Comments on: Short and sweet game

Short and sweet game

blahblahblah — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 06:38:55 -0800

shows the unique approach to gaming taken by Cecropia, whose first effort, the highly-praised "The Act" was an interactive sitcom of sorts that was controlled with a single knob. Unfortunately and unsurprisingly, Cecropia never could find a market for an intelligent coin-op game with a single control in 2007, so The Act was canceled.

By: blahblahblah

blahblahblah — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 06:42:46 -0800

Sorry, should have made it clear - the first link goes to a little embedded flash game, with minimal sound effects.

By: DU

DU — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 06:49:59 -0800

Reading your description, I was pretty meh, but the longer article makes The Act sound really interesting. I'm not really clear why there's only one knob though. Wouldn't multiple variables be even better? (Also "cecropia" may be the worst name short of "coprophilia" or "necrophilia".) The example game is...OK, I guess. But the lack of variables is a real problem. Some complex (by which I mean "harder to detect a pattern in") AI could do wonders.

By: MPnonot3

MPnonot3 — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 06:52:26 -0800

What does this game teach us? That eating more chips will get me girls.

By: andythebean

andythebean — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 07:06:09 -0800

I'm amused by the confluence of this question and the chip-centric nature of this "game." That is all.

By: bookwo3107

bookwo3107 — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 07:29:19 -0800

Okay- now I really need to play The Act. Has any information surfaced about a PC or console game port? I'd think that the Wii may be able to simulate the single-knob control scheme fairly effectively.

By: the quidnunc kid

the quidnunc kid — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 07:38:48 -0800

Funnily enough, I'm also controlled by a single knob.

By: therubettes

therubettes — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 07:53:41 -0800

Chip Game Cheat: Eat two chips, reach back in the back and leave your hand there. After a while you wont even notice the chick, trust me.

By: graventy

graventy — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:06:11 -0800

I swear I've read about this game here before, but my search skills fail me. At any rate, it looks like a neat game, and I wish they'd put it out on some platform.

By: roll truck roll

roll truck roll — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:14:35 -0800

This looks a lot like what Time Traveler was trying to do. Except, you know, playable. I definitely want to try this. It's sad that something this innovative probably wouldn't sell in arcades anymore. It could be a great Wii title, though.

By: Durn Bronzefist

Durn Bronzefist — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 08:14:55 -0800

I think I've played this game before. Through four years of undergrad.

By: stresstwig

stresstwig — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:02:20 -0800

This is great! I'm AWESOME at eating chips in front of anorexic people!

By: mkb

mkb — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:23:31 -0800

The single control sounds a lot like Midnight Stranger. Without the boobies and rape, apparently.

By: roll truck roll

roll truck roll — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 09:36:36 -0800

mkb typed "Without the boobies and rape, apparently." It all depends how far you go with that confidence knob.

By: nzero

nzero — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 10:15:34 -0800

We are now bringing this new style of gaming to Flash-based advergames. "Advergames?" No thanks...

By: FatherDagon

FatherDagon — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 10:45:50 -0800

This looks a lot like what Time Traveler was trying to do. Except, you know, playable. Wow, Time Traveller! I remember playing that once in the arcade. It was... poo. Shiny, faux-holographic, three dollars a play poo.

By: EatTheWeak

EatTheWeak — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 14:31:52 -0800

That looks incredible. Clearly too original to ever actually release. Perish the thought. Thinking of arcades makes me sad. That used to be where I went to whip ass at Street Fighter. Now the entirety of the arcade business seems to be about leasing out Golden Tee machines.

By: roll truck roll

roll truck roll — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:12:42 -0800

Taking another look at the demonstrational Flash game, it really comes just short of what I want this project to be. Using the extended chip-holding hand as a visual representation of the confidence threshold is very smart, and I hope that there are things like it in The Act. It's far more intuitive than almost any video game UI. But solving the game doesn't really involve mastering the confidence threshold; it just involves figuring out the eat-three-chips trick. Hopefully, The Act is a little bit less binary. I'd like to see a game that involved being in just the right range of inputs at the right time, and maybe you wouldn't know whether you were in the right range until a few scenes later. If The Act has standard "solutions" for getting through each level, then it really is another Dragon's Lair knockoff, no matter what they say about it.

By: DU

DU — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:31:30 -0800

But solving the game doesn't really involve mastering the confidence threshold; it just involves figuring out the eat-three-chips trick. Wait...what confidence threshold? I just ate three chips, she scooted closer, I gave her one and it was over (THAT'S WHAT SHE ETC).

By: BrotherCaine

BrotherCaine — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:42:19 -0800

Has a bit of that Dragon's Lair / LaserDisc game feel.

By: disillusioned

disillusioned — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 02:26:32 -0800

I'm not understanding the focus on it being an arcade game. Why not release it for the PC, with a Kingston-style volume knob, or, you know, your mouse wheel?