BARABARIBALL TRAILER from noah on Vimeo.

Pre-order to support Sportsfriends on KickStarter!

HELLOOO OFFICIAL PLAYSTATION BLOG! I’m really happy and fortunate to be able to tell all of you that BaraBariBall is headed to PSN as part of Sportsfriends, alongside JS Joust, Hokra and Super Pole Riders. We introduced the Sportsfriends collection about a week ago so you should already know what that is (if you forgot, it’s a collection of four fun, competitive multiplayer games), so now I’m here now to tell you all about BaraBariBall, or BBB for short.

BaraBariBall is a new fighting game for 2 to 4 players. Instead of just smacking your opponent around, players duel for control of the ball and score points by dunking it into the goals on either side of the screen… though, there is still a lot of smacking each other around, especially since spiking someone into the water will cause them to lose a point.

The other aspect of BaraBariBall that makes it especially fresh is the jump system. See those balls rotating around each character? Those are jump orbs — each time a player jumps while in the air, one of them disappears. Jump orbs regenerate while the player is touching the ground. The number of jumps remaining also contributes to the knockback and hitstun dealt when attacks connect.

These are just the basics – the game features a variety of unique characters, arenas and moves – but if you want to learn more about how to play, check out the manual on the BBB homepage here. The team is still hard at work tuning and polishing the game, but it already plays like a dream and has been shown around the world, including at EVO 2012, Tokyo Game Show’s Sense of Wonder Night, IndieCade and many more. Apart from an awesome and talented playtesting group, I’m also working with the Terrell bros over at Critical Gaming blog. The blog speaks for itself but I’ll say it’s hard to find more thorough and articulate writers and designers.

As for myself, I’ve been making and playing games for most of my life, both by modding games like Wolfenstein 3D and DOOM, developing a bunch of small independent projects, and working professionally as a programmer and designer.. I’m just about old enough to remember playing Street Fighter 2 back when America had arcades. All this to say, this stuff is in my blood and, though BBB may have a retro look in screenshots, in motion it runs great at a smooth 60 FPS and we’re taking the balance and the feel of the game very seriously.

So what’s next? We’re still focused on delivering a tight, highly polished gameplay experience and, once that’s accomplished, there are a few things we hope to be able to add. I’m especially excited about including a special mode for three players, as well as some single player challenges and training modes. There’s also some top secret stuff that we’ll have to talk about later…

Anyway, if you’ve read this far, think about supporting Sportsfriends on Kickstarter or telling your friends. We’re dying to bring you these games, but we need your help!

SPORTSFRIENDS featuring Johann Sebastian Joust from Die Gute Fabrik on Vimeo.

Greetings PlayStation peoples! I’m Doug Wilson, producer of Sportsfriends, a compendium of indie multiplayer games that we’re bringing to PSN in 2013.

And you can pre-order it on Kickstarter right now!

Sportsfriends is more than just a game – it’s four games! The games have already been prototyped, and we’ve exhibited them at parties, arcades, and special events around the world. A lot of people have been clamoring for us to bring these games to market, and now we can finally announce our lineup:

First up is my own no-graphics physical game, Johann Sebastian Joust. The game is basically a face-to-face sword fight, set to music. It uses the PlayStation Move controller, and supports up to seven players!

J.S. Joust is so much more than your average motion control game. It’s more like some kind of crazy 21st century martial art, illuminated by those beautiful LED lights on the PS Move controller.

At this year’s Game Developer Choice Awards, J.S. Joust even won the Innovation Award, beating out heavy hitters like L.A. Noire and Portal 2. We promise you’ve never tried another console game like it!

BaraBariBall, by Noah Sasso, is a colorful mix of fighting game and sports game. Players try to dunk the ball in the water on their opponent’s side. It’s like a more accessible, more stylized take on Super Smash Brothers, honed down to its essentials and set to charming tabla drums.

BaraBariBall has been shown at events like EVO, IndieCade, and Wild Rumpus, and it never fails to draw a crowd. You fighting game junkies out there are especially going to dig it!

Super Pole Riders is the four-player sequel to Bennett Foddy’s pole-vaulting polo game Pole Riders.

Bennett is the same guy who developed the ridiculous web game QWOP, so you know Super Pole Riders is going to bring that same formula of absurd, physics-based fun.

Hokra is a 2-vs-2 minimalistic sports game made by Ramiro Corbetta. It’s a deeply replayable game that’s all about competition, teamwork, and skill. It recently won the Audience Award at IndieCade 2012.

The thing that unites all four games is that they’ve been designed to be played with a bunch of friends, together in the same room, talking trash, sharing laughs, and kicking some butt. The four games are super easy to pick up and play, yet deep enough to support skill and high-level play.

And don’t worry, you don’t even have to be a fan of sports or sports games to enjoy Sportsfriends! Think back to those games you used to play at the arcade, or on the playground, or on your friend’s couch. That’s the kind of gaming experience that we’re proud to offer with Sportsfriends.

Why PlayStation 3, you ask? J.S. Joust has been specifically designed with the PS Move controller in mind, and the other three games fit great into a console setting, so we knew PlayStation 3 would be a perfect match. PlayStation has been very supportive of the whole Sportsfriends concept, and we’re happy to announce that we’ll be part of their forward-thinking Pub Fund program – the same program that helped bring you indie hits like Joe Danger, Papo & Yo, and Dyad.

But even with PlayStation’s Pub Fund support, we could still use some up-front funding to expand on the games and get them ported. That’s where you come in! You can preorder the game right now on Kickstarter. At the higher donor levels, you can also nab some sweet rewards.

Check it out, and let us know what you think!