In 2010, when I started making Pole Riders, my original plan was to make a straight pole-vaulting game, like the ones in Summer Games or Daley Thompson’s Decathlon, both games that were super-popular when I was six years old. Back in 1984, local multiplayer games were nearing the peak of their popularity. In the arcades, there were games like Joust and Track & Field, but at home, and in the public libraries, the Epyx compilations ruled the roost: not just Summer Games but Winter Games and the immortal California Games too. I was absolutely obsessed with the pole-vault event in Summer Games and for the longest time, I wanted to make my own version of it.

Perhaps it’s no coincidence, then, that I’m now involved in Sportsfriends, which is a spiritual successor to Summer Games – a compilation of four sports-themed games, to be played by up to four friends on the one couch. But unlike the old Epyx compilations, none of the Sportsfriends games play it straight. Hokra is a hockey game with no goals and no sticks. BaraBariBall is a volleyball game with no net, where the players routinely drown in a lake. J.S. Joust is a game that has no screen!

For my part, I’m making a sequel to my game Pole Riders, a game that crosses pole vaulting with polo and kung fu. I guess it didn’t turn out much like Summer Games, after all! The original is a free web game – go try it out if you haven’t already!

Pole Riders doesn’t get the most traffic on my website (that honour goes to QWOP) but it has the most passionate fans. At Maxis and Harmonix, homes of the Sims and Rock Band franchises, I’m told there are regular Pole Riders tournaments. And when I show the game at public events like Wild Rumpus or Babycastles, I’m always approached by challengers who want to beat me at my own game. Local multiplayer is like that – it inspires a kind of passion that singleplayer games don’t.

For the Sportsfriends compilation I’m building a better, more complete version of the game called Super Pole Riders. When I showed the original game around the world, I would always think of little changes that could make the game better. I wanted the kung-fu kicks to be crunchier. I wanted the arenas to be more vertical, more interesting and complex. I wanted the game to be playable by four or even eight players at a time, for maximum chaos. When games were locked in a stalemate, I wanted the players to be able to resolve the match by swapping their poles out for spears, poleaxes and warhammers, for brutal and hilarious combat.

I’m hard at work on Super Pole Riders, which is going to have all these features and more. I can’t wait to bring you the ‘real’ version of the game!

Questions? Let me know in the comments! And if you like the sound of Sportsfriends, I hope you’ll consider supporting our Kickstarter!

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!