Comments on: this little piggy

By: Indie Vault » Blog Archive » Robot World Arena

Indie Vault » Blog Archive » Robot World Arena — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 00:33:31 +0000

[...] sono focalizzati nella creazione di giochi principalmente incentrati sul multiplayer. Così, dopo This Little Piggy, che ci ha regalato spassosi momenti in compagnia, è giunto il momento di giocare in quattro: [...]

By: Dario

Dario — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:35:25 +0000

I played this yesterday morning without having even read the post, so I knew nothing about what the game was all about and didn’t know it was a 2 player game. So I played alone (with the pig) wondering what the hell was going on. It was weird. I didn’t notice what was wrong until later when I realized I was missing another person (during the day, not while playing).

After that I played again with my brother and it was a riot. Immensely fun game. The shared space bar is such a good idea, it gives the game a great part of its flavor.

Congrats, Auntie!

By: leeham

leeham — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 23:26:21 +0000

the real monsters are ourselves

By: daphny

daphny — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:36:35 +0000

this game isnt monsterless AT ALL. worst description ever

By: Chris B

Chris B — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:28:21 +0000

Well I wasn’t explicitly speaking about online games, but nearly every vs mode (Street Fighter, Bomberman, Wii Sports).

But yes, I didn’t make the connection with tabletop RPGs, and something like ‘asymmetric competition’, just wouldn’t sound as nice.

Thx for the tips, I have to check out Bungeling Bay and find out a bit about Ogre.

PS: just remembered, there was also this Counter-Op mode in Perfect Dark, where one player assumed the role of an enemy.
More games should have this..

By: Cycle

Cycle — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 02:27:31 +0000

Oh, I was playing that beta you sent me :X

By: auntie

auntie — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 02:24:48 +0000

did you play the release build? if the wolf sits in one spot for too long, she’ll move automatically, hopefully giving the piggy an opportunity to dash in and grab the fruit.

By: Cycle

Cycle — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 02:19:16 +0000

I’ve found that the players can get in a bit of a stalemate if the wolf camps the furthest corner of the map with the last fruit. The pig pretty much can’t do anything about it unless the wolf gets impatient and decides to make a move.

By: auntie

auntie — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:54:09 +0000

i didn’t quite want to get into all out finger-wrestling with this game because that’s what chicanery is about. but physical contact is the context of a videogame is undoubtedly a theme i’ll return to.

i do have some other two-player games in the works.

By: auntie

auntie — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:48:01 +0000

i’ve never played north & south (though i’ve heard of it) but i just looked up a video. i like this kind of asymmetrical scenario, sort of like steve jackson’s ogre, where one player controls a single powerful actor and the other controls lots of weaker ones. i just found out that the nes port of raid on bungeling bay does this, too: in two-player mode, one player flies the helicopter and the other player commands the “enemies” trying to shoot down the helicopter that would normally be controlled by the computer.

i decided on the term “monsterless” because of the tabletop role-player tradition: any character who wasn’t a player character was a “monster” and was hence under the control of the dungeon master. in videogames, the computer has replaced the dungeon master.

and sure, there are abstract games where the single player is playing against the rules, not an actor. but in most cases where there are multiple actors, either some of them are played by the computer, or they’re played by someone on the otherside of an internet connection, which isn’t the same social situation i’m interested in (though often an interesting one nonetheless).