10 Secret Ways Video Games Play YOU

6. The Uncharted Series Changes The Animation Speed Of Collapsing Objects Based On Player Ability

It's relatively well known that Uncharted, like many similar action-adventure games, deliberately has enemies miss their first few shots at the player, giving them an extra moment or two to get their bearings and launch an assault.

But a more niche nugget of game dev brilliance? According to franchise Lead Designer Kurt Margenau, if players are on one of Uncharted's many collapsing platforms or walkways, the animation of the collapse will subtly slow down or speed up depending on the player's own progress.

If you're lagging, the animation will ramp down to give you a few precious nanoseconds to catch up, and likewise if you're well ahead of the "ideal" timing, it'll speed up to make things feel a little more urgent.

It's insanely smart, really, and while it's fair to say that Uncharted as a series probably dines out on the desperation climbing moments a little too eagerly, the sense of palm-sweating anxiety felt when a platform begins to give way speaks for itself.

It's probably no coincidence that this isn't entirely dissimilar to "coyote time", a common technique in more traditional platforming games that gives players a little extra lee-way when jumping between platforms.

Of course, Naughty Dog cut their teeth on the Crash Bandicoot franchise before striking it big with Uncharted, and that likely had an influence on the latter series' mechanics.