Sportsfriends creators explain local-only play

Sportsfriends co-creator Bennett Foddy explains how they hope to win players over with their local-only approach to multiplayer.

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The delightfully simple Sportsfriends is coming to PlayStation systems today, letting you play rough, indie-styled approximations of sports with your couch buddies. It's strictly a local experience, which the creators say is an attempt to let players experience a piece of how it all came together at indie events.

"We know we're going to face [backlash]," co-creator Bennett Foddy told Gamasutra. "But for me, the whole point of the project is to recreate the feeling that we had at those events, which was super significant for us, and for other people as well."

He said video game fans can sometimes "feel threatened" by shifts from the norm, and he understands that.

"But what we're hoping is that the games themselves will be convincing enough, that after a struggle, friction, a kind of argument with those people, we'll win them around with the way that you feel--the joy that you can have when you're playing these sorts of games," he said. "That's the hope. Of course it won't work for everybody, but we just hope that for some people, the experience itself will be a compelling argument."

The team also felt that some games just don't work as well when you're sitting in your house alone. To that end, the team has joked that they should show players exactly why.

"We've been talking about doing a video of us playing Joust online, standing in different rooms, dancing around by ourselves," said Foddy. "I hope that point will be obvious to people, but maybe it won't be. We'll see."

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  • reply
    May 6, 2014 9:30 AM

    Steve Watts posted a new article, Sportsfriends creators explain local-only play.

    Sportsfriends co-creator Bennett Foddy explains how they hope to win players over with their local-only approach to multiplayer.

    • reply
      May 6, 2014 9:35 AM

      I have lots of fun watching people like the giant bomb crew playing this stuff, but considering my living arrangements, actually playing this stuff doesn't work for me.

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      May 6, 2014 10:20 AM

      i'm wondering if this would be worthwhile to pick up if i don't own move controllers

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        May 6, 2014 10:22 AM

        I was hoping they'd be cheaper by now, but nope. DAMN YOU, INDIE MARKET CREATING DEMAND

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          May 6, 2014 12:38 PM

          yeah i really don't want to buy them for one game, especially since i haven't finished getting a complete set of PS4 controllers due to cost. there is literally nothing else that i even have a wee bit of interest in for those move controllers.

          are you liking mario golf? i have my rig trigger finger on the button

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        May 6, 2014 11:07 AM

        The three non-move games look awesome.

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        May 6, 2014 2:23 PM

        [deleted]

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      May 6, 2014 10:56 AM

      As seen on Myface

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      May 6, 2014 3:06 PM

      I'm been playing alpha versions of some of the games on PC as I kickstarted it. They are absolutely hilarious fun with the right crowd. Looking forward to the full PC release.

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