Ultimate Game Design : Building game worlds

Hitting
Again, you might use a GUI tool here to tweak values, or you might make edits
directly into a script like this one:
// JavaScript sample for "fielding" edits
function processOutfielder(outFielder) {
if(outFielder.neareastBall()) {
outFielder.seekBall(20); // 20 is a "tweakable" range
}
if(outFielder.ballRadius(5)) { // Is outfielder within 5 units?
outFielder.doCatch();
}
if(outFielder.hasBall()) { // caught ball
// specify max range of this player as "60"
outFielder.throwToNextPlayer(60);
}
}
Hitting in baseball games is a matter of determining a thin balance between several
forces. You can’t make hitting too easy, but you can’t make it too hard. If you feel like
you must err due to unavoidable circumstances, do it toward the player’s favor. It’s
better to create a slugger than a frustrated player who throws your game away in disgust.
This isn’t just true of dialing in hitting behavior, either, as this kind of mental approach
applies just as well to many other game genres. Believe me, I’ve known many who get
some sort of thrill out of stupefying a player. I have never understood this kind of
thinking. Here are some play factors to consider for building up hitting behavior:
� Ball scale The size the ball should increase as it gets closer to you.
� Swing speed How fast a hitter can swing, by body type. Larger players
tend to swing slower, but with more force if contact is made.
� Swing arc Hitter swings are not perfectly parallel with the ground.
The swing arc can help set the frequency of ground balls versus flies.
� Bunt speed How fast a player sets up for bunt contact.
� Ball angle How much influence the angle of the ball leaving the bat
has on hit outcomes.
� Foul tip percentages How often foul tips into the catcher’s mitt occur.
� Foul factor Adjust to increase or decrease foul numbers.
C H A P T E R 6
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Scripting Action Events