One of the most highly-anticipated games at TGS is the upcoming Mario & Sonic at the Olympics. I've watched the newest trailer, and I have to say... wow. As someone who runs on my high school track team, there are small details within this trailer that make it exceptionally realistic (we all know Sonic is faster than Mario; I'm talking about real life). But not everything is perfect, so I'll point those out too.


Shotput

The brief clip of Bowser using the shotput is very well done. He does the spin to gain momentum. However, there is one glaring mistake: that is not a shotput. I understand that it is a game and liberties need to be taken, but it still needed to be said. [EDIT: SLiFE has informed me that this is actually a hammer throw, an event not run in high school track. Hopefully, the game will have a shotput event too.]




The start of a race



The starting blocks in the picture above are surprisingly detailed. Most notably, the rivets to adjust the starting blocks and the rivets to adjust the slope of the blocks are visible.

Additionally, the characters hands at the start form a bridge instead of laying flat on the ground, another wonderful example of detail.




Triple Jump



I was just surprised that the developers of this game even decided to include the triple jump in this game. It's a fairly obscure field event, but I'm glad it's here. The icing on the cake is that the trailer shows a character with longer legs (Dr. Eggman) performing it. The triple jump is normally performed by tall, lanky athletes.

Unfortunately, Eggman's technique sucks. When performing the triple jump, your aim is to keep your inertia forward, so that you don't fall back and cause yourself a lose of length. For some reason, Dr. Eggman decided to land on his ass. WRONG!




Javelin



There is a glaring error in the javelin throw clip of this trailer. After releasing the javelin, Knuckles continues to fly forward, actuallly launching a few inches into the air (pictured below). This can mean one of two things. Either there is no foul line (the boundary which the thrower cannot pass) or Knuckles released his javelin way too early, in order to prevent himself from passing the foul line.




High jump



You'll notice in the above picture of the high jump the Amy does not start running aligned with the center of the mat. She is running at an angle, which all good high jumpers do. She also launches off of her outside foot, the correct way. Below, you will see that Amy is actually facing upwards when going over the bar. This is because she is using a commonly used technique called the Fosbury flop.




Running technique



During clips of regular running events, nearly every character has poor running form. Firstly, the characters move their arms incorrectly. The Mario brothers both swing their arms from side to side. The correct way to move your arms is to swing them from the shoulder and straight forward, keeping your elbow at a 90 degree angle. This keeps your momentum moving in a forward direction, as opposed to side to side. Another fault is that they ball up their hands into fists. Forming a fist causes your arms to tense up and tire out, leaving you nothing with but your legs to help you finish the race.





Almost every character also has a problem with their legs. They kick back. As soon as a runner's leg hits the track it should immediately drive forward again, instead of hanging back and slowing them down. A spectator should never be able to see the bottoms of a runner's shoes. Take a look at the picture above; how many soles do you see? Even Sonic (pictured below) has a problem with kickback.




And finally, the best example of attention to detail....
Hurdles

I run both the 110M High hurdles and the 400M Intermediate hurdles. These are tough, brutal races. You could be the fast person in a sprint, but if you haven't mastered the hurdler technique, you will get smoked every time.

Now imagine, how would your legs appear if you jumped over a hurdle? I bet you pictured yourself leaping into the air. You're wrong. You should be as close to the hurdle as possible. I bet you pictured your back leg (us runners call it the 'trail leg') going over with your toe pointed down. You're wrong. Your trail leg should be parallel to the ground to prevent your toes from hitting the hurdle. This picture is an example of what not to do. Believe me, snagging your trail leg hurts... a lot. Now observe this picture:



When I saw this, my jaw dropped. Any developer could have treated this event as just a game, but both Luigi and Shadow are near to the hurdle, and their trail legs are parallel to the ground preventing injury. The attention to detail and respect for the craft is something I really appreciate from the developer.


I'm really excited for Mario & Sonic at the Olympics now. This trailer makes the game look fun, and the precise animation of the events make it more than just some wacky sports simulation. I really hope this game is a success.