For video games, the scope for moving outside of the expected path has increased as the complexity of games has increased. A game like Noughts and Crosses has only a few possible moves (and optimum playing leads to a draw...). Pacman has more moves, but has no unexplored corners - the world is tightly controlled. Modern games, where 3D models move according to physics engines on 3D surfaces, use imperfect collision algorithms to try and make sure that the models do not fall through the surface. And they do fail. I've experienced the alarmingly disconcerting experience of having Lara Croft fall through an edge - and she continued to fall, down and down into nothing, until I reset the console.
Finding these hidden 'exploits', the places where it is possible to get outside of the playing space, is rather like an extra facet of the game. In the future, I would not be surprised at all to find that game designers will increasingly build in support for these 'not the game we intended' activities - Criterion Games' Burnout Paradise is one notable example of a game where player inventiveness has influenced the ongoing development of new gameplay modes. After all, picking up the ball and running with it is against the rules in soccer/football, but is fine in Rugby football!
And so to the second 'Where was this screenshot taken?' challenge (Here's the first!). As before, the screenshot is from the current PS3 Wipeout HD game, and all that the reader has to do is identify the track and the location around the track.
Where is this Wipeout HD screenshot taken from?
As always, there is no prize for solving this 'not a competition at all'. Other than a certain amount of satisfaction, that is!
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