LIMBO:
The New Laws of Physics of a Surreal World
In the
critically acclaimed indie puzzle game, LIMBO, the player controls a young boy
that must survive through perilous obstacles in order to find his little
sister. The strange world the player navigates through has its own set laws of
physics and often breaks the laws we experience in the real world. LIMBO has
good reason for this however; in fact, the game would be nowhere near as
captivating as it is without breaking laws of physics. LIMBO breaks the laws of
physics in order to make the player feel ill at ease and lost in this familiar,
yet odd world. The examples that best represent the alternate laws of physics
in this world are: the unrealistic superhuman strength of the little boy,
impossible laws of gravity, and the inconsistent lighting in various levels of
the game. All these examples work together to create this strange world the
player experiences.
One of the
most recognizable breaking of the laws of physics is seen with the playable
character’s body. If one simply looks at the design of the character, one sees
the boy’s body proportions are completely skewed. His head is much larger than
the rest of his body, and his legs are quite short. Of course, children in the
real world do tend to have larger heads when they are young and then they grow.
However, this still does not account for proportions of this character. His
body would unlikely be able to support his large head. This distortion of the
body is done for appropriate reason. There is an overemphasis of his head size
to his tiny body in order to make him blatantly childlike. The game uses a
simple silhouette design to show the character, so it needs to be easily
readable that this character is a child. This decision to manipulate body
proportions also contributes to the horror of the game. If it was an adult
going through these deadly obstacles, it would not disturb the player as much;
instead, to notch up the horror factor, they use a child design. This makes the
game significantly more frightening.
Boy body design while running away from imminent death
Along with
the playable character’s unrealistic body proportions, he has superhuman
strength. This can be illustrated in the scene where the boy pushes the dead
carcass of a giant spider. This spider is roughly twice the size of playable
character’s body. Also taking into account his small limbs, his arms would
unlikely have enough muscle to push this giant spider’s body. There are several
instances where the boy displays incredible strength, such as when he is
pulling a large boat, pushing fallen tree trunk, and pushing himself up various
ledges through the game. With his small arms, it is unlikely he would have the
power to perform any of these feats.
Pulling the boat on to shore
Pushing a log
Rolling the dead, limbless spider
However, the
game is notorious for its variety of gruesome deaths the playable character can
experience. They are many instances where the boy does not jump far enough and
cannot grab a ledge. He is also not so invincible as to be immune to electric
shocks, heavy falling objects, and sharp blades. On some level, the character
is bound by the laws of physics as seen in his treacherous death scenes.
This won't end well...
The second
example of where LIMBO toys with the law of physics is with its manipulation of
the laws of gravity. About halfway through the game, the player starts to
encounter devices that flip the direction of gravity. It is then up to the
player to accurately manipulate the force of gravity at correct times to avoid
another horrific death. In the real world, we obviously cannot flip the forces
of gravity. Discounting that fact, there are still some inconsistencies with
these devices. A factor to note with these devices is they do not always apply
to all objects in the area. This is particularly noticeable in the level where
the player has to levitate a box in order to move it to a different part of the
stage. Logically, this gravity device would also flip the playable character.
This device does not flip the character however. The choice to not accurately
manipulate the playable character is, again, justified. With the particular
instance mentioned above, it would defeat the purpose of the level. The box is
needed to let the playable character reach an upper floor; if the gravity
device also flipped the character, it would make this level too easy for the
player. The game designers took artistic license with the gravity devices in
this game for the purpose of challenging the player. Another justified reason
for having these gravity devices is simply to make this strange world even
stranger. It unsettles the player and further builds this fantastical world.
Gravity device affecting box, but not boy
Gravity device affecting both boy and box
The third
example of manipulating the laws of physics is seen with the inconsistent
lighting changes throughout the game. The level I used in particular in when
the player enters a more industrial part of the game and the lighting is seen
as coming from below in the sky. In the next scene when the player returns to a
forest area, the light is clearly coming above in the sky. LIMBO is a black and
white game so the use of silhouettes and contrast is crucial for the look and
clarity of the game. Thus, while the changing light is not always accurate, it
is always the best way to make the scene capture the player’s attention. This
is also somewhat disproved, where the levels change from being outside to
inside, and then there are clear sources of lights from light bulbs.
Lighting seen from below
Lighting from above in next scene
In conclusion, LIMBO has several distinct instances of
breaking the laws of physics. The game designers for this game, however, did
not disregard the laws of physics. They manipulated and recreated the laws to
enhance the look and playability of the game. While the little boy looks
somewhat distorted, it is to make it clear to audience he is a child in a scary
place. When the gravity device does not flip every object upside down, it is to
make the game even more challenging to the player. When the lighting coming
from all sorts of different angles through the game, it is to make the imagery
look haunting and beautiful. LIMBO is a clever game. It is so clever that the
player does not even care if the laws of physics are not correct. The players
are too sucked into this addicting, deadly world and their only thought is to
survive.
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