Question about video games that flash and have back and forth movements

[Paul]

I was wondering why do some video games flash and have a lot of back and forth movements? Like on Super Nintendo, Hyper Zone flashes when you go off the track, On Joe and Mac your guy flashes when he gets hit, On Super R-Type and Thunder Spirits there's a lot of back and forth movements, why do those things happen on those Super Nintendo games? Also on Sega Genesis some games like Dino Land, Thunder Force 3, Steel Empire, Vapor Trail, King Of The Monsters and Giaries all have back and forth movements, plus Steel Empire flashes when you use your secret weapon, why do those things on those Genesis games happen? Plus on Neo Geo games like Ghost Pilots, Last Resort, Magician Lord, and Robo Army all flash when you destroy your enemies, why does that happen on those Neo Geo games? The reason for these questions is because flashing lights have an effect on me and so do back and forth movements. That's why I'm curious about why these games for Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and Neo Geo flash and have back and forth movements. I hope you can answer these questions for me.

[Jale]

Well, it indicates you're making some damage to the units you're firing and/or when you're being hit.

[Paul]

That's not true. I'm not doing any damage or anything like that, it's just that I showed these games I mentioned to a member of my family and he says they're too flashy for me to play and have back and forth movements. The reason I'm saying this is because I have seizures and flashing lights have an effect on me and so do back and forth movements when it comes to seizures.

[FatTrucker]

If you're talking about the screen scrolling when you say back and forth movements, its usually because there would be too much for the original game to process if the whole play area was displayed at once or because the scale would be too small if everything was reduced to fit on a single screen.

Re the flashing lights, its a common and widely used graphical effect used to highlight damage, movement, or some other kind of on screen action, again usually because the programmer could use a hardware effect to do it, rather than having to use processor time to render a different effect that wasn't already provided in hardware.

So in both cases they are usually used to save processor usage and improve/maintain a games frame-rate.

Nearly all videogames (and many other forms of visual media) employ flashing and or fast moving imagery that can present a risk of seizure to someone who is sensitive (like epilepsy) which is why most games came with a disclaimer on the box or in the manual advising against use for people with epilepsy or seizures, and even for people not afflicted its recommended to take regular prolonged breaks from playing.

[Paul]

Does that mean I shouldn't play games like Hyper Zone, Joe and Mac, Super R-Type, Thunder Spirits, Dino Land, Giaries, King Of The Monsters, Steel Empire, Thunder Force 3, Vapor Trail, Ghost Pilots, Last Resort, Magician Lord, and Robo Army since they are flashy and have back and forth movements of all the enemies and stuff and since I have seizures and are affected by flashing lights and back and forth movements?

[FatTrucker]

I would certainly consult your doctor first.

With anything like that its better to be safe than sorry and anything that has flashing imagery is specifically not recommended for people who have seizures and/or epilepsy....its common sense really.

[Hrothgar]

Hmm, I don't know personally, but maybe someone here can think of a fliter that reduces flashing? It's especially bad on the nintendo.

[Desert Drifter]

Maybe trying to "dim" the contrast on the monitor or applying 50% to full scanline? Darker the better I assume, but harder on the eyes - though playing in a non-well lit room may help with that...