Tim sent me this demo of how item use and physics, rather than graphics alone, are getting an overhaul in the latest installment of Alone in the Dark. Interesting, but still not as open-ended as a system a colleague of mine was describing where every item in a game would have a socket and combining items would be organic and almost alchemical.

In his explanation, a flowerpot item and a flamethrower item could be combined, for example. It may end up with nothing terribly useful, but in the real world — if you wanted to — you could somehow “combine” those two things, so why not in the virtual? It’s a concept that he understands intrinsically, and of which I am stuck in the arithmetic, but interesting, nonetheless.

This video demonstrates some “real world rules” that I hope are a first step in that direction.

Gametrailers.com – Alone in the Dark 5 – Tech Demo Episode 1 HD