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Essays 13 August 2020, 15:56

author: Aleksandra Sokolska

Games Now! 7 Hits Developed in Days

Sometimes you don't need a budget and eight years of work to make a hit. Some people only need a few dozen hours, four packs of energy and a pizza. Impossible? At game jams, it's the rule of the day...

Table of Contents

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

  1. Release date: 2015
  2. Genre: asymmetric co-op
  3. Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Android, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

This title is proof that the best ideas are sometimes right at your fingertips. Three Canadian developers – Allen Pestaluky, Ben Kane and Brian Fetter – decided to use the novelty of VR to create a their own game at Global Game Jam in 2014. Their rollercoaster simulator was very popular – so much so that even during the event there were queues of people willing to play. But while people with VR sets on their heads were having a jolly good time, people watching from the sidelines could wonder "What's all the fuss about?"

This gave the developers the idea for a game where both parties can have fun – the player and the spectator. The Canadians considered several concepts, but defusing a bomb proved to be the most appealing one. The creators abandoned the rollercoaster idea and created the first prototype during the same game jam, after which they presented it to the other developers. A video of the first game was also posted on YouTube. The idea of a game where two people play, but only one sits in front of the screen, while the other reads instructions from a card, turned out to be a hit and generated great interest both online and among the participants of the Global Game Jam.

The huge response encouraged the developers to release a full-fledged game, which sold very well despite its unusual approach to gameplay – or perhaps because of it. One critic even suggested this was a completely new quality in party games. The title won a number of awards for the most innovative production and sold over 200,000 copies in its first year alone.

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