Game Idea: Doggie Soccer/Keep Away

Lately I've been playing with the puppy dog at my house.  His name is Bubba and he is a Great Dane/Pitt Bull Mix, is about 6 months old and very rambunctious.  Recently his Momma got him a basketball, and we have been having a blast playing with it.  The thing is deflated enough so that he can get a pretty good grip on it, and my job is to try and knock it out of his mouth.

As I play, I start to think of a scoring system.  For Bubba, his basic way of scoring points is time of possession.  I imagine a shot clock ticking up as he holds onto the ball.  For me, my points come from getting the ball away from him.  Of course, he is faster than me, and has more energy, so if he really wants to, he can just play keep away all day.  But that's not fun, and I will quickly throw down the controller (metaphorically) and leave.  So I imagine that the possession clock isn't worth all that many points, and it either tapers off or cuts off after a certain number of seconds.

He is very good at snatching the ball back up when I've kicked it or knocked it away from him.  95% of the time, he is the one to regain possession, not me.  This leads me to another scoring-system feature.  I think that I should get points based on the distance I am able to knock the ball, and he gets points based on the speed of his recovery.  Like a little bonus get of a sort.  Occasionally, I am able to recover the ball, and gain complete possession.  I think there are bonus points there as well, though the fact that I can launch the ball across the yard may be enough compensation for me.

So, using this scoring system, I think he and I are pretty evenly matched.  I haven't tweaked the actual points rates, and of course I don't have the facilities to measure out time of possession, but that's because this is really just me playing with a dog, and not a video game.  Might be a reasonably fun  video game though.

-D


P.S.  When I was coming up with this idea, I also thought of a game called "Hokra" that i played at the cooperative gaming coop.  This was a four-player sports game, for an invented sport.  Two teams of two try to hold a ball in one of four goal zones.  Points rack up while in possession in a goal zone.  The other team tries to knock the ball away and gain possession.  What I love about Hokra is the fun, but also its simplicity.  Both in rules and fully embraced, minimalist graphics.  It was really fun to play, but I only got half the idea as there were just two of us playing.  I'd love another shot at it.  I wonder what ever happened to ol' Hokra anyhow?  Not to mention the Cooperative Gaming coop.

Hokra

P.P.S.  I've also come up with stages for Doggie Soccer.  One is a backyard, fairly typical, with a fence and maybe some patio furniture or something.  Then there is the Soccer Field, which has no obstacles and a perfectly smooth surface, and even goals, which could be optioned for points.  And the third is the 'doggie dominated yard' which is a yard that is littered with holes, chewed up pieces of garbage, ripped apart toys, and everybody's favorite:  dog poop.  This stage is skewed to the advantage of the dog, as points are lost for stepping in dog crap or tripping in a hole and twisting your ankle.  I'd like to add that this is the stage I typically play Doggie Soccer in  >;)  

Free Indie Titles I have played recently

Chatchat

Flash Game.  I feel bad giving away anything about these games, sometimes.  But I'll tell you that Chatchat is an online multiplayer game, where you play as a cat.  If that appeals to you at all, I suggest you go play.

Here is a review of chatchat that I think encapsulates the play experience nicely.

Game Title

I originally found this game through an article at Indie Games Magazine.  This one you will have to download.  It is available for Mac and PC.  I guess that this is a Zelda-like.  It's pretty cool, and pretty darn lo-fi.  I don't play a lot of these low-fi games, so I'm having fun with it.  The teleporter item is awesome.  I like it when games drop you in and give you very little direction.  As long as they're not too hard to figure out.
It took me three plays and about an hour of play time to complete.  The second time through I got stuck, but I learned most of what I needed to know in the first to plays, and managed to finish on the third time.  One piece of advice I can give before embarking on this game is to conserve your bombs, you don't want to get stuck with no bombs when you really need one.

if you like this game, there is also sequel.

Lesbian spider queens of mars

A Free Flash Game.  This game plays like an 80's arcade game.  The only controls are up,down,left,right.  The pace increases frantically, and there are small details that change between levels, even though the overall level designs are similar.  Great cinema graphics too.

*beware of loud advertisements*

Verge

Verge is a free flash game I originally played on the Winnitron SJ at the cooperative gaming co-op, around this time last year.  It's a nice looking platformer, with very basic controls, and an interesting atmosphere.  There is a world on the reverse side of the normal world, where everything is upside down, and the way you get to it is you die.  Later there are also pools you can enter which are gates to the reverse world.  This mechanic and some switches and blocks build the puzzles.  There is also a really nice, haunting piano melody for the bgm.  Check it out if you like 2d platformers in a 16-bit style with an edgy atmosphere.  


-D


P.S. if you're going to play any of these sorts of free games using a gamepad, you will want to download Joy To Key.

Winnitron 1000: Impressions from Gaming Co-op #5

Alright folks, it's time for the overdue, final posting about the Cooperative Gaming Co-op Arcade Installation that I attended in October in San Jose.  Hosted by my friend John Bruneau and James Morgan, the Arcade was a free event, and a chance to play a bunch of different independently released games in Arcade cabinets built and curated by the hosts and a variety of guest curators.  I had a great time at this event, and if I were a bit closer to San Jose, I would have returned over and again to try the games I didn't have time for.  While many of the games are available to play, download and purchase online, the chance to play them in an Arcade cabinet was truly special, and not something I'll likely have a chance to repeat.   With the exception of the Winnitron 1000.

The Winnitron 1000 was designed specifically to be a sort of Franchise Arcade Cabinet.  The idea for the Winnitron, and the games are available through their website.  Winnitron 1000 was designed in Winnipeg, Canada, where-from it gets the name, and it has been duplicated at several different locations.  The one I played was designed for the Cooperative Gaming Co-op and is called the Winnitron SJ.  

There can be a Winnitron in your town,   all it takes is people with the gumption to contact the Winnitron people, then build a cabinet and put the Winnitron software in it.  And presto!  You can have your town's own Winnitron, which will live there to be enjoyed by all.  

Look at all these games available for the Winnitron!  I only got the chance to play four of them with the time I had.  I'd love a chance to play some of these again, and many for the first time.  

• Nidhogg by MESSHOF/Mark Essen

Nidhogg is simultaneously an ideal indie game and an ideal arcade game.  Just overall a fantastic game.  It's awesome and indie because of its relatively low production value but high overall effect.  And it's awesome as an arcade game because it is two player, and it is just instantly tons of fun.

Within seconds, like, under 60 seconds, my opponent and I were laughing with glee.  This game was that much fun.  I feel very privleged to have gotten to play it on an arcade machine.  That's the way it should be played.  It plays like the long lost cousin of a game like Joust.  A game that should have been a classic for 30 years, but instead wasn't invented until 2009. It plays like a game from that era has been allowed to age in a barrel and is now a fine vintage. 

I really want to play it again;  I feel about this game the way I do about Crossed Swords.   Highly recommend.  

• Shoot Bastard by Matt Thorston, Chevy Ray Johnson, Beau Blyth

Shoot Bastard is ridiculous and silly.  And fun.  It plays like the original game idea went horribly wrong - or did it go horribly right?  You have to play to be able to tell.  It's a vs battle game with missile launchers and great hand-drawn graphics.  Good for a lark.

• Super Crate Box Versus by Vlambeer

Have you played Super Crate Box?  Well, Versus is an adaptation of that game that crams a second player into the mix, and creates a competition to see who can get the most boxes.  It never lasts long though, because the crazy mad-capped action is even crazier and more mad-capped.  Fun, but frustratingly hard.  Play the original.  It's harder than that.   

• Verge By Kyle Pulmer

Verge is a cool puzzle-platformer.  The graphics are nice, cartoony and soft.  The puzzles involve traveling back and forth between an underworld in order to move forward. Visually, it reminds me of Cave Story+.  Game play-wise it reminds me of several games:  Braid, Cave Story, Limbo, Eversion.  I recommend checking any and all of them out when you get a chance.  Two of which were featured in a previous post.



Winnitron 1000 may very well be the way of the future, or so I'd like to think.  The arcade is a great forum for gaming, and perhaps also for independent gaming.  Now that PC gaming competes heavily with console gaming, and with applications like Steam, it isn't necessary to have a physical product.  Perhaps arcade cabinets can re-enter vogue, like vinyl records.  

The Winnitron is something you can have in your town, and I advocate for them getting one.


-D

Previous Gaming Co-op postings:
First
Second
Third
Fourth

impressions from gaming coop #4: Miscellaneous

I didn't play every cabinet extensively.  So I'm going to list the remaining games I played without their cabinets you can find further references by going to the Gaming Co-op's Arcade Page.  You can find my other reviews of the Cooperative Gaming Co-op here, here and here.  

• Keep Me Occupied by Anna Anthropy

This game was fun.  I was actually able to play it solo, while controlling two players independently.  I enjoyed the flying controls very much.  An interesting thing about this game is that it was commissioned for the Oakland Occupy movement.  The cabinet was attached to a portable rig with a generator and brought to the protest site.  Check out this article on Wired.  And look at this, an article on PBS as well!

• Don't Blow Up by Allan Francisco 

I really liked this game.  It jumps right to the point.  The game play resembles that of a shooter, but you don't shoot, you just dodge.  The different bullet-patterns from the enemy squares are really interesting, and my adrenaline spiked within two minutes of playing this game.  

• Zepplin Jump Funnily by Gavin Higham and Glen Pham

This game was very silly.  The controls were really loose, but I enjoyed the co-operative elements.  

• Misfit Ninja by Maxim Tiourin

This game is essentially a low-budget super-meat boy.  Pretty fun to play, and the confetti effect during the deaths is definitely enough reason to check it out.  

• A Slower Speed of Light by Spectrip

This game had a really neat concept, unfortunately the execution was pretty much terrible.  The idea is that you collect little orbs which slow down the speed of light, and the visuals change based on the new wavelengths of light vs how fast you travel.  Pretty damned cool, but it controlled like complete shit.  Sliding around everywhere like it was an ice-level on a platformer.  I'd love to play it again if the controls were to be tweaked.



Only one cabinet left:  the Winnitron.  The Winnitron is a really cool concept, dedicated to Arcade game and Indie games.  

Impressions from Cooperative Gaming Coop #3: Zineistar curated by Anna Anthropy

This is definitely the more Avant Garde cabinet.  These games are not all traditionally challenging or fun.  But many are provoking, of thoughts and of feelings.  Original, clever.  This will mark a trend that will continue for the remaining two posts I have planned for this event - which is that I didn't play all the games in these cabinets.  I will try to be more complete next time.  

Zineistar curated by Anna Anthropy

• Lim by Merritt Kopas

didn't play, but here's: a review.  Oh, and hey look, a play-link!  Alright, now I've played it.  Very interesting.  It plays in-browser.  Give it a look, see how you feel.  

• Sister’s Little Helper by Pierre Corbinais

didn't play.  I hear that you roll joints for the lead character and she tells you stories.  There are supposed to be a bunch of different stories. You can download it from this funny french page.

• Personal Trip to the Moon by VoEC

This game was interesting.  It's a terrible pun to call this game 'atmospheric' - but it really is.  The music was a very strong part of the atmosphere.  This game seems designed to provoke an emotional reaction, and 'fun' is not the target emotional response.  It is well put together, polished and short.  Go play it, it'll only take five minutes.

• Putt-Putt Saves the Stew by Jeremy and Eric Penner

All the art and sounds for this game were created by a small child.  The programming was done by his father.  The results are adorably funny, if a little tough to discern.  In particular, I really appreciate how Putt-Putt is so eager to help.  I highly recommend giving this game a play-through.

• Coletânea Esses Games Violentos "These Violent Video Games" by 'fifty 11 year-olds'
  
  

11/17/2012:  edit:  I forgot to include this game!  This game was put together with contributions by fifty children, all of whom are listed on the Gaming Co-Op's Arcade Page. This game was ridiculously hard, but worth a look, at the very least to honor the effort of a bunch of kids making a video game.  And I know that's something I want to do, don't you?

• A Game for Strong DAPHNY DRUCILLA “DOUBLE [DILDOS] DRAGON” DELIGHT DAVID

(I tried, but I simply could not find a picture for this game.  I suggest you click the link above and play the game.  Then, if you're feeling brave, do an image search for the above title and see what you find)
This game wasn't exactly a game, per-se.  It was more like a power-point presentation where the player gets to hold the clicker.  I don't mean for that to denigrate this game, though.  It is very expressive, and the subject is the struggles of trying to make a game, for a particular character named 'strong.'  

• SuperEagle by TheCatamites and J Chastain

I didn't play this one.  Apparantly you shoot lots and lots of Nazis and all the graphics are hand-drawn.  And also, if you don't do it effectively, you will get downgraded to a desk job.  

• Live Forever! by Hubol Gordon

This game was super-bizarre.  Downright ridiculous even.  Worth playing.  The gist is that your character - a sort of vaguely anthropomorphic blob-creature, wants to live forever, so it has to collect certain items that give you youth and avoid items that age you.  Youth items are like food and candy and plastic surgery.  Aging items are birthday cakes.  You can also pick up drugs, which make the graphics go all wacked out.  This game was like a piece of modernist, dadaist, something-ist art.  Definitely provoked a reaction from me.  Bewilderment.  And some laughs too =)  Try it! 




Zinestar was an unusual cabinet.  I think some of the most experimental gaming experiences were had on this one.  I'd like to go back and play them all, so I can give a more comparative review.
Zinestar is the first cabinet I'm reviewing where I didn't play all of the games.  The next post will actually be a summary of miscellaneous games I did play.  And the last will be for the Winnitron, which I am excited to talk about.  



-DRPOTTS

When not playing the preceding games, currently playing:
Angry Birds
Trilby's Notes
Plants vs Zombies
Wandering Hamster

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. 

Impressions from Cooperative Gaming Co-Op #1: ARCADE GAMES curated by Zach Gage

This is how the installation looked from the outside

Okay everyone, so here is  my first in a series of posts giving my impressions of the games I played at the San Jose Cooperative Gaming Co-op's Arcade Installation.  As I mentioned in my previous post, this show was put on by my friend John Bruneau and James Morgan.

There were tons of games there, and they were all set up in Arcade Cabinets.  Each cabinet was curated by a different person.  The curators chose what games would be available to play, and also had a hand in the design of the cabinet.  I don't really have any pictures, so I can't show you, but there were some pretty cool designs.  Check out the cooperative gaming co-op's page for any updates or information.

The installation was essentially a free arcade featuring experimental and indie games.    Many or most of these games had an 'arcade' feel.  Games where the action starts instantaneously, and I died, I wanted to play again.  Given the chance, I would feed a bunch of quarters into machines featuring these games.  There was also a game-swap on site where you could take a game as long as you also left a game.  I didn't participate in this, but I imagine I will at some future date.

The Arcade was in place from Sept 28th to Oct 20th, but I was, unfortunately only able to visit once in the second to last week.  So there is a touch of Irony that I am going to be spending this time promoting an event that has already ended.  However, I also got to play lots of great games, and they will live on!  As will John and James, and the great artists, programmers, curators and appreciators of this event.  The next time I hear about something like this, I'm going to try to get out there sooner.

So, for now, I'm going to dedicate my time to talking about the games I played.  Many are available to play online-- for free!  So I will provide links to that.  It's not the same as an arcade, but we can't have everything all the time.  So, without further ado, on to the first cabinet:

ARCADE GAMES: curated by Zach Gage

• Shoot First by Teknopants

Shoot First is a two player co-op game with action that reminded me of Gauntlet.  It was really tough though, and I died really fast.  There were some subtleties to the control I didn't quite figure out.  You can collect stuff and upgrade weapons and all those sweet RPG elements. Randomly generated levels, like Diablo. I heard you can also call this genre: rougelike.    
Shoot First is available for Windows and there is a download link.......here.

• Chang Chang by Michael Brough

I really liked playing this game.  This is another 2-player game.  It is kind of like a variation on Chess, or like a very low-fi tactics game.  It pays in real time, and each piece can move in any direction while the time is running, destroying any opponents pieces that come into contact with the fuzzy bars protruding at different angles.  
Available for Mac and PC.  You can download it here as part of a package called kompendium, containing nine different two-player games, all by Michael Brough.  What's really cool about this game is that it is tailored for two people to be able to play on one screen with one keyboard.

• Rescue: the Beagles by 16 x 16

Rescue: the Beagles was interesting.  The visual was really nice; I like the art style.  The gameplay was kind of frantic, and pretty harsh and unforgiving.  I just kept dying!  I think, perhaps, once I get a hang of the gameplay, I'll have more fun.  In the meantime, I enjoyed the graphics and the challenge.  I dont know what platform it's available, but you can download it here.

• Super Puzzle Platformer by Andrew Morrish

This game is tons of fun.  Highly intuitive but very challenging.  Charming graphics.  This game feels like an idea that was waiting to be made real.  Let me tell you the idea, and you'll see:  You are a little jumping platform guy with a gun, trapped in a puzzle game.  There are blocks falling from the ceiling and you have to shoot them to destroy them.  Combos and weapon upgrades follow.
You can play it free in-browser, so go do that, it's fun!   Also available to download for PC and Mac.


ARCADE was a fun cabinet with great variety. Entertaining, interesting and challenging.  I think to really crack into these games would require at least one dedicated weekend of hardcore gaming.