Convergence

Curated by Yasmine Batniji May 28, 2023

The theme of Convergence centered around multiplayer games and conceptual games that connect us as players. All other previous shows were single-player games but this time I was more interested in creating a show that forced players to connect to one another through play. I chose six games for this show: Rocket League 2D Fan Game, Touhou Fumo Racing, Pikwip, Bam Boom Blade, Space Orbs, and Tempo Quest.

Rocket League 2D Fan Game

Gurpreet Singh Matharoo Rocket League 2D Fan Game is a remake of the classic Rocket League game released in 2015 by Psyonix. In both versions, players each have a car they control as they try to knock the ball in the other opponent's goal- basically soccer but for cars. The main difference between Matharoo’s game and the original Rocket League is Matharoo created a 2D version of the game where players face each other head-on, goals behind them, and the ball in the center. The physics of the game are also more absurd- you jump and bounce off of each other, fighting for control of the ball and learning how to use the exaggerated physics to your advantage. This game was enjoyable for a lot of people because they were able to connect to the original version of it, and with each other.

Touhou Fumo Racing

HonkyHood Touhou Fumo Racing stars characters from the Touhou Project, a bullet hell shoot 'em up video game series created by a solo developer. People can race alone against AI, or with up to 4 players in splitscreen. When thinking of creating a show centered around multi-player games, it felt very important to include a racing game, because racing games are sometimes the most connected experience players have with one another.

Pikwip

CookieCrayon Pikwip is a co-op game where two players are connected to one another and have to make it up a mountain together. I think it was also really important to show games that were not only competitive but cooperative as well, to show multiple styles of multiplayer games. We displayed the game with a custom-made controller consisting of two macro keyboards for WASD and arrow keys, mounted to a painted cardboard tube, with a single key in the center to restart the game. By holding either end of the tube, players would form a physical connection while playing to reflect their connection to each other within the game.

Bam Boom Blade

Blaer Zhang Bam Boom Blade is a competitive game where two players are hanging onto bamboo with a blade in one hand. The player swings back and forth on the bamboo to escape or strike at the other player with their blade. I wanted to make sure to include a game from the NYU Game Center for this show, and I had been following this game since its early creation and was really taken by it. It is a simple but strategic game where players can play with the physics of the bamboo to attack one another.

Space Orbs

Space Moguls Space Orbs is a match-three game set in space. Two players work together to match the same color of orbs and clear them from the playfield before it fills up. The game was originally made for Commodore 64. We had a Commodore 64, but were wary of using it in this environment. Instead, we placed a Windows mini-PC inside a Commodore 64 case and ran the game in emulation, so it looked like the game was actually being played on a C64. We also paired it with an old speaker and it sat beside Pikwip, which was also a co-op game. This game was super fun and felt endless- players can pass orbs back and forth to each other if they are missing one, to clear them as well.

Tempo Quest

Pixel-boy Tempo Quest is a roguelike co-op game mixed with a Dance Dance Revolution rhythm mechanic. This game was originally controlled by two players sharing a keyboard, with one player using the WASD keys and the other using the arrow keys. The players work together to destroy enemies by using the DDR mechanic. We thought it would be more interesting to re-map the game into actual DDR using two DDR game pads placed on the floor. Players could use these controls to either revive one another or to destroy enemies. When a player starts, it feels extremely disorienting but as the players kept playing, the mechanics became easier to understand. I really enjoyed choosing this game because it took a mechanic we know so well and did something unexpected with it, especially once we mapped it to actual DDR pads. We projected this game onto the stage which made it feel more exciting and encompassing as well.