At long last a Link Dump!

I've had all these links just piling up, I thought maybe it was time for another LINK DUMP!

For starters, check out this totally sweet 8-bit style Smash Bros, put together by CJartan at Deviant Art.


I think that was pretty neat.  Next up, Bennet Foddy's Speed Chess.  You may remember Bennet Foddy from such hits as 'QWOP' or the sequel 'Clop.'  If you don't remember him, that is fine, but you should probably check those games out, preferably with someone around to laugh with you.  

The story with Speed Chess is that Bennet Foddy thinks Chess is too slow, and thus he created a new version of chess that plays in real-time.  Also, there are 16 players.  Interested yet?  It's certainly worth a look.
Well, here's the thing: It's actually designed for 16 players, all plugged into the same console.  16 controllers, can you believe that?  How silly.  I hope he decides to make an online version.  

Alright, we can't play Speed Chess.  Even though it sounds like fun.  Maybe in the meantime we can just read this Cracked article about mini-games that people developed within other video games.  Avoiding the Kamikaze mushroom in Mario 64 sounds like fun!  Cracked really has come a long way from being a poor man's MAD magazine.

Speaking of mini-games.  One time there was a site dedicated to Underdog games at Kongregate.  I always like to see people sticking up for the little guy.  It's too bad the site stopped updating in 2008.  I remember those innocent years.  Before Indie Gaming was a huge industry, and Steam was still an upstart.  Just sifting through Kongregate, looking for something worth playing.  Finding plenty of five to ten minute interesting plays.

Oh, the old days.  So,  I'm no Sonic the Hedgehog fan, but I can respect the content of this next article.  It's written by a die hard Sonic fan about a hidden level in a Sonic game.  This level was featured in a preview story about the game, but was not actually included in the published release.  But that didn't stop die-hards from searching and spreading rumors and writing in.  It's a cool story, for which I can put aside a deep grudge against Sega.  Sonic did have cool art, afterall.  

  

A Quest for the Secret Origins of Lost Video-Game Levels.

Finally, I'll leave you with this sweet little comic.  Go ahead and click the picture to read the whole thing.  Brought to you by JPBruneau and OwlTurdComics.

We Go Forward

-D

    

QWOP and proprioception

I recently heard a really cool episode of the radio show Radiolab.  If you don't know Radiolab, I recommend checking it out.  This episode on body-mind connection is as good a place to start as anywhere. The portion I'm referencing is a story on a man with a condition called proprioception.  His body is alienated from his mind - he has no sense of touch. This man has to teach himself to move without the use of the body-mind connection.  Has to teach himself how to make every single, minute movement of his body.  He has to do this using only visual feedback.  It took him a long while, but he got really good.  For more details, give the episode a listen.

Listening to this story reminded me of the game QWOP.  This is a game where you control the movements of a runner by pressing buttons to move his joints.  The results are hilarious, then frustrating, then hilarious, and so on and so forth.  The exercise in unplayability that is QWOP has always been an interesting experience, but catching this Radiolab episode really brought forth a real world example.  I can't help but wonder if QWOP resembles, even a little bit, this man's experience at moving his body without the sense of physical feedback we take for granted.

-D

Play QWOP

Play CLOP (the unicorn based sequel)

Listen to Radiolab episode 

Watch an actual successful run of QWOP!

Impressions from Game co-op #2: SPORTS! by Sarah Brin

(I want to make a quick note that, as I continue to write these posts about the cooperative gaming coop, my sense of the irony grows.  That I am reviewing it after-the-fact is a little disturbing.  Today, I searched for "ARCADE - curated by Zach Gage" and our blog came up before the actual gaming coop blog.  I don't understand how that happened.  Anyhow, I'll talk to John about it when I see him next, which I think will be this weekend.  In the meantime, check out this interview with John about the Arcade)

SPORTS! curated by Sarah Brin

• BaraBari Ball by Noah Sasso, 2012

Oh man, this game was fun!  I think it's four-players too.  This game plays kind of like Smash Bros, except the goal is to get the Bari Ball into your opponents goal, which is represented as an orange or green pool on either side of the screen.  You can also drown in this pool and have to re-pop, losing valuable Ball-carrying time.  You can hit the ball, or carry it and throw it.  You can also hit your opponent.  And you can air jump up to six times.  The jumps will refill when you rest.  I had a blast and definitely hope I haven't seen the last of BaraBari Ball!

If this game piques your interest, take a look at this link:  How to play BaraBariBall

• QWOP by Bennett Foddy, 2008

QWOP is ridiculous.  And slightly, frustratingly, addictive.  I just know I can do it.  Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Okay, one more try!  Okay, wait a second.  Just go play QWOP for a minute.  I'll wait here....

Fucking QWOP, progenitor of a thousand memes!  The idea behind QWOP is that you control your runners legs using the QWOP keys, controlling the thighs and calves independently.  But... it doesn't really work right.  Have --fun? 

• Hokra by Ramiro Corbetta, 2011

Hokra is a game I didn't get to play too much.  It was properly for four players, so my experience was limited, but it was pretty neat and I'd love to try a proper game.  It's all pixely, minimalist and you move your little square players and your little pixel ball into a goal-zone, where it racks up points based on time.  But your opponents want to do the same, so you chase after the ball and kick and pass and have a good time.  Here's hoping for another chance to play Hokra!

• Tennnes by Jan Willem Nijman, 2012 

Tennnes is a fun, minimalist tennis game.  The controls were tight, which is an excellent thing since the graphics were so danged simple.  If you like video tennis games, then I recommend this one.  It was fun to play.  I didn't get to play for very long, but I felt like the fundamentals were strong enough to provide for hours of good times. 

Summary: All in all, SPORTS was a great cabinet.  Three out of Four games were really fun multiplayer games.  This cabinet would be great to have at party.  Even QWOP is good for a laugh, at the least.