I would like to get input from the community regarding how best to represent simple objects in a Box2D based simulation.
Some background:
Without going into too much detail, think of a top down game with a character and some 'food'. You can picture PacMan™ even. Suppose I will simulate the character and the walls to be Box2D so the guy cannot leave the maze and I get collision feed back etc.
My question:
Should the 'food' be part of the Box2D simulation?
My thoughts:
The food doesn't need to be in the simulation because..
It doesn't move.
As soon as the character collides with the food it is removed from the game.
It should not apply any force to the guy, or anything, ever.
Nor should anything ever need to apply force to it.
It's extra computation that isn't necessary.
The food could be in the simulation because..
I am already using Box2D.
Box2D can handle the collision events for me.
Again, Box2D can handle the collision events for me; I don't really want to check for collisions myself.
Box2D should let the food 'sleep' so it won't be much extra computation, correct?
What do you guys think? Do the benefits outweigh the costs here? Are there other pros/cons I'm missing?
I look forward to getting feedback.