Sportsfriends

Sportsfriends is a party video game created by the Danish independent developer collective Die Gute Fabrik.[1] It consists of four games: Johann Sebastian Joust, Super Pole Riders, BaraBariBall, and Hokra.[2] Planned for release on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Mac, and Linux, the game was funded through Kickstarter and received over US$150,000 from backers.[2]

Sportsfriends
Developer(s)Die Gute Fabrik
Publisher(s)Die Gute Fabrik
Platform(s)PlayStation 3
PlayStation 4
Microsoft Windows
Mac OS X
Linux
Release
  • PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
  • 6 May 2014
  • Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux
  • 19 December 2014
Genre(s)Party
Mode(s)Local multiplayer

Johann Sebastian Joust does not have graphics or use a monitor.[2] Instead players try to hold a PlayStation Move controller still while others attempt to bump their controller.[2] Die Gute Fabrik entered the minigame into the 2012 Independent Games Festival competition.[3] Pole Riders is a polevaulting game created by Bennett Foddy. A prototype version is available as a web game.[note 1][4]

Johann Sebastian Joust
Each player in Johann Sebastian Joust is given a PlayStation Move controller which they must try to keep still while attempting to shake the other players' controllers.

Johann Sebastian Joust is a local multiplayer no-graphics contact sport video game created by Douglas Wilson.[5][6] The objective of the game is to be the last man standing. This is done by players trying to cause a rapid motion in their opponent's controller: a PlayStation Move. During the game, music from Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg concertos is played at a slow tempo. In relation to a player being knocked out, there is a tolerance of motion the controller will allow that is linked to the speed of the music. As the speed of the music increases, so does the motion tolerance, which allows players to move more rapidly without setting off their controller.[5]

BaraBariBall

BaraBariBall is a 2-4 player sports game that draws comparisons to well known fighting games such as Super Smash Bros. and PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, since the game focuses heavily on platforming. BaraBariBall injects a ball and goal into the platforming fighter genre, taking the priority away from killing an opponent. Instead, the players focus on scoring by throwing or dunking the ball into the opposing players' water, scoring one point upon a successful dunk. The players attempt to knock the ball out of each other's grasp by attacking the player in possession of the ball with directional based combat similar to Super Smash Bros. However, the players are not limited to only one or two jumps, instead able to jump up to eight times as long as the player still has enough "charges". These are represented by circles floating around the character, which are consumed each time a player jumps and recharge as long as the player is on the ground. Once the player runs out of circles, the player falls. If a player falls into the water (the goals), the player dies and re-spawns at the center of the stage a few seconds later, causing their team to lose a point.

Awards

Johann Sebastian Joust won two awards, Impact and Technology, at IndieCade 2011[7] Hokra received the Audience Choice award at IndieCade 2012.[8]

Reception

Jeremy Peeples of Hardcore Gamer gave the game a 4/5, saying "It mixes the competitiveness of real sports with video game conventions and is the absolute best reason to own a PS camera on the PS4." [9]

Polygon named Joust among the decade's best.[10]

Notes
  1. The prototype is available at foddy.net.

References
  1. Brown, Nathan (9 November 2012). "Johann Sebastian Joust and friends head to PS3 via Kickstarter". Edge. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  2. Yin-Poole, Wesley (10 December 2012). "Sportsfriends featuring Johann Sebastian Joust Kickstarter funded with 9 hours to go". Eurogamer. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  3. "Johann Sebastian Joust". Independent Games Festival. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  4. Meer, Alec (9 November 2012). "Whee! Sports! Joust & Chums Go Crowd-Funded". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  5. Plante, Chris (6 December 2012). "Johann Sebastian Joust: Making a video game without video". Polygon.com. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  6. McElroy, Griffin (10 December 2012). "Sportsfriends Kickstarter campaign had a triumphant final week, and a turbulent final hour". Polygon.com. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  7. "The Official IndieCade 2011 Award Winners in All Categories". indiegamereviewer.com. 9 October 2011. Archived from the original on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
  8. Matulef, Jeffrey (12 October 2012). "IndieCade 2012 winners announced, Unmanned takes the top prize". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 28 February 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  9. Beaudette, Matt (7 May 2014). "Review: Sportsfriends". Hardcore Gamer. Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  10. "The 100 best games of the decade (2010–2019): 100–51". Polygon. November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
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