Non-Euclidean geometry?

[da66en]

I would so buy this game if it had Non-Euclidean geometry.

[Vahnkiljoy]

Sure you would, someone just found a word in the dictionary.

[Nergui]

Originally posted by route66:

I would so buy this game if it had Non-Euclidean geometry.

I see what you did there! :)

To the other posters

Non-Euclidean geometry is sometimes connected with the influence of the 20th century horror fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft. In his works, many unnatural things follow their own unique laws of geometry: In Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos, the sunken city of R'lyeh is characterized by its non-Euclidean geometry. It is heavily implied this is achieved as a side effect of not following the natural laws of this universe rather than simply using an alternate geometric model, as the sheer innate wrongness of it is said to be capable of driving those who look upon it insane.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-Euclidean_geometry#Fiction

[ColMustang66]

Originally posted by route66:

I would so buy this game if it had Non-Euclidean geometry.

Haha, this made my day. Thanks!

[da66en]

Originally posted by Vahnkiljoy:

Sure you would, someone just found a word in the dictionary.

*whooosh*

[Nasty Peep]

Originally posted by route66:

Originally posted by Vahnkiljoy:

Sure you would, someone just found a word in the dictionary.

*whooosh*

lol

[Abby]

I must admit I was actually expecting some. One of the big Lovecraftian themes is structures that defy physical laws. And one of the benefits of digital constructs is that they don't have to obey physical laws. Adding two and two together, a game with Lovecraftian influence is the perfect place to showcase non-euclidian geometry.

Who knows, maybe when the game is developed further, and presumably more books are added, one of the books will be a specific sort of challenge mode where half the difficulty is traversing the warped, physically impossible terrain. I'd love that.

[Soul Banana]

Originally posted by route66:

I would so buy this game if it had Non-Euclidean geometry.

That is the most beautiful thing I've seen all day.

[Lemonaids]

I'm trying to think of how you would implement this. Maybe you would have to change the geometry of the world as the player moves. e.g. distant objects would be pulled toward whatever point the player is currently looking at. Kind of like a fish-eye lense.

[Tatra]

I guess an "obvious" idea would be to have levels wrap around, instead of being blocked in... This wouldn't change too much gameplay wise though, so possibly quite gimmicky.

After that, perhaps areas where one room doesn't neccessarily lead to the room next to it (so you could go one room North, then West, then South, then East, and not wind up where you started...), then areas where you don't even wind up on the same orientation... enter a room one way and you're walking on the floor, enter another and what was the floor is now a wall, or the roof. That last idea would require a pretty big redesign of the level generation code though, to ensure everything was navigable from all angles.

[Kyrah Abattoir]

@Lemonaids, non euclidian means that things are not simply set on a strict X/Y/Z coordinate system, example would be a corridor turning at 180 degrees with a room on each end that would both occupy the same space in an euclidian world.

However since the world of eldritch is fully destructible, i'm not sure how such effects could be performed elegantly.

[Drake]

Antichamber is probably the most extensive use of non-Euclidean geometry in a game. Other games have examples too, but it's a central mechanic in Antichamber.

Non-Euclidean geometry would be very difficult to pull off in a procedurally generated game. It can be done but I think without a whole lot of research and development time all you'd generate are confusing, unplayable levels that wouldn't do any game justice. It's a feature that I'd absolutely love to see if done right, but I think that kind of breakthrough to make consistently fun and playable Non-Euclidean game levels would be pretty expensive to achieve right now.

[Head Butt]

Originally posted by Drake:

Antichamber is probably the most extensive use of non-Euclidean geometry in a game. Other games have examples too, but it's a central mechanic in Antichamber.

Non-Euclidean geometry would be very difficult to pull off in a procedurally generated game. It can be done but I think without a whole lot of research and development time all you'd generate are confusing, unplayable levels that wouldn't do any game justice. It's a feature that I'd absolutely love to see if done right, but I think that kind of breakthrough to make consistently fun and playable Non-Euclidean game levels would be pretty expensive to achieve right now.

And just looking upon Antichamber and its non-Euclidean geometry gave me a headache for about three weeks. Oh, and it drove me completely insane.

[Belmont]

Funny , i just figured that blocks are not... Blocks , they are deformed , wich can be a reference to the ''Non Euclidean'' thing

[Zoidberg]

Nah, that would just be a coordinate system where the x,y & z axes aren't necessarily perpendicular to each other, something where the world doesn't make sense in any (even a skewed) coordinate system is non-euclidean.

[Kyrah Abattoir]

A good example of non euclidian geometry in 2D is a paper cone. if you fold it right, you can draw a triangle on it that has 3 90° angles, which is impossible on a flat surface.

Now add one dimension and try to figure out how that would look in 3D.