USB weather radio device with it. I mean, if Namco can package a light gun and others can package the voice headset, then somebody else could probably make a weather thingy. I don't think that anyone would seriously do this, though.

      But, yeah, the newtork adapter is the way to go. I wish more games actually used it. I'm really disappointed at all the *new* games out that have multiplayer mode, but no net play.

      --
      Show me on the doll where his noodly appendage touched you.
  20. Re:A few games I remember that used the system clo by Hes+Nikke · · Score: 1

    In the Curse of Monkey Island On the first Island there is a clock tower that displays the same time as your system clock and if you click on it Threepwood would say the time to you (the time is ... at the beep, BEEP)

    hmmm i just fired it up in SkummVM, and it shows 10:00 (for the record it's now 8:00 PM) and clicking on it got "TEN O'CLOCK", then "STILL TEN O'CLOCK", and lastly "SEEMS LIKE IT'S ALWAYS TEN O'CLOCK ON THIS ISLAND." could be the SkummVM, or you could be remembering wrong (was it a different monkey island?)

    --
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  21. THIS... IS... NOT... NEW. by Mulletproof · · Score: 1

    "Instead of having all the goodies that come with repeated play be unlocked through tasks, how about releasing some of those things dependent on how many hours you spend playing a game?"

    Whee! Time released gaming! Another slashdot discovery! Gosh, what would we ever do without you people!?

    And that's only one. Cripes, it's like we missed the last 5 years of gaming around here or something...

    --
    You need a FREE iPod Nano
  22. Big Problem by Lord_Dweomer · · Score: 1
    This would be a fine feature if I could "set the time" in game to be on a different schedule from real life. The problem arises when the user has other more important obligations, such as school...that would prevent them from doing key things in the game. Or maybe they would miss school to do it, also a bad thing. God, I remember back when people would be paid to "babysit" Tamagotchi's......god what a dull job that must have been.

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    Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
  23. It'll always be nighttime by sahonen · · Score: 1

    Think about it, when do you usually play games? Your average gamer is nocturnal. I am posting this at two in the morning, and this is when I normally go to sleep (at least when I don't have morning commitments).

    --
    Make me a friend and I'll mod you up
    1. Re:It'll always be nighttime by the_riaa · · Score: 1
      (at least when I don't have morning commitments)

      The rest of us call those jobs.

      --
      The Kingdom of Retarsia
    2. Re:It'll always be nighttime by xTown · · Score: 1

      One of the Dreamcast racing games...MSR, I think...looked at the hardware clock to set the lighting conditions, but the races were set in various locations around the world. What that meant in-game was that it would set the lighting to reflect the time of day in the local time zone--Japan, England, whatever else--relative to you. So you don't necessarily always have night races if the race location is sufficiently far ahead/behind your zulu.

  24. Dog walking by AllenChristopher · · Score: 1
    I don't think it would have been dull at all. However much you get paid for the one pet, it isn't hard, so why not do as dogwalkers do? Two, or three, or ten? BEEP BEEP BEEP!

    By the end of the week you'll be jumping out of your skin everytime someone's watch goes off.

  25. Re:A few games I remember that used the system clo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're thinking of the Secret of Monkey Island, AKA Monkey Island 1. CMI is the third game.

  26. Re:A few games I remember that used the system clo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Didn't simcity have a christmas easter egg or something?

  27. "You never want to play on Friday the 13th" by mbessey · · Score: 1

    Maybe that's true for you. On the other hand, I've been known to change my plans for the night because there was a full or new moon coming up.

    And when you get a rare occurrence like a new moon *on* friday the 13th, well...

    -Mark

  28. EA Sports Games by mczeke · · Score: 0

    The current crop of EA sports games (2004) award you for the amount of time you put into the game. They also recognize this from title to title. (I had put many hours into college football 2004 and when I started Madden 2004 on my xbox the first time it awarded me secret teams, stadiums, etc for my hours I had put into College football)

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  29. Nintendo Rocks by Kamalot · · Score: 1

    I think a lot of Nintendo games do this. Some of which have already been mentioned. Star Wars: Rogue Leader had different missions based on what time of day you played. Some missions would be played a night with different ships. You could also take the training level on Tatooine at four different times; morning, day, dusk and night. If you completed all four, you were awarded with a special ship to fly in other missions.