Batman: Arkham Originsmay have been released in 2013, but players are still finding neat little details that speak to the hard work its cutscene animators put into it to make the world feel alive. Little physics details can go unnoticed by some players, and only come to the forefront when they go tragically, sometimes hilariously, awry. It’s the smaller touches, as seen inArkham Origins, that are the telltale sign of whether the animators were given the time and resources to make the world feel real.
About halfway through the game, The Joker reveals that he was the one who placed the massive bounty on Batman’s headthat has drawn several bounty hunters to Gothamon Christmas Eve. After telling the bounty hunters to get back to find and kill Batman, Bane elects to stay, knowing Batman will soon arrive. In a fit of pure psychotic joy now that he’s indirectly convinced Bane to act as his personal bodyguard, the Joker spins himself in an office chair with his arms outstretched in anticipation of Batman’s arrival. Joker spins slowly, at first. Then he brings his arms and knees close to his chest, making him spin faster in his seat.
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The Joker’s spin speed picking up is the small, easily missed detail that Reddit user firezemissalis caught nearly10 years after the release ofArkham Origins. This is a terrific example of WB Games Montreal sticking true to the principles of inertia. It’s especially impressive for a superhero game where the laws of physics are often flaunted in Sir Isaac Newton’s face. The sleeker and more compact a person is, the faster they travel. By bringing his arms and legs closer to his body while spinning on an axis, The Joker decreases his inertia which increases his velocity and makes him spin faster.
Little physics flourishes like thesecan be nearly imperceptible on first viewing. They take a keen eye and sometimes a lot of time, as in this case, to fully appreciate the work animators put into fleshing out a scene. 2020’sThe Last Of Us Part 2had a similar physics detail that otherwise would’ve gone unnoticed if not for game designers on Twitter. Naughty Dog’s animators so realistically recreated the minute details of how a length of rope works, from gentle swaying to its interactions with its environment, that this tiny, easily unappreciated physics detail floored game designers, who gushed about it on Twitter.
Arkham Originstells the story ofBruce Wayne in his second year as Batmanand marks the first canonical appearance of The Joker in theArkhamuniverse.Originswas the third of the major console releases for the series, and the first developed by WB Games Montreal to fill in the gap between 2011’sArkham Cityand 2015’sArkham Knight, both developed by Rocksteady.
Batman: Arkham Originsis available now on PC, PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360
