Games: Giant hat and toaster become controls – 04/12/2023 – Tech

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You’ve probably seen a video game controller before. Some buttons on one side, directional keys and analogue stick on the other, maybe some triggers on top… But why limit yourself to that? It is with this doubt in mind that some developers work, looking for more creative and unusual ways of interacting with computers.

The alt.ctrl.GDC exhibition, held in conjunction with the GDC (Game Developers Convention), in San Francisco, showed some examples of games that use alternative controls, such as a toaster or a giant hat. Meet some of them:

Haber Dasher

Developed by Erin Truesdell, a doctoral student in digital media at the Georgia Institute of Technology, “Haber Dasher” hides, behind its unusual premise and crazy gameplay, an interesting cooperative experience.

In this game, two players need to wear a giant hat at the same time and, through it, control a disguised alien. The objective is to accomplish tasks such as picking up a suitcase and a cup of coffee and getting to work in the shortest possible time, which demands coordination and communication.

Gilliam’s Great Escape

“Gilliam’s Great Escape” is a mini golf game. Only, instead of the objective being to throw a ball in the hole, the player needs to throw a fish in a giant sink. For this, he controls a toaster oven. Perhaps the fact that the controller is a toaster oven is the least weird part of it all.

The toaster thermometer controls the direction. The strength of the shot, or rather the shot of the fish, is defined by how much the player pulls the lever of the appliance. When releasing the lever, the fish is fired. Despite being unusual, the control is very intuitive and works surprisingly well for what the game proposes.

Paper Glider

Who never opened their arms and ran away as a child imitating a plane in mid-flight? Through a system of cables, weights and pulleys, “Paper Glider” at GDC managed to revive that tender childhood memory in many grown men out there (and I include myself in that).

In the game, the player needs to raise his arms to hold two handles that move the ropes attached to a PVC structure. Imitating a glider, the player controls a paper plane and needs to dodge a series of obstacles to reach the end of the route.

To complete this journey through time, cartoon-style graphics hark back to childhood and help create an even more immersive experience.

Stump’d!

This game, created by four game design students at Sheridan College, in Canada, puts the player in the shoes of a lumberjack who needs to cut wood stumps while being hampered by a crazy raccoon.

Controls are simple in “Stump’d!”. The player holds a toy ax and needs to hit an object simulating a stump to give the command to chop the wood. When the raccoon appears, the player needs to press a pedal, which throws the animal away.

It seems simple, but throughout the game things get complicated. It takes a lot of attention and motor coordination not to mess up and hit the poor raccoon.

Grocery Trip

If you were alive in the 1990s, you might remember the Supermarket show. In this game show, couples competed in a studio that simulated a supermarket to see who could shop faster.

In the cooperative game “Grocery Trip”, you experience a similar feeling. The difference is that in it, while a player drives the shopping cart, the other stays inside it, picking up products and punching customers who get in the way. Who never

Two By 4 Racing

In this cooperative racing game, two players simultaneously control a cart. Using bicycle wheels, one of them is responsible for controlling the direction and the other for speed.

It sounds simple, but “Two By 4 Racing” is not that easy. The player who controls the speed has his back to where the cart is going and can, when he wishes, take the wheel, changing positions with the other player. In addition, it is necessary to dodge defenseless cows scattered throughout the scenery in order not to be attacked by an angry bull in the middle of the race.

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play

game tip, new or old, for you to test

word solitaire

(PC, browsers)

Before “Wordle” took over the world, “Solitaire” was one of the most popular pastime games. “Word Solitaire”, developed by Finnish Petri Purho, is the perfect blend of these two worlds. In it, the player needs to use letters with letters to form five-letter words. The objective is to clear the table. Too bad there is only an English version for now.

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update

news, launches, business and what matters most

• Saudi Arabia intends to invest US$ 38 billion (R$ 191 billion) to transform the country into a game development center. The desire was revealed in an interview with Bloomberg by Brian Ward, CEO of Savvy Games Group – responsible for managing Saudi investments in the areas of games and esports.

• The first purchase happened last week. Scopely, developer of titles like “Marvel Strike Force” and “Stumble Guys” announced on the last day 5 that it was bought by Savvy Games Group for US$ 4.9 billion (R$ 24.9 billion).

• Asus revealed in twitter which will launch a portable gaming computer to compete with the Steam Deck. The device will be called ROG Ally, will run on Windows 11 and will be compatible with Xbox Game Pass. There is no release date or suggested price yet.

• The United States Department of Justice has filed a civil lawsuit against Activision Blizzard over the salary cap created by the company for players in its professional leagues “Overwatch” and “Call of Duty”, according to the website Gamesindustry.biz. The company says that the measure was taken to maintain competitiveness between the teams.

• The practice of putting salary caps on sports leagues is common in the US. The difference in Activision Blizzard’s measure for leagues like the NBA, for example, is that these mechanisms were agreed with player associations, and not imposed by the championship’s parent company.

• Sega took the pranks of April 1st a little too seriously and released the free game for PCs “The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog”, a narrative adventure in which the player needs to unravel the mystery of who killed the blue hedgehog.

• The free game development course at Escola Escolha Games is open for enrollment on its website until April 20th. Classes are held at a distance for two and a half months and are aimed at public school students, but other interested parties aged 12 to 29 can also participate. The initiative is from the production company Burburinho Cultural.

• Tickets for this year’s Brasil Game Show, one of the main gaming events in the country, will go on sale on April 20th. The initial lot will have a promotional price, starting at R$99. The event will take place from October 11th to 15th at Expo Center Norte, in São Paulo.

• Microsoft has announced the games that will be available on its game subscription service, Xbox Game Pass, in April. In addition to “Loop Hero”, “Goat Simulator” and “Everspace 2”, already available, they should arrive on the platform “Ghostwire: Tokyo” (12th), “NHL 23” (13th) and “Minecraft Legends” (18th ).

• Naughty Dog acknowledged technical problems in the version of “The Last of Us Part 1” released on the 28th for PCs. In message on twitterthe developer stated that it is working on a series of fixes to make the game work better.

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download

games that will be released in the next few days and promotions that are worthwhile

April 11

“Tron:Identity”: price not available (Switch, PC)

April 12

“Wildfrost”: R$ 59.99 (Switch), price not available (PC)

“Murderous Muses”: price not available (PC, PS 4/5, Xbox One/X/S)

April 14

“Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection”: BRL 199.90 (PC), BRL 259.50 (Switch, PS 4)