At the Cutting Edge of Cool: Math Before you read: Plug in to the title and pictures shown here. What do you think the topic of this article will be? Can you predict the main details to come? From Pacman to Mario, from Sonic the Hedgehog to Master Chief, right down to your very own personalized Mii in the Wii system, all video game characters have something in common that you might not have expected: math. Without math, none of them would be here. That’s the bottom line. But math affects a lot more than the bottom line. Math and physics are responsible for realistic movement in games, from how a truck moves when racing down the street to how the baseball arcs and falls when it cracks against the bat. Considering how much technical knowledge goes into producing a video game, it’s a funny twist of fate that many parents are worrying that their kids’ grades will drop because of how much time they spend in front of their gaming consoles. Many subjects, including science, language arts, social studies, and electives such as art and music certainly play important roles in game development. However, math leaves its fingerprints on almost everything in the game.