Janky Jousting, is a local multiplayer game where you and another person joust to the death. The knight is hard to control and with the King watching, you must perform your best. This is a game that is fun to play with a friend or two.
Developed: May 2017
My Role: Solo Development
Type: Solo Project
Design Decisions and Process
When making Janky Jousting, I had in mind that I wanted to create a party game. Games like Gang Beasts and Mount Your Friends are special because the fun comes not from mastering the game, but from playing with your friends. I've played Gang Beasts with people both online and in-person, and in-person is by far the better experience. Being able to yell at and nudge the people beside you creates the sense of fellowship and excitement.
Here are the design decisions that influence the intended party-game experience.
- Each round is quick and goes to the next one almost instantly.
- There is a lack of precision in controlling the knight and defeating your enemy is not really based around skill. This allows for a more even playing field. Perfect for a group of friends/party environment, where quick play-throughs are common.
- When the lances hit each other, no one scores. This can create the sense of "I was so close to hitting you!" for each of the players, increasing the tension in the room.
There are many other games that inherit the same features to create the party-game experience. Going back to Gang Beasts, the characters are "floaty" and often hard to control. You end up most of the time spamming all the buttons to try and defeat your friends. The winner is not nessecarily the best player, as being the best player isn't what makes the game fun. The fact that anyone can pickup and play the game and have an almost equal fighting chance, is what makes it great for a party or group atmosphere. In Janky Jousting likewise, you just need to know the controls and you're off!
