2852: Parameterball - Revision history

FaviFake: wt was taht

2025-05-18T09:02:05Z

wt was taht

FaviFake: /* Trivia */

2025-05-18T08:56:18Z

‎Trivia

172.71.218.71: /* Incomplete Archive */

2025-04-27T11:23:49Z

‎Incomplete Archive

172.71.218.71 at 11:21, 27 April 2025

2025-04-27T11:21:14Z

Jkshapiro: "Parameter space" is a well-known term and has nothing to do with physics

2024-10-02T02:16:23Z

"Parameter space" is a well-known term and has nothing to do with physics

162.158.74.49: Undo revision 329937 by SomeoneIGuess (talk) Don't try to convey certainty over uncertain details.

2023-12-01T00:22:21Z

Undo revision 329937 by SomeoneIGuess (talk) Don't try to convey certainty over uncertain details.

SomeoneIGuess at 21:03, 30 November 2023

2023-11-30T21:03:58Z

SomeoneIGuess: Safe to assume as complete

2023-11-29T16:36:56Z

Safe to assume as complete

SomeoneIGuess at 18:21, 22 November 2023

2023-11-22T18:21:34Z

172.69.134.35: /* Explanation */

2023-11-22T05:45:25Z

‎Explanation

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 Such kind of parameterization is typical in designing video games. Typically, the main premise of the game is written in code with several parameters added to the logic to fine-tune the feel and balance of the game by trying different values. In this case, the main premise of the game is hitting a projectile back to the opponent, as noted above, while the parameters are the size and height of the court, ball, and net. The comic, in its extreme absurdity of parameter range and selection, illustrates the wide range of possible games by tuning a few parameters. Some video games similarly also provide alternate modes that provide a minor tweak in parameters to provide a different feeling game. Video game designers often talk about the arduous process of selecting the ideal parameters to tune the game exactly so the game is fun and challenging to play. Here, the aspect of playing random variations of the parameters itself is part of the game, rather than playing a finely-tuned set of parameters by someone else perfected for enjoyment.
-The title text mentions that the ball's density is also randomized, and refers to instances where the net size, ball size, and court size were similar to that of a Ping-pong match, but with a ball as dense as a {{w|Bowling ball|bowling ball}}, which not only led to equipment damage, but does so regularly. Despite this, the participants ''do not'' learn the density until ''after'' their racket is chosen, meaning that they have no way of determining whether the racket they chose is durable enough until it's already too late. (Conversely, choosing an excessively robust item could be a bad decision when trying to play with a light ball, as it would be detrimental in reacting against rapid volleys by a more aptly-equipped opponent.)
+The title text mentions that the ball's density is also randomized, and refers to instances where the net size, ball size, and court size were similar to that of a Ping-pong match, but with a ball as dense as a {{w|Bowling ball|bowling ball}}, which not only led to equipment damage, but does so regularly. Despite this, the participants ''do not'' learn the density until ''after'' their racket is chosen, meaning that they have no way of determining whether the racket they chose is durable enough until it's already too late. (Conversely, choosing an excessively robust item could be a bad decision when trying to play with a light ball, as it would be detrimental in reacting against rapid volleys by a more aptly-equipped opponent.) The mention of this 'region in parameter space' refers to the theoretical 4-dimensional mapping of all combinations of values of individual variables: ball size, court size, net height, and ball density. The "bowling ball table tennis" region of that space refers to all games where the ball is about as dense as a bowling ball and the other parameters are similar to those of table tennis.
-The mention of this 'region in parameter space' refers to the theoretical 4-dimensional mapping of all combinations of values of individual variables: ball size, court size, net height, and ball density. The "bowling ball table tennis" region of that space refers to all games where the ball is about as dense as a bowling ball and the other parameters are similar to those of table tennis.
+Note that the players can choose their own racket, and can do so after finding out the three parameters given in the main comic. Only the density of the ball is unknown when they choose the racket. Thus, this indirectly leads to some randomness in the selection of racket also, as the players try to guess what would be best for a random choice of ball density. It's unknown whether the parameters of Parameterball are unlimited or limited to what human players can reasonably work with, although the fourth phase of the game as demonstrated in the comic certainly seems to represent an extreme of both net height and ball size that appears to be causing problems. But if the comic shows the outliers then the [[#Table of limits in the comic|table below]] lists the limits for the parameters.
-Note that the players can choose their own racket, and can do so after finding out the three parameters given in the main comic. Only the density of the ball is unknown when they choose the racket. Thus this indirectly leads to some randomness in the selection of racket also, as the players try to guess what would be best for a random choice of ball density.
+[[Randall]] may have been inspired by {{w|Pickleball}}, a type of racket sport rising sharply in popularity in the US at the time this comic came out. Pickleball is a middle-ground of tennis and table tennis, with an intermediate-sized ball, court, and net height. Randall may have noticed the distinct parameters of pickleball’s elements compared to its cousin sports and was inspired to imagine a scenario in which such parameters might be randomized. This comic is reminiscent of [[2663: Tetherball Configurations]], also four different settings for the same sport, that makes it more or less playable. Randall also invented more unusual ball games with [[1507: Metaball]], [[1920: Emoji Sports]], and [[2705: Spacetime Soccer]]. The parameters of the game being randomized is reminiscent of the "Calvinball" game in the {{w|Calvin & Hobbes}} cartoons, which is never played twice with the same rules.
-It’s unknown whether the parameters of Parameterball are unlimited or limited to what human players can reasonably work with, although the fourth phase of the game as demonstrated in the comic certainly seems to represent an extreme of both net height and ball size that appears to be causing problems. But if the comic shows the outliers then the [[#Table of limits in the comic|table below]] lists the limits for the parameters.
+Assuming that the comic shows the full breadth of options, here are the approximate, apparent upper and lower limits of the four parameters mentioned. It is unclear what rules, if any, there are about the size below which the court will be elevated on a table. From what is shown, racket choice appears to be limited to those commonly in use in other existing racket sports.
 {|class = "wikitable"
 ! Parameter !! Apparent Lower Limit !! Apparent Upper Limit
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 |-
 |}
 ==Transcript==

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 ==Trivia==
-* A Pong-style video game, implemented in Godot, has been inspired by this comic: https://github.com/sdfgeoff/parameterball
+A Pong-style video game, implemented in Godot, has been inspired by this comic and is [https://github.com/sdfgeoff/parameterball available on GitHub].
 {{comic discussion}}

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 The parameters of the game being randomized is reminiscent of the "Calvinball" game in the {{w|Calvin & Hobbes}} cartoons, which is never played twice with the same rules.
 ==Incomplete Archive==
-Spam: content was: "'''Note: this is missing some incomplete tags that mysteriously vanished from this page soon after they were added.''' ==NOVEMBER 8== {{notice|'''This explanation may be incomplete or incorrect:''' Created by a BOT<br>If you can add...}}
+Spam: content was: '''Note: this is missing some incomplete tags that mysteriously vanished from this page soon after they were added.'''
 ==Table of limits in the comic==

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 The parameters of the game being randomized is reminiscent of the "Calvinball" game in the {{w|Calvin & Hobbes}} cartoons, which is never played twice with the same rules.
-===Table of limits in the comic===
+==Table of limits in the comic==
 Assuming that the comic shows the full breadth of options, here are the approximate, apparent upper and lower limits of the four parameters mentioned:
 {|class = "wikitable"

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 The title text mentions that the ball's density is also randomized, and refers to instances where the net size, ball size, and court size were similar to that of a Ping-pong match, but with a ball as dense as a {{w|Bowling ball|bowling ball}}, which not only led to equipment damage, but does so regularly. Despite this, the participants ''do not'' learn the density until ''after'' their racket is chosen, meaning that they have no way of determining whether the racket they chose is durable enough until it's already too late. (Conversely, choosing an excessively robust item could be a bad decision when trying to play with a light ball, as it would be detrimental in reacting against rapid volleys by a more aptly-equipped opponent.)
-The mention of this 'region in parameter space' may reference the 'bowling ball on a sheet' metaphor sometimes used to try to illustrate how the gravitational fields of objects, often more specifically black holes, 'bend' spacetime around them. If the parameters of the game allow for balls with densities such that they create a singularity, this would indeed seem highly likely to damage not just equipment, but players as well. More simply, though, a 'parameter space' is the theoretical n-dimensional mapping of all theoretical combinations of individual variables - the specific variable of ball density will render an entire slice of this 'gamespace' problematic (irrespective of the other slices, or covarible regions where everything else might work or otherwise).
+The mention of this 'region in parameter space' refers to the theoretical 4-dimensional mapping of all combinations of values of individual variables: ball size, court size, net height, and ball density. The "bowling ball table tennis" region of that space refers to all games where the ball is about as dense as a bowling ball and the other parameters are similar to those of table tennis.
 Note that the players can choose their own racket, and can do so after finding out the three parameters given in the main comic. Only the density of the ball is unknown when they choose the racket. Thus this indirectly leads to some randomness in the selection of racket also, as the players try to guess what would be best for a random choice of ball density.

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 ==Explanation==
-This comic depicts the game of parameterball, a "raquet" game. This is a misspelling (possibly a creative one, likely just unintentional) of the {{w|Racket_(sports_equipment)|sports equipment}} that is [https://www.quora.com/When-do-you-use-racket-and-raquet spelled] "raquette" in French (probably from the Dutch for the action of "striking back"), was adopted into English as "racquet" and later acquired the alternative (and extremely common) form "racket" ([[1010: Etymology-Man|etymologically]] distinct from the noise/"protection racket" use of that word).
+This comic depicts the game of parameterball, a "raquet" game. This is a misspelling (creative or unintentional) of the {{w|Racket_(sports_equipment)|sports equipment}} that is [https://www.quora.com/When-do-you-use-racket-and-raquet spelled] "raquette" in French (probably from the Dutch for the action of "striking back"), was adopted into English as "racquet" and later acquired the alternative (and extremely common) form "racket" ([[1010: Etymology-Man|etymologically]] distinct from the noise/"protection racket" use of that word).
 There are a number of distinct {{w|List of racket sports|racket sports}}, which generalise to various forms of opposing players hitting a projectile between their respective zones of control. These are usually two-sided (2-{{w|Doubles|or-4}} players) point-scoring games using a delineated court/playing-surface, with a net or {{w|Squash (sport)|markings}} defining either side's control of play. The projectile is often a ball of some kind (or equivalent, such as the {{w|Badminton|shuttlecock}}), which must be hit with a racket(/'paddle' bat). Often, the objective of the game is to hit the ball so that it bounces on your opponent's side, in a legitimate manner, that cannot then be legitimately returned. Two notable examples of this kind of game are {{w|Tennis}} and {{w|Table Tennis}} (also known as Ping-Pong), which demonstrate the potentially different scales of playing area, ball and net.

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:36, 29 November 2023
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	==Explanation==		==Explanation==
−	~~{{incomplete\|Created by a EXOTIC SPORTS FAN WAITING FOR A GAME OF PARAMETERBALL - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} <!--STOP EDITING-->~~
	This comic depicts the game of parameterball, a "raquet" game. This is a misspelling (creative or unintentional) of the {{w\|Racket_(sports_equipment)\|sports equipment}} that is [https://www.quora.com/When-do-you-use-racket-and-raquet spelled] "raquette" in French (probably from the Dutch for the action of "striking back"), was adopted into English as "racquet" and later acquired the alternative (and extremely common) form "racket" ([[1010: Etymology-Man\|etymologically]] distinct from the noise/"protection racket" use of that word).		This comic depicts the game of parameterball, a "raquet" game. This is a misspelling (creative or unintentional) of the {{w\|Racket_(sports_equipment)\|sports equipment}} that is [https://www.quora.com/When-do-you-use-racket-and-raquet spelled] "raquette" in French (probably from the Dutch for the action of "striking back"), was adopted into English as "racquet" and later acquired the alternative (and extremely common) form "racket" ([[1010: Etymology-Man\|etymologically]] distinct from the noise/"protection racket" use of that word).