die gute fabrik
road to the igf: die gute fabrik' s j. s. joust
die gute fabrik is an independent developer that has no problem with having an identity crisis .
die gute fabrik was launched in 2008 and is based in copenhagen and new york city .
gamasutra - road to the igf: die gute fabrik' s j. s. joust
die gute fabrik is german for “the good factory” - the studio sits atop a cliffside overlooking the majestic fjords of denmark .
die gute fabrik is an independent games studio that develops games which are hand - crafted, synaesthetic, offbeat, and personal .
johann sebastian joust is a game by die gute fabrik. website made by pixelate. this site is best experienced on whatever browser or device you prefer to use .
there' s very little ego behind the process, wilson and deneken explained; the permanent and transient members of die gute fabrik pick the projects they love, then work together to get them made .
/ view / news / 129376 / road _ to _ the _ igf _ die _ gute _ fabriks _ js _ joust. php
mutazione, which was unveiled during venus patrol and mocatv' s alternative e3 press conference horizon after several years of teasing by die gute fabrik, has been formulating in the back of nils' mind since before he and wilson even met at the very first indiecade in 2008 .
wilson, deneken and the rotating cast of collaborators who create games at die gute fabrik trade leadership roles freely. each of their major game releases were spearheaded by a different person; johann sebastian joust is led up by wilson, mutazione by deneken, where is my heart by collaborator bernhard schulenburg .
telecommuting is a new issue for die gute fabrik' s owners, but it' s always been a trial for their development projects. the studio' s collaborators are spread out across the world. programmer george buckingham is based out of london. composer alessandro coronas lives in sardinia, italy .
now, development on a retail version of joust — to be released in the sportsfriends bundle for playstation 3 and pc —is
picking up pretty fast ,
wilson explained. die gute fabrik has hired the contractors they needed to finalize the four games included in the package, leaving wilson to polish joust, his own contribution to the project .
mutazione' s development is supported by a grant die gute fabrik received from the danish film institute all the way back in 2009. the team has to
burn on a low flame ,
deneken explained, until it receives additional funding — while games like where is my heart were well - received, they didn' t sell enough to fund the team' s other efforts .
wilson reached out to game designer and artist dominique
dom2d
ferland, who contributed art for the sportsfriends kickstarter project, to create visual assets for the game. wilson said he' s incredibly selective when it comes to collaborators on die gute fabrik' s games, but dom' s illustrations, which depict baroque - era characters playing the game' s soundtrack on musical instruments, were an instant hit .
die gute fabrik is a small games studio based in copenhagen and new york city. we take classic play forms from the past - be they physical folk games from the playground or adventure games from old consoles - and breathe new life into them with 21st century technology and our own sense of style and storytelling. we strive to develop games that are hand - crafted, synaesthetic, offbeat, and above all, personal .
die gute fabrik is an independent games studio that develops games which are hand - crafted, synaesthetic, offbeat, and personal. it converts classic play forms from the past such as physical folk games from the playground or adventure games from old consoles into 21st century games with new technology. its games include sportsfriends, johann sebastian joust, where is my heart, mutazione, rückblende, b. u. t. t. o. n. , and more .
those two titles — just a portion of the team' s full portfolio — have been well received, but couldn' t be any more different; one, a highly mechanical and lovingly illustrated traditional video game, the other, a display - free, all - physical sporting event. die gute fabrik hasn' t pigeonholed itself as a specialist in a singular genre; and they' re not looking to, either. that fact is clearly evidenced by the next project coming from the developer: the quiet, painterly adventure game mutazione .
die gute fabrik' s development strategy of disassociated projects and shifting personnel is not going to change, wilson and deneken said. the freedom they' ve achieved has allowed them to explore new ideas without shackling themselves to sequels or a specific genre. as long as they keep moving, they won' t run out of ideas. it' s that very playfulness with design that led to joust' s invention in the first place. it' s what let them develop tower no tumble, a crokinole - inspired sifteo cube game with ties to the mutazione universe, earlier this year .
it was a lot like that when i was with my danish colleagues in copenhagen game collective ,
wilson added .
we were working on a lot of party games and stuff, and that was fun, and great for a few years. but at some point it was like, now i just want to make games with nils and a few other people in our die gute fabrik band, so to speak. whatever that is, that' s what it' ll be. will that be intelligible to other people? i don' t know. we' re just going to have to try our best .
douglas wilson is a lead game designer and partner at die gute fabrik, a small games studio based in copenhagen, denmark and new york city. doug recently finished a phd dissertation at it university of copenhagen, where he wrote about designing games that embrace an aesthetic of confrontation, silliness, and brokenness. his games have been shown around the world, in venues such as the independent games festival, indiecade, and the museum of modern art. he grew up playing simple folk games, and also videogames like goldeneye 007, mario kart, and dance dance revolution, and wants to help carry those kinds of experiences into today’s world .
die gute fabrik experimented with making the screen a more mechanical part of the retail release of joust, but it never felt natural. the studio looked to one of it' s older titles, button, for inspiration; in button, the screen simply displayed a real - life action players had to perform before pressing their controller' s button to win the round. it' s a game that required its players — perhaps complete strangers demoing the game at an exhibition — to roughhouse in a generally humorous manner. to break the ice, the game' s visuals featured fittingly humorous graphics (
dumb, kind of stoner graphics ,
in wilson' s own words) drawn by deneken .
the denmark - based studio, owned by joint founders douglas wilson and nils deneken, is far from unproven, having critically - acclaimed puzzle - platformer where is my heart and folk game darling johann sebastian joust already under its belt. later this year, the studio will release a mac, windows pc and linux port of the former title, while the latter is being bundled into the sportsfriends package, which met a lofty $ 150, 000 kickstarter goal late last year .
i kind of conceived the project, and was working on it back then, when we were meeting at indiecade ,
deneken said .
that' s actually a really long time! it was always in the back of my head, always developing that world, drawing backgrounds and shaping that world, and looking for people who would love to work on that with me .
he found that collaborator in wilson, beginning a partnership that would shape both the studio they founded and all the games that they would create .
[ mutazione ] really is nils' s project, it' s his baby ,
wilson said .
i see myself as wanting to help bring nils' s vision to life, which is really different from joust. nils was really there for the genesis of joust — i think i' ve told this story before, but i' m not sure that game would even exist in its current form if nils hadn' t been there at this game jam, helping me explore the idea. but that game is very much, kind of, my game that nils has supported along the way. it' s the flip relationship on mutazione .
where is my heart and johann sebastian joust are two very different games with one common thread; they were inspired by their mechanics, rather than their aesthetic world design .
that much is obvious regarding joust — a game with zero visuals in its current form — but slightly less evident for schulenburg' s where is my heart. the world of that game, lovingly pixelated by deneken, is objectively beautiful. but it was where is my heart' s core mechanic, a puzzle - platforming blend involving panels which players can swap to change the world around them, that inspired the game, wilson explained .
i think that just shows the different interests ,
wilson said .
nils is kind of an illustrator and storyteller, right? i think that' s where his creative impulse is coming from .
before the evolving adventure game mechanics of mutazione were put in place, the world of the game — a ruined, semi - post - apocalyptic swamp that' s overtaken a once pristine holiday resort — was developed .
i thought this holiday village would be the perfect setting for it; i always wanted to drop a bomb on these, like, holiday resorts ,
deneken laughed .
it has everything: a beautiful valley, a swampy region with a beach close by. it' s a beautiful place, that' s also a little bit — i wouldn' t call it morbid, but it has these traces of our civilization. there' s a lot of depth to that, you have the possibility for a lot of stories to develop there. it' s a place that tells a story .
mutazione stars — or rather, co - stars — a human named kay, who is transported to the game' s titular world after a motorcycle crash. the means of her transportation are vague, layering another mystery on top of the world, as the player' s not sure if they' re in another age, another dimension or another reality altogether .
the world was cemented in deneken' s mind before any mechanics took shape, he explained .
in my head back then, it was always kind of this exploratory platformer game, in that world i was inspired to create ,
deneken said .
since then, it' s really developed and changed a lot. it got less and less challenge - based, i guess, and more and more in the direction of, i want this to be a world you can explore, and find its different possibilities without having to solve puzzles to progress. or the other way, that it should not be too skill - based, that you don' t have to control your character in this perfect way to succeed. it should be laid back, and relaxed .
the stories, lives and interactions of mutazione' s mutant cast will expand over time; not just with the passing of dialogue, but the passing of time .
the citizens of mutazione won' t challenge kay in mortal or mental combat. they' re major characters, each with their own stories. as kay, the player will get to know these characters, interact with them, learn their stories, their motivations and their schedules. they' re also a colorful cast of characters; they' re all mutants who' ve been physically changed by the cataclysmic event that has thrown the holiday resort into disarray .
but... but friendly mutants ,
wilson explained .
this is not fallout .
that' s not the only time that comparison came up during the interview. deneken emphasized how important it is for him to create a world where players can build deep, meaningful connections with characters on their own terms. it' s a shortcoming he observed when playing a game he otherwise loved: bethesda' s fallout 3 .
obviously it' s a really gigantic world so you can' t ask for all that much depth from the game, but you get this place, this really scrappy town called megaton, and you have a house there ,
deneken said .
but aside from some few shopkeepers, you can' t actually interact with your neighbors. i found that really annoying. sometimes one of those villagers would come to you as a player and would give you something, but it didn' t have any background, and you didn' t have any relation to those characters. they' re really just puppets .
the stories, lives and interactions of mutazione' s mutant cast will expand over time; not just with the passing of dialogue, but the passing of time. the world will change based on the time of day and day of the week. characters will be at different places depending on their schedules, and will impart new information and carry out new conversations based on where and when they are .
i think the main kernel for me is super inspired by majora' s mask ,
wilson said .
this idea of how can you make a place feel like a living, breathing place? this idea in majora' s mask that everyone had this schedule, and so forth — it' s almost this kind of trick, because that game feels like it has more content than it really does. it' s clever, right, because instead of needing to make five towns, you only have the resources for one town, so you do a lot more with that set of resources .
that starts weaving into the way you converse with these characters, how you find them, what mood they' re in at this place and time ,
wilson added .
that, to me, i' d say is the core thing i' m hoping to add to the core adventure - ish template. to make the world seem a bit more alive .
on the complete opposite end of the game design spectrum is johann sebastian joust; a title that has built a following out of not having a visual element. the game is not suspended in an illustrated world with a charming cast of characters; it manifests entirely in the physical space, its interactions occurring dynamically between real - life combatants .
johann sebastian joust has gained a fair amount of celebrity among anyone who' s ever played it. but it' s never actually been fully released, existing and spreading only in various betas that have been distributed since the game first surfaced at the 2011 nordic game jam .
part of the discussion is, it changes a lot, right ,
wilson said .
when you go from just, like, an exhibition game or art piece or whatever you want to call it, to a commercial product. that' s both for good and for bad. the tough thing is the expectations change, literally just by putting it on a different platform. it needs to be intelligible to people who aren' t part of the scene, or who haven' t seen it in exhibitions .
johann sebastian joust is a game that requires its players to possess a feral awareness of their opponent' s intentions, ensuring nobody' s close enough to dive at their vulnerable controller, jostling it enough to remove them from the game. that sense of self - preservation and battlefield assessment is part and parcel of the game' s magic .
perhaps the biggest question wilson had to answer while making the sportsfriends port of joust is how to preserve that magic while incorporating a screen into the mix .
you can' t really imagine, like, you turn on your playstation 3, select this game and then look at a black screen with music ,
wilson said .
that' s not what happens when you load a playstation. there' s got to be some kind of smoother path to that .
for me, visuals become a way of framing the experience ,
wilson added .
the idea is not that you look at the screen while you play, but that it sets the tone .
each character is based on one of the colors projected by the playstation move controller' s tip, providing players and spectators with a quick visual reference for who' s still in the game. as the music shifts in tempo, so do the character' s animations on screen. it provides data on the game' s proceedings without busy, distracting user interfaces. it contributes more to the atmosphere of joust than it takes away .
the same philosophy applies to the sportsfriends version of joust. it is, in a way, wilson' s method of building a memorable world on top of the one we live in .
it' s the same reason i' m using js bach, and not just any old piece of music ,
wilson said .
it kind of sets this, slightly sillier tone, and the baroque bullshit kind of makes you want to act like an old swordsman or something. i think it' s all part of this subtle mood suggestion stuff, and just looking like,' ah, this is a product, it was worth my money to spend on it, it wasn' t just slapped together .
not five minutes into our teleconference interview, the skype call between myself, wilson and deneken dropped .
it' s an increasingly common and frustrating scenario for wilson and deneken, who, until recently, operated out of the latter' s office in copenhagen. after finishing up a danish ph. d. program, wilson returned to the united states to work out of new york city .
this is basically, we do this call every day ,
wilson said .
you' re getting a really good insider view on what it' s like for us to work out of skype .
the team is happy to work on their own schedules, wilson explained, but he and deneken still try to get as much face time with one another as is financially possible .
we try to be clever; like, i' ll wait for if i' m lucky enough that some exhibition wants to fly me out to europe, i' ll use that for free plane tickets to europe, then we' ll turn that into a work camp or something ,
wilson said .
we' re just kind of scrappily trying to do what we can. we gotta make it work, but i think we' re slowly getting the hang of it .
yes ,
wilson said ,
but i don' t know what the answer is. we were just kind of like,' fuck it, we' re just gonna do the projects we want to do, and that we' re excited about, and it' ll either work out or it won' t.' i don' t understand what the alternative would be. like, we come up with some strategy to be the motion control studio, or whatever .
we were just kind of like,' fuck it, we' re just gonna do the projects we want to do, and that we' re excited about, and it' ll either work out or it won' t.'
our goal is to be self - sustaining ,
deneken said .
that' s our ultimate goal at the moment, just to get to that point where we can just have a game out, and that can finance our next project .
the hope is that mutazione, sportsfriends and the pc, mac and linux ports of where is my heart will bring them into a more financially stable future, wilson explained; one where they don' t have to change their freeform development philosophy .
but it' s difficult, it' s definitely a struggle ,
wilson said .
but we' ve gotta give it a good try. i super believe in nils and his work, which is partially why it' s this crazy, shifting cast of characters and collaborators. you' re kind of piecing it together. we can barely afford to keep ourselves going. there' s no staff of like, hiring a big studio of 20 people, or something .
but that' s kind of okay, that way, because we' re all involved in production work ,
deneken said .
that' s really nice, we' re not all just managing. i wouldn' t actually want that, to have this big staff and run around, coordinating stuff. i just want to go in myself and do assets and stuff like that. we hope we can stay small, and release a successful project that can keep us going, and add up, and have a back catalog of games that will finance our work .
sure, here and there we could contract an animator, or even hire one on a regular basis ,
deneken added .
but i' m not interested in growth, basically. i' m really not .
fallout 76’s todd howard: no cross - console play because ‘sony is not as helpful as everyone would like. ’
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johann sebastian joust is a no - graphics, digitally - enabled playground game designed for motion controllers .
the goal is to be the last player remaining. when the music — j. s. bach' s ‌brandenburg concertos — plays in slow - motion, the controllers are very sensitive to movement. when the music speeds up, the threshold becomes less strict, giving the players a small window to dash at their opponents. if your controller is ever moved beyond the allowable threshold, you' re out! try to jostle your opponents' controllers while protecting your own .
j. s. joust is available on playstation 3 & 4 as part of the sportsfriends compendium. the game is also coming to mac and linux december 19 via steam and the humble store .
a compendium of four joyfully fun local multiplayer games for playstation 3 and home computers .
they already exist as playable prototypes, and have been exhibited around the world at festivals and parties. they' ve received lots of honors and awards, including three indiecade awards and the innovation award at the 2012 game developers choice awards. most importantly, we know they' re super fun. sony does too, and they' ve already given us the go - ahead to put sportsfriends on the playstation 3 !
we want to take the current prototypes to completion, adding tons of different ways to play while keeping them simple at heart. publishers aren' t interested in local multiplayer - only games, so that' s where you come in. we need kickstarter funding to make this project happen .
back us with $ 15 or more, and you' ll get this package of four games plus exclusive rewards. and you' ll make it possible for us to finally bring these games to the broader public and to you !
this is a game that people need to play .
–ben kuchera, the penny arcade report
joust rides at the vanguard of a genre that' s as old as written language, but entirely new to video game culture .
–griffin mcelroy, the verge
j ohann sebastian joust is a no - graphics, digitally - enabled playground game that i designed for motion controllers like the playstation move. players try to jostle their opponents' controllers while protecting their own. how fast you can move your controller depends on the varying tempo of the music. if your controller is ever moved beyond the allowable threshold, you' re out! the goal is to be the last player remaining .
i first prototyped the game in 2011 at the nordic game jam. right after the jam, a large throng of people assembled to play the game for hours. from then on, i knew i had stumbled upon something special. over the past year i worked on j. s. joust on the side as i finished my phd, showing the game at exhibitions and festivals around the world. at this year’s game developer choice awards, j. s. joust even won the innovation award, beating out heavy hitters like l. a. noire and portal 2 .
one of the design goals behind j. s. joust was to make a motion - control game where people look at each other, rather than at a screen. the kind of raucous experience i wanted to design was influenced by my previous work on experimental party games like b. u. t. t. o. n .
now i' m eager to expand and polish the game! the final version of j. s. joust will contain a variety of new play modes, music options, and adjustable settings - for instance, traitor mode. in one new music mode, i want to assign a separate instrument to each player, such that their
voice
drops off when they' re eliminated. more generally, i want to allow players to tweak the base game system in a whole bunch of ways, so that each player community can find their own preferred ruleset .
it turns out that j. s. joust is a little too weird for publishers. after all, what do you do with a game that has no graphics or single - player mode? but i know the game is a blast, and i hope you' ll help support a commercial release !
it has that perfect mix of pixel elegance and stellar fluid motion, like watching basketball through mosaic sunglasses .
–marc weidenbaum, disquiet
... like super smash bros from a superior reality .
–adam smith, rock paper shotgun
barabariball is a fighting / sports game for two or four players. players score by dunking the ball in the water on the opposing team’s side but lose a point for falling into the water themselves .
in addition to a wide range of tactical maneuvers, players have seven air jumps, allowing for unprecedented control and ridiculously awesome aerial combat. barabariball favors responsive controls, improvisation and tactics, and currently features three unique characters with a wide variety of attacks and special abilities .
barabariball has been featured at events such as the nyu game center' s 2012 no quarter, the evo 2012 indie showcase, the tokyo game show' s sense of wonder night, indiecade' s night games, eurogamer' s rezzed, juegos rancheros, fantastic arcade, wild rumpus and many more .
should this kickstarter be funded, i will continue development with an eye toward new arenas, improved animation and audio, additional game types (team battle! challenge mode! three player mode !) and further balance and playtesting .
the barabariball team also includes richard and marcus terrell, as well as michael fisher on tabla .
super pole riders will be an enhanced, extended version of my hit pole - vaulting polo game, pole riders. in pole riders, two athletic men pole - vault into the air to try to kick a ball, suspended on a rope by a pulley, into their enemy' s goal. it' s a no - holds - barred sport of launching yourself off your opponent' s head, kicking him off his pole, and flipping the other guy into orbit with your pole. it brings the awkward physics - based controls of my single player game qwop to a local multiplayer battle .
since i shipped the original pole riders, we' ve shown it at a number of parties and events around the world. it debuted at babycastles in new york before the web launch. it was at prince of arcade in montreal, juegos rancheros in austin, wild rumpus in london and san francisco, among others. i' ve heard from a number of game developers that they play pole riders tournaments in their office, at places like maxis and harmonix. the more i watch people play pole riders competitively, the more i' ve seen how it could be developed further. now i want to make an enhanced edition that can do things that were technically impossible in the web version .
first, i want to make the game playable by four players at once, so that each game in the sportsfriends set can be played by a party of four. more players means more poles, which will place more strain on the physics engine, but i think a downloadable title can handle it .
second, i want to have a number of arenas with more interesting geometry. in some, you' ll only be able to reach the ball by vaulting into the air. in others, you' ll have to work quite hard to reach the goals, which will be at the top of hills or at the exits to a greco - roman amphitheater .
finally, the most important addition of all: you' ll be able to impale your opponent on your pole, and wave his lifeless body around as a kind of club .
in the sense of creating true human connection, hokra shoots and scores .
– jessica conditt, joystiq
it’s got all the fast - paced competitive teamwork and maneuvering of a game like nba jam .
–ryan rigney, wired
hokra is a minimalist digital sports game. a fast - paced, competitive game for two teams of two players each, hokra features simple controls and minimal rules while retaining the depth that makes multiplayer games exciting for advanced players. like the sports from which it draws inspiration, hokra is engaging to both player and spectators .
hokra has been shown at over a dozen events all over the world, from its debut at nyu’s no quarter exhibition to babycastles, wild rumpus, and indiecade 2012, where it won the audience choice award .
people have already had a lot of fun playing hokra at these events, but i’m still working to make the game even better. i' m currently experimenting with new arenas, including some with moving goals, walls that impede movement, and special terrain where players move slowly. i’m also adding a super hectic 8 - player mode. i can’t wait to get the final version of hokra into everybody’s hands !
with sportsfriends, our goal is to bring people together to the same physical space to enjoy simple, spectator - friendly videogames. online multiplayer is great and everything, but there’s nothing quite like gaming together with friends who are there with you in person, or competing in front of a cheering crowd. think back to those games you played at the arcade, or on the playground, or on your friend’s couch. many of our favorite gaming memories come from local multiplayer games, and we want to celebrate that kind of co - located play .
sportsfriends takes some our favorite aspects of popular sports – playful competition, performance, and spectatorship – and tries to make those elements more palatable to a broader game - loving audience. you don' t have to be a sports fan or even a fan of sports games to enjoy sportsfriends. we want to draw attention to what' s happening in front of the screen, between the human beings playing and watching .
sportsfriends is more than your typical
bundle
of games. it' s one tight - knit package of multiplayer games that all embrace a similar design philosophy. the four of us made our games around the same time, and we’ve all influenced each other. by collaborating on one project, we hope to make something that transcends any of the individual games .
developing videogames is expensive, especially for console and for multiple platforms. games like ours that require joypads or motion controllers make the task even trickier .
chief among our project costs, we' ll need to hire two expert multi - platform programmers to port all the games. the four of us are primarily designers, so we can' t do it ourselves. we' re eager to get these games out to the public, so we want to hire programmers who can help us do this efficiently .
we' ll also need a bit of graphic design and sound design work to help tie the four games together into one cohesive, quadrathlon - tastic package .
the good news is, sony likes the games enough that they' ll help us a little on the back end and with marketing. but we’re still far short of the funds we need to port the games and wrap them together in one package. the fact is, our four games don’t look or play like most console titles. we need your help and support to get us to the finish line and to prove that, yes, people are interested in these games .
by self - publishing this compendium, we want to show that the gaming public does indeed care about local multiplayer; that the future of this medium concerns more than just fancy graphics, but also innovative design and replayability; that sometimes, the best games of them all are the simplest .
• we plan to debut on playstation 3 (digitally via psn) in fall 2013, with a mac / pc / linux release shortly afterwards .
• if you donate at $ 30, you' ll get alpha versions of the games shortly after the kickstarter campaign ends .
• hokra, super pole riders, and barabariball require controllers, and cannot be played with a keyboard. we' ll try our best to support a wide range of controllers .
• for j. s. joust we' re investigating sixaxis support and also wiimote support (for the home computer version), but in the meantime playstation move controllers and bluetooth will be required .
• due to bluetooth issues, native windows support for j. s. joust may not be possible. we' ll look into it. meanwhile, for you windows users, you' ll be able to boot your pc directly into a special linux version from a standard usb thumbdrive. we' ll provide full directions .
• right now we can only guarantee the playstation 3 version to the following countries: united states of america, canada, mexico, austria, belgium, croatia, czech republic, denmark, france, germany, greece, israel, italy, luxembourg, netherlands, portugal, slovenia, spain, sweden, switzerland, united kingdom. we hope to support additional countries too - stay tuned .
see
release plans
above for technical specifications, platforms, applicable countries, and release schedule .
all release copy backers (no matter which version you choose) will also receive a copy of jan willem nijman' s unreleased tennis game, tennnes .
much like hokra and barabariball, tennnes is a minimalist sports game commissioned by the nyu game center' s no quarter exhibition. it features sound by eirik suhrke (of spelunky and super crate box fame). jw has graciously agreed to donate an exclusive copy of the game in support of our kickstarter campaign .
sure, there are already lots of tennis videogames out there, but none of them feel quite as good as tennnes. jw, co - founder of dutch game studio vlambeer and one of the minds behind super crate box, excels at designing game systems that feel
juicy
and are tweaked to perfection. tennnes is no exception. stripped down to the bare essentials, tennnes captures the elegance of tennis, yet is fun even if you aren' t a tennis fan .
in addition to everything above, early alphas backers will receive current alpha versions of the games. start playing now, before we' re even done! the alpha versions aren' t thoroughly tested, but we' ve shown them at many events around the world, and they' re already super fun. here' s some more info about each alpha :
johann sebastian joust alpha • expected delivery date: mid december • requirements: mac only (osx 10. 5 or above), bluetooth, two or more ps move controllers
at this tier we' re also throwing in five unreleased local multiplayer games (for pc / mac), donated by some of our favorite indie designers .
qwopfriends by bennett foddy - race your friends in a game of precision qwop using dual analogue sticks. hop, skip and jump your way to victory across three events. based on the highly popular qwop for ios. requirements: for windows, mac, and linux. requires xbox 360 controllers .
miracle adventures in 2113 by noah sasso - - an experimental action game with one foot in the bullet hell / shmup tradition. players alter the trajectory of bullets using a mouse - controlled magnet, and attempt to dodge the inevitable chaos that ensues. requirements: for windows and mac. supports both xbox 360 controller and mouse / keyboard .
boss battle (working title) by ramiro corbetta - a local multiplayer shmup boss fight in which the boss is controlled by a human player. a game for 2 to 4 players. requirements: for windows only. requires xbox 360 controllers .
backers at this level will also receive access to an exclusive series of podcasts that we' ll produce throughout the development process. the four of us will go in - depth on the design process, explaining how we balance the games and what new features we' re playtesting .
in addition to everything above, backers at the sportsfriends forever level will receive a stylish t - shirt. wear your sportsfriendship proudly, for the whole world to see !
backers at this level will also get their name into the game credits. show your support and become a part of sportsfriends history !
everything above, plus we' ll mail you seven brand new move controllers, and you' ll be able to put them to use with your early alpha build .
for each controller, we' ll also include a special controller
charm
- a decorative memento to clasp onto the wrist strap .
everything in the sportsfriends forever tier and above, plus we' ll send you everything you need to run bennett' s and doug' s popular mega - girp, a game installation exhibited at galleries and parties around the world and at venues like gdc' s experimental gameplay session .
mega - girp is a game played on four modified dance pads. it takes bennett' s award - nominated web game, girp, and transforms it for public events and spectators, combining the game' s cheeky physics system with physical, performative play. read more about it here .
this package includes four xbox 360 dance pads specially modified by us, a usb hub, and an exclusive full - screen build of girp .
the bluetooth hardware spec only allows up to seven controllers. that' s why the normal version of j. s. joust supports 2 to 7 players .
but in early 2012, doug, together with psmoveapi wizard thomas perl, prototyped a special 18 + player version of j. s. joust by networking together three macbook pros. doug also modified the design of the game to include a special
traitor
feature. it' s kind of like j. s. joust with a strong dose of the famous parlor game mafia .
doug has since exhibited this special version of the game at several public events, including a raucous showing at pax 2012. ben kuchera of penny arcade report chronicled the event in this in - depth account .
backers at this tier will receive everything in the sportsfriends forever tier and above, plus we' ll ship you 18 move controllers, a full set of 18 controller charms (see above), three charging stations, a wireless router, and the specially prepared j. s. joust build required to network the computers together .
( note: you will need three bluetooth - enabled mac computers to support 18 players - not included in this package) .
backers at this tier will receive everything in the sportsfriends forever tier and above, plus one of us will travel out to you in person to run the sportsfriends games for your very own private (or public !) event. we' ll even even bring 18 - player j. s. joust, as described above .
to backers at the ultimate trampoline package level, we' re offering everything in the sportsfriends forever tier and above, plus an erotic, physics - based wrestling trampoline game by bennett and doug, called get on top (see kotaku coverage here). get on top pits two players head - to - head in a contest to see who can dump their opponent' s avatar on the ground. thanks to a set of gyroscopes attached to the trampolines, you make your avatar jump by jumping on the trampoline yourself! players also hold a move controller, which they use to control their avatar' s arms .
we recently exhibited the game in public at gamecity, at the venus patrol training facility. suffice to say, it was a big success !
we' ll ship you everything you need to run the game, including two specially prepared trampolines, the game controllers, and an exclusive build of get on top. a wildly fun installation for public events !
noah sasso has a background in audio and web development, and spent the mid 00s managing and recording music for the record label / collective kracfive, as well as paying dues working for clients like major league gaming and zeitgeist films. after several years developing game prototypes, freelancing and working as a game designer at nyc' s this is pop, he was awarded a commission to produce an original game for the nyu game center' s no quarter exhibition. the result was barabariball, a crowd favorite that has since appeared at festivals and tournaments around the world. his work has also appeared at the star pine cafe in tokyo, new york' s knitting factory, vice magazine, pitchfork, the los angeles times, xlr8r and many more .
bennett foddy is a philosopher at oxford university, who writes about things like new technology and medicine. but he is better known for writing videogames that explore rhythm, muscle power, and the immoral abuse of players. he is best known for the single - player web games qwop, girp, and clop, and local multiplayer games winner vs. loser, pole riders, fistmonger and now the new trampoline game, get on top. his games have been shown at the museum of modern art and the pulse art fair in new york, gamecity in nottingham and at the indiecade festival in los angeles, and nominated for an igf award at the 2012 game developer' s conference. the free web versions of his games have been played by tens of millions of players worldwide. his games have been featured in wired magazine, popular science, and on the television show the office. all of the best gaming experiences in his life have been played sitting or standing next to another real - live human being .
ramiro corbetta is a new york based independent game developer. his work has been shown all over the world, including at the new museum, babycastles, the independent games festival, and indiecade. ramiro designed glow artisan, winner of the 2010 independent games festival award for best mobile game design. he grew up in brazil with a balanced diet of super nintendo, soccer, and surfing .
thanks to all our fellow devs who gave us video testimonials, as well as the following people who provided footage for our trailer: johan lindegaard, robert meyer, gwynna forgham - thrift, colin snyder / gameifesto, george buckenham / wild rumpus, will smith / urltoken and matt broach .
our biggest challenge will be porting the games to the playstation 3. console development isn' t trivial, and it' s expensive. nevertheless, if we can make our funding target, we' ll have enough money to pay programmers who have console experience .
friend of sportsfriends - a thank you on our website, plus a set of high - res sportsfriends wallpapers .
release copy - everything above, plus the finished game for your choice of either playstation 3 or home computers (windows / mac / linux for hokra, super pole riders, and barabariball, and mac / linux and pc hardware for j. s. joust, see
release plans
). also includes a special copy of jan willem nijman' s unreleased tennis game tennnes. (note: the sportsfriends home computer version will be released a few months after the playstation 3 debut) .
early alphas - everything above, plus early access to alpha versions of j. s. joust, hokra, and barabariball soon after this campaign ends. start playing months before the official release !
super sportsfriends - everything above, plus three unreleased games by bennett foddy, noah sasso, and ramiro corbetta (including a new version of qwop !), and access to an exclusive podcast series with the game developers. listen in as we go in - depth about designing and producing all the games! delivered early 2013 .
sportsfriends forever - everything above, plus special credits in the game itself and a special sportsfriends backer t - shirt. wear your sportsfriendship proudly! delivered spring 2013 .
7 - player j. s. joust kit - everything above, plus seven playstation move controllers and a set of controller charms. because the more players, the better! ships spring 2013 .
mega - girp deluxe - everything in sportsfriends forever tier, plus extra special credits in the final game, and a set of mega - girp pads and a standalone, fullscreen version of girp. ships spring 2013 .
18 - player j. s. joust kit - everything in sportsfriends forever tier, plus extra special credits in the final game, 18 playstation move controllers, three charging stations, a wireless router, a set of controller charms, and the ultra - exclusive 18 - player build of j. s. joust. ships spring 2013 .
ultimate sportsfriends package - everything in sportsfriends forever tier, plus extra special credits in the final game, and one of us will travel out to you to run a live sportsfriends event featuring the ultra - exclusive 18 - player j. s. joust .
ultimate trampoline package - everything in sportsfriends forever tier, plus extra special credits in the final game, and we send you everything you' ll need for the ultra - exclusive foddy / wilson trampoline - controlled game, get on top. we' ll ship you two specially prepared, game - enabled trampolines anywhere in the continental usa, along with controllers, cabling, and a build of the game. ships spring 2013 .
digital extremes ltd. — london, ontario, canada [ 07. 08. 18 ] level designer
deep silver volition — champaign, illinois, united states [ 07. 06. 18 ] senior project manager
rabbit — san mateo, california, united states [ 07. 06. 18 ] lead game designer - contract
rovio entertainment corporation — espoo, finland [ 07. 05. 18 ] senior game designer
owners: estimated number of people owning this game. the number might be way too small for new releases and sometimes way too big for games that had free weekend event recently. read more on about page .
playtime: average hours played in total per person that have actually launched this game since march 2009. this time is calculated for the whole lifetime, not for the particular year.
die gute fabrik aps is a danish independent game developer based in copenhagen , denmark . founded in 2008 by nils deneken , it is owned by him , douglas wilson , and christoffer holmgård . the company is best known for developing where is my heart ? and johann sebastian joust , a game included in sportsfriends . 
die gute fabrik aps is a danish independent game developer based in copenhagen, denmark. founded in 2008 by nils deneken, it is owned by him, douglas wilson, and christoffer holmgård. the company is best known for developing where is my heart? and johann sebastian joust, a game included in sportsfriends.
die gute fabrik aps is a danish independent game developer based in copenhagen, denmark. founded in 2008 by nils deneken, it is owned by him, douglas wilson, and christoffer holmgård. the company is best known for developing where is my heart? and johann sebastian joust, a game included in sportsfriends.