Comments on: Lethality of Substance in Games vs Real Life

By: Psycho-Ape86

Psycho-Ape86 — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:54:13 +0000

Water isn’t dangerous in Far Cry.

By: Bobb

Bobb — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:05:14 +0000

So you’re telling us that you’re able to walk on lava, and not just near it, at any time after it’s come out of the volcano AND in day-to-day clothes for half a minute? I’d like to see a video of you near newly-erupted lava for 30 seconds. And get within hand’s reach of it so we know how close you are.

By: Matt

Matt — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 17:37:23 +0000

this graph isn’t entirely accurate. water often kills you instantly, yes, but you will usually bounce around if you hit lava until you either die or get back on land.

By: The Buv

The Buv — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:54:09 +0000

Also should add there’s a trend of makeing these things more obvious to the player. For instance if the water is purple or green… Its probably poison/acidic liquid in which case you should avoid it. If the lava is blue… Super lava for sure you can only touch it for maybe 2 seconds as opposed to 10.

By: The Buv

The Buv — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:49:02 +0000

Disagree, as a gamer i find that water in 90% of games will forget physics and never even obtain a cement quality at high altitude drops. You can fall in water and survive from thousands of feet in the air and maybe end up 10 feet underwater as a result no HP loss. Some video games go so far as allowing you to hold your breath for 3 minutes or more at a time. There are very few video games out today where the developers were too effin lazy to add a swim animation your character to allow water travel. Unless you are playing soul reaver or something water is not all that bad. Lava in video games is the opposite too usually you will take a tiny bit (never an alarming amount) of damage touching lava more often than not.

By: JeSuis

JeSuis — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 00:05:10 +0000

The crater probably was just filled with ash, unless the volcano had just erupted.

By: HalcyonNight

HalcyonNight — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:18:45 +0000

Yea but that’s why it’s fun to talk about games like this. We know its not real, just fun to pretend that it is.

By: Expert

Expert — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 05:17:45 +0000

In Gta: Vice city, and Assassins Creed, falling in water means instant death. No jump outs.

By: KnucklesE

KnucklesE — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 01:29:59 +0000

I think you guys are forgetting that video games are not perfectly realistic. Don’t rattle off numbers and statistics about how lava will kill you or roast you alive when you are around it. They are just games for entertainment.

By: King Graphjam

King Graphjam — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 01:09:54 +0000

I would like to point out the Varia Suit in Metroid games, which gives you total invincibility to lava. Also, when you even just start the game, you can swim in water and you’ll be fine.

By: C. Falcon

C. Falcon — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:52:12 +0000

not in megaman!

By: leelee

leelee — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 23:48:43 +0000

Go hang out on some lava for 30 seconds.

By: Nilla

Nilla — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 22:03:11 +0000

I’m guessing you’ve played Psychonauts.

By: Sebastian

Sebastian — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 21:33:01 +0000

Exactly. In many games you can merrily hop across and around flowing lava without any effect, as long as you don’t actually fall in. That stuff is MELTED ROCK at 1500 – 2200 degrees Fahrenheit! It’s gonna roast you alive if you even get too close – no need to take a dip in it.

So the perceived deadliness of lava in games should actually be a little below it’s lethality in real life.

By: Violet_Dust

Violet_Dust — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 18:52:25 +0000

I totally agree It’s like some characters die when they hit the water and others you have like 3 sec to hit the jump button to survive.

By: kg333

kg333 — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:35:32 +0000

Not in Super Mario 2…and other than the Water stages in 3, it killed you.

By: Jes

Jes — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:06:51 +0000

unless you’re floating above it with a shield beneath your feet, combined with being well-versed in the way of the force.

By: that other guy

that other guy — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:49:11 +0000

bit off there, lava is sometimes survivable in video games.

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:55:27 +0000

Don’t forget Pitfall Harry – even when the water didn’t have crocodiles in it…

By: I lose

I lose — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:34:53 +0000

Indeed. In Sonic Advance 1, Second Zone (that military stage with lava sections), if you fall into lave you just lose all the rings and then you can walk on it for some time, for as long you are invulnerable. So, if you manage to grapple a ring before turning back to normal, you will be able to swim endlessly on lava.

And Mario heals in water ONLY in SM64 and Galaxy, when he is on the surface and not underwater. If he is underwater, he loses health bits every 5-10 seconds, until he is drown (cool though, how it replenishes once you get back to the surface).

Actually Mario (in his SMBs’ series’ days) can last as long as he wants below the water surface (there are whole stages underwater), but, due to some strange reason, if he is on a land stage and jumps into a pit of water, he dies! And it’s not even a bottomless pit or a lava pit. Same for Donkey Kong – I think.

Crash Bandicoot is the most annoying of them all, insta-death when he falls into water, and that blaster Up the Creek level on CB has you constantly jump over water in a stream!

I’ll give a link to a video to see.

It looks easy in here, but it’s oh-so frustrating to pull that off without dying when you play it. Also, I think Rayman has that water-death ability. Or so I think, I remember him dying instantly at the swamp, when he fell out of Sam the snakes’ reach.

OK, too much information.

By: random

random — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:02:23 +0000

lava isn’t always 1000 degrees …
sometimes, just sometimes, it even becomes stonecold.

it cools down, if far away from source, you know?

By: ComboBreaker

ComboBreaker — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:26:25 +0000

Ahh!! WATER!!!

By: Kevin T.

Kevin T. — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:38:55 +0000

I think the Video Game example of Lava should be lower.

With real life lava, even if you’re within about 10 feet of it, you can still get burned. Probably 20 or 30, if you’re over it.

Meanwhile, in games…
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ConvectionSchmonvection

By: Jes

Jes — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:28:35 +0000

Sure, you can walk away from it, but that doesn’t make it any less lethal. Is suicide not that lethal just because most people never experience it?

By: UltimateExtreme

UltimateExtreme — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:09:32 +0000

Goron’s don’t die in lava. BTW.

By: dfdfd

dfdfd — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 03:04:39 +0000

Yeah, but if you’re Yoshi from Sunshine, you’re screwed…

By: slupine

slupine — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:01:23 +0000

Ooh I have not found this item yet! But even in water Ammy drowns if she stays in too long…

By: slupine

slupine — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:59:47 +0000

Yes but in so many games, falling in water means instant death. In others, you drown in 5 seconds (never mind that the charcacter’s head is above water).

By: eman

eman — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:46:07 +0000

I have dreams where I can breathe underwater. It’s great fun!

By: LeAnna

LeAnna — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 00:51:12 +0000

The floor is lava!

By: leelee

leelee — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:43:32 +0000

Lava isn’t that lethal. It so dense that you can walk away from most of it. Pyroclastic flows and air blasts… that’s a different story.

By: BBkat

BBkat — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:27:37 +0000

In Okami if you have a certain object equipped to yourself, you can swim in lava and it won’t harm you, just like water(which you can swim in and use as a weapon.)

By: Lime

Lime — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:58:58 +0000

I read about it in NewScientist about a year ago, there was these two volcano researchers who fell into a crater on Hawaii. They managed to crawl out with major burns, but nothing that didn’t heal.
I would’ve provided a link, but they seem to have taken it down.
Perhaps it was faulty.
I agree 30 seconds sounds very implausible, but I’m just quoting what I read.
With a proper outfit, I bet you could survive at least 5 seconds while standing on it, though

By: Joey

Joey — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:58:10 +0000

actually if you’re super mario water heals you

By: jjmblue7

jjmblue7 — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:57:50 +0000

I’d have to disagree. While as terrain it can be deadly as a tool for use in battle, destructive capabilities is horribly underestimated, such as with water-based magic spells/creatures. Whereas fire, since many people think is cool-looking, tends to be made one of the most powerful magic spells or weapons. In reality, water is one of the most destructive forces of nature, such as erosion, landslides, floods, tidal waves, hurricanes, destruction of property, and of course drowning.

By: An elite

An elite — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:28:59 +0000

What about bottomless pits? Or, for that matter, grues?

By: Jes

Jes — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:46:43 +0000

Lava’s so dense that you don’t really fall into it… you fall on top of it and probably burn to death. And I have serious doubts about laying on something that’s over 1000 degrees for 30 seconds, and surviving. Unless you want to go ahead and cite your sources.

By: marceloramires

marceloramires — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:44:49 +0000

still *

By: marceloramires

marceloramires — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:44:21 +0000

let’s make an experience.
we throw you into lava, and take you back half a second later
if you’re sill alive, SUCCESS!
or not..

By: Squid

Squid — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:28:16 +0000

obviously the graph maker has played GTA Vice City, where even knee high water is deadly.

By: Lime

Lime — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:06:49 +0000

You know that lava isn’t directly lethal, right? You can survive falling into lava, as long as you can get out within 30 seconds or so.

By: TheOne

TheOne — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:44:07 +0000

Yeah, and sometimes in video games, lava don’t even kill you, just damage you… I think the game bar over lava should be lower.

By: The Eric

The Eric — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:38:35 +0000

But in video games, lava only kills you if you actually touch it….

By: zhiren

zhiren — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:36:24 +0000

this is somewhat true. Combat Arms…u die in water hahaha

By: Ilove2learn

Ilove2learn — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:17:42 +0000

I made a list of lessons learned from video games, with things like “Blue hedgehogs run really fast” and “Eating green mushrooms will give you an extra life,” and one of the other things was “In most games, you probably don’t know how to swim.”
I support this graph’s accuracy.