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Seen@GDC: Playground games

Jessica Conditt — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 16:30:00 EST

Die Gute Fabrik lead designer Douglas Wilson is comfortable asking people to make fools of themselves, as he demonstrated during his panel at GDC on Friday, "Three Folk Games To Inspire Radical New Video Games." Wilson emphasized the impact that physical, playground games can have on modern video game development, bringing players together outside of the screen. They certainly influenced Wilson's convention-famous motion game, Johann Sebastian Joust.

Wilson asked for volunteers from the audience to step on stage and play three games that influenced Joust: Standoff, Listelanse and the Danish Clapping Game. See a handful of eager audience members hitting themselves and dueling with wooden spoons in the gallery below, and read more about each game after the break.

Gallery: Die Gute Fabrik (GDC 2013)

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Seen@GDC: Playground games originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 30 Mar 2013 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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J.S. Joust, Hokra, Pole Riders, and BaraBariBall unite as 'Sportsfriends' on PS3 and computers

JC Fletcher — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 16:58:00 EST

Johann Sebastian Joust, the game of dueling Move controllers you may have seen at industry events, is officially coming to the PlayStation 3 and computers. And it's bringing friends.

Sportsfriends is a collection of four indie games that all share a focus on local multiplayer and a capacity to draw crowds of spectators. Producer Doug Wilson, who also created J.S. Joust, told Joystiq he thinks of the downloadable collection as "a 21st-century reincarnation of Summer Games." Accordingly, it'll be released in "Summer/Fall 2013."

The collection will be funded both by Sony's Pub Fund and through a Kickstarter, which will also act as a pre-order platform. Now let's make friends with the four new sports:

Continue reading J.S. Joust, Hokra, Pole Riders, and BaraBariBall unite as 'Sportsfriends' on PS3 and computers

J.S. Joust, Hokra, Pole Riders, and BaraBariBall unite as 'Sportsfriends' on PS3 and computers originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 08 Nov 2012 16:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This year's PAX 10: JS Joust, Offspring Fling!, Puzzlejuice and more

David Hinkle — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 16:00:00 EST

The PAX 10, an illustrious group of indie games chosen annually to be spotlighted during PAX Prime in Seattle, have been selected. This year's rarified group include the likes of Johann Sebastian Joust, Offspring Fling! - a game we highlighted in length on the Super Joystiq Podcast - and hypnotic iOS darling Puzzlejuice.

Other lesser-known titles include the latest from Cipher Prime, the studio behind Auditorium and Fractal, a Steam title called Splice, and puzzle games Containment: The Zombie Puzzler and The Bridge. Puzzle-platformer The Swapper is also represented, along with DigiPen's stealth-action game Deity and Catch-22. Turtle Sandbox's action-strategy hybrid Cannon Brawl rounds out the list of ten.

All PAX 10 titles will be featured in their own special area at this year's PAX Prime, which goes down August 31 through September 2 in downtown Seattle, WA.

This year's PAX 10: JS Joust, Offspring Fling!, Puzzlejuice and more originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Jul 2012 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JS Joust creators respond to Papa Quash controversy

JC Fletcher — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:00:00 EST

Johann Sebastian Joust developer Die Gute Fabrik deliberated over its response to inquiries about the similar iOS app Papa Quash for more than a day, delivering a comprehensive response on its blog last night. "To be clear, we've never given anyone permission to make a derivative version of any of our commercial products - existing or forthcoming," DGF said. "That said, the definition of 'derivative' is elusive. We generally don't believe that game mechanics themselves can or should be copyrighted or otherwise protected."

"We've also never requested any studio to pull any of its products," the studio added, referring obliquely to Papa Quash's removal from the App Store. "We believe that game developers have the responsibility to decide for themselves what is "over the line" in terms of cloning vs. innovating (separate from legal obligations regarding copyrights, trademarks, patents, and other intellectual property rights)." As for the specific case of Papa Quash, Die Gute Fabrik demurred from outright calling it a clone - while still expressing disappointment about cloning in general.

In an email to Joystiq, Die Gute Fabrik lead game designer Douglas Wilson provided clarification about the email conversation that took place between Papa Quash creator Sam Pepper and DGF.

"Sam Pepper did email me back in January," Wilson said. "However, I never gave him 'permission' to develop Papa Quash. In his emails, he told me about his general plans to make a motion control game, which he indicated was different from J.S. Joust. He never provided a well-formulated game/design, and as such, there simply was nothing to 'approve.'"

According to Wilson, the decision to pull Papa Quash was not his. "I spoke with Steve Bittan from Ustwo last night, and I made it clear that the determination was theirs (and potentially Sam Pepper's) to make as to whether the game is "different" enough (separate from legal obligations regarding copyrights, trademarks, patents, and other intellectual property rights). I don't harbor any animosity towards Ustwo or Sam Pepper."

JS Joust creators respond to Papa Quash controversy originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 24 May 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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JS Joust creator's Dog the Wag puts Moves on butts

JC Fletcher — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:30:00 EST

During his Independent Games Summit presentation on "folk games," Die Gute Fabrik's Douglas Wilson presented an example of a "deliberately stupid" game that uses technology to encourage uninhibited fun among groups. You know, like the group's best-known game, Johann Sebastian Joust.

Dog the Wag, demonstrated by people acting a damn fool next to the stage, is a game played using PlayStation Move controllers, tethered to player's butts. Players get on all fours, then attempt to wag their digital tails as furiously as possible to accumulate points. Occasionally, the Moves' orbs will flash, signaling that a player is vulnerable to attack. If another player manages to wrestle said vulnerable party to the ground and press a button on their Move, points are deducted.

We're going to remember this the next time we're about to tell someone GDC is a more "professional" conference.

JS Joust creator's Dog the Wag puts Moves on butts originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Where is my Heart? Oh, it's on PlayStation Minis

Jordan Mallory — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 18:30:00 EST

There are cute things, and then there are adorable things, and then there's Where is my Heart?. This experimental indie platformer transcends the known boundaries of cuteness to such a dramatic extent that even tiny baby hippos like this one pale in comparison. Beneath that deliriously endearing aesthetic, however, lies a truly unique and captivating design philosophy.

The game, available for free to PlayStation Plus members on Nov. 8 and to everyone else for $6.99 on Nov. 22, is based on a somewhat traumatic episode experienced by Die Gute Fabrik designer Bernie Schulenburg: While on a hiking trip, Bernie and his parents became lost in the woods, the stress of the ordeal highlighting their various personality shortcomings.

Serving as a metaphor for the event, Where is my Heart? tells the tale of a family of monsters searching for their lost Heart Tree, wherein all three monsters must work together in order to progress through the wilderness. The game's screen is divided into sections, forming a stained glass windowpane of gameplay scenery which may or may not be directly connected to the adjacent panels. What's more, these panels rearrange themselves, heightening the player's sense of disorientation and serving as a visual metaphor for the emotional confusion the story represents. It sounds like an endearing, poetic work of art; here's hoping that ends up being the case.

Where is my Heart? Oh, it's on PlayStation Minis originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 06 Nov 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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