it's all about the physics

The other day, on another of those 45-minute rides to a debate tournament where I'm surrounded by (fellow) nerds and get to spout nerdly theories, we were talking about video games. My position: graphics are as good as they need to be. A.I. is nifty, but not always necessary.

Most exciting to me, right now, are the advances in gaming physics. That's why Wii Bowling is such a hoot--even though everything looks cartoonish, the pins fall like real pins and the ball spins like a real ball, at least real enough to feel and sound like bowling.

I was only skittering on the surface of the subject, it turns out. If I had seen this video about Crayon Physics Deluxe, I could've saved my breath.

Chris Baker calls it "pretty awesome." I concur.