While Mario and Zelda were stealing the show at E3 this year, a trio of unique kiosks sat primarily unloved toward a corner of Nintendo's cordoned-off Wii booth. These were the delightful Remote Pointer Demos, three tiny games that wouldn't find themselves out of place bundled into the system software for quick pick up and play online games, or a short match against a friend.
Shooting, Obstacle Course, and Table Tennis are three small games that utilized the remote exclusively -- no Nunchuk here -- and in the case of the shooting game, the remotes were even untethered, allowing the player to really feel what a real remote would be like once they got their hands on the launch package. In addition, Shooting and Obstacle Course featured two-player simultaneous play. Outside of a single installation of Wii Sports: Tennis in the "couch" area, these two demos were the only kiosks to offer two-player simultaneous play.
Though proof-of-concept system demos have been around forever (one might recall the floating duck of the PlayStation era, or the lathing and submarine demos from the 2004 E3 debut of the DS), rarely have they ever been this interactive (or this fun). Though the Remote Pointer Demo games are obviously lacking in depth, the ease of playability and the novel concepts related to using the controller elevate these above plain old tech demos and give them clout as actual enjoyable software.
Remote Pointer Demo: Shooting uses the most basic functionality of the Wii Remote: pointing. This game works simply by pointing and clicking. On screen each player has a small targeting reticule (red or blue, depending on if you're player one or two) which they can move around by moving the remote. Shots are fired by pressing the trigger on the underside of the remote. As I mentioned in my initial impressions of the title from the E3 showfloor, the game very much resembles a sort of Point Blank title, where the two players compete for points. Each person has infinite ammunition, and there is no penalty for missed shots.
The game passes through several stages. In the first stage, there are intermittent balloons that appear and must be shot. The second level progresses to gun targets, then frisbee-like clay pigeons in the third level, and UFOs in the fourth level. At the end of each round the two players' scores are shown. The final round is the throwback kicker, the infamous "new Duck Hunt." In this stage you shoot the Duck Hunt ducks as they try to escape with their lives. After a certain period of time has elapsed without them getting shot, the ducks classically "fly away" by floating off the top of the screen. More points are obtained if you shoot them as they near the top of the screen just prior to escape. Throughout the game, special colored targets (golden ducks, tinted UFOs) award double or sometimes triple points to the player who shoots them. When all the rounds are said and done, the game displays each player's total score, and gloating may commence.
This game really caught me for the absolute precision of the control you have over the crosshairs. I am reminded so sorely of times spent finagling with Time Crisis on the PlayStation and PS2, spending ten to fifteen minutes trying to get the gun to "calibrate" just right. The Wii is going to be the system de jour for gun-based shooting gallery games like this, and the excellent control you have over the pointer is precisely the reason why. Throw in the gun attachment, and I think Namco has a great deal of opportunity with their lightgun arcade ports. Maybe a Time Crisis compilation? At any rate, Shooting, like the other remote pointing demos, is an excellent little distraction for two players, and I think it would find itself fish-in-water as a part of an included pack-in with the system.
It would be an understatement to say that Remote Pointer Demo: Obstacle Course is the most peculiar game that Nintendo had in their booth. Perhaps, too, it was the weirdest one at the show. The game is a side-scrolling "dodging" type of deal, very similar to Iraira-Bou, or, to you less familiar with bizarre titles based on Japanese game shows, sort of like the board game Operation on rails.
Essentially what you do here is compete with player two to collect the most coins and get to the end first. Your controller is "attached" to your character. If you move the pointer around on the screen, like a TV remote, your character moves. The big cool here is that you must twist the remote to turn your character to either slide through tricky passages or match up onto person-shaped glowing icons that will give you more coins. Bumping into anything makes you spew your coins everywhere, where the other player can then try to scoop in and grab them.
The objects you must traverse are absolutely bizarre. You have to maneuver your peculiar red or blue character through spinning pizzas, kitchen equipment, tiny umbrellas, airplanes, bees, rainbows, and demented octopii before you finally reach your goal. Visually, the colors are bright and vibrant, and the style could only really be compared to the kind of Katamari Damacy that might be dreamt up by a three year old and then cut out of construction paper. It is verily outlandish.
This game deserves particular attention not only for its peculiarity, but for the extreme sensitivity of its control. It is without a doubt the most sensitive Wii game I played; even the slightest twist reacted to pivot my character, and just minute movements were necessary to get my player to coast through the maze. It was highly impressive to see such precision was possible, after having played Wario Ware, where huge, exaggerated movements were par for the course. Obstacle Course is another great little demo that I think would seem right at home as part of a compendium of little two player games built into the system right out of the box.
Rockstar Games Presents: Table Tennis this shore ain't, but it is (like the other demos) a fun sort of play on classic gaming ideas. To be fair, Remote Pointer Demo: Table Tennis is really more like Pong than regular table tennis, and that makes it one of the more simplistic titles, even for a demo, that were on display. This demo was also one player only, which gave it more of a feel that you were competing for a high score than it did with the other games. Truly, the goal was to achieve 100 returns to the computer player; not once that day did I see anyone even approach that.
Actual gameplay could probably best be described by using the original instructions from the instrumental Pong, mentioned previously: Avoid missing ball for high score. Truly, this is what you do in Table Tennis: you use the remote as a pointer, and "move" the ping pong paddle to hit the ball back. No command input is necessary, no swinging motions, just make sure the paddle is behind the ball once the computer player hits it to you. Volley 100 times and I guess the game's over, but like I said earlier, I have no idea if anyone actually succeeded in that task.
Though this game might not work as well as the other two in a bundled software sense for two players, I think there would be something joyous about having a quick, pick-up type pong game with a high-score leaderboard that everyone could constantly compete to stay at the top of. Much like video game wizards strove to keep their Asteroids score at the top, Nintendo could implement a small initials system and make sure the family stayed mad at each other for days at a time. Let's see it, Nintendo!
So, obviously these games aren't quite ready for prime-time. The thing is, they were never intended to be prime-time. They're quirky, zany little guys that would find themselves at home as Wario Ware unlockables, actually, and if they don't go the way of pack-in titles or OS integrated, I think that would be a great place for them. The Remote Pointer Demos are a perfect representation of the idea that games don't have to be epic, complex, or offer 45 to 50 hours of gameplay to still remain addictive, competitive, challenging, and most importantly, fun. Let's hope we see these in living rooms once launch time rolls around.
Shooting, Obstacle Course, and Table Tennis are three small games that utilized the remote exclusively -- no Nunchuk here -- and in the case of the shooting game, the remotes were even untethered, allowing the player to really feel what a real remote would be like once they got their hands on the launch package. In addition, Shooting and Obstacle Course featured two-player simultaneous play. Outside of a single installation of Wii Sports: Tennis in the "couch" area, these two demos were the only kiosks to offer two-player simultaneous play.
Though proof-of-concept system demos have been around forever (one might recall the floating duck of the PlayStation era, or the lathing and submarine demos from the 2004 E3 debut of the DS), rarely have they ever been this interactive (or this fun). Though the Remote Pointer Demo games are obviously lacking in depth, the ease of playability and the novel concepts related to using the controller elevate these above plain old tech demos and give them clout as actual enjoyable software.
Remote Pointer Demo: Shooting
Remote Pointer Demo: Shooting uses the most basic functionality of the Wii Remote: pointing. This game works simply by pointing and clicking. On screen each player has a small targeting reticule (red or blue, depending on if you're player one or two) which they can move around by moving the remote. Shots are fired by pressing the trigger on the underside of the remote. As I mentioned in my initial impressions of the title from the E3 showfloor, the game very much resembles a sort of Point Blank title, where the two players compete for points. Each person has infinite ammunition, and there is no penalty for missed shots.
The game passes through several stages. In the first stage, there are intermittent balloons that appear and must be shot. The second level progresses to gun targets, then frisbee-like clay pigeons in the third level, and UFOs in the fourth level. At the end of each round the two players' scores are shown. The final round is the throwback kicker, the infamous "new Duck Hunt." In this stage you shoot the Duck Hunt ducks as they try to escape with their lives. After a certain period of time has elapsed without them getting shot, the ducks classically "fly away" by floating off the top of the screen. More points are obtained if you shoot them as they near the top of the screen just prior to escape. Throughout the game, special colored targets (golden ducks, tinted UFOs) award double or sometimes triple points to the player who shoots them. When all the rounds are said and done, the game displays each player's total score, and gloating may commence.
This game really caught me for the absolute precision of the control you have over the crosshairs. I am reminded so sorely of times spent finagling with Time Crisis on the PlayStation and PS2, spending ten to fifteen minutes trying to get the gun to "calibrate" just right. The Wii is going to be the system de jour for gun-based shooting gallery games like this, and the excellent control you have over the pointer is precisely the reason why. Throw in the gun attachment, and I think Namco has a great deal of opportunity with their lightgun arcade ports. Maybe a Time Crisis compilation? At any rate, Shooting, like the other remote pointing demos, is an excellent little distraction for two players, and I think it would find itself fish-in-water as a part of an included pack-in with the system.
Remote Pointer Demo: Obstacle Course
It would be an understatement to say that Remote Pointer Demo: Obstacle Course is the most peculiar game that Nintendo had in their booth. Perhaps, too, it was the weirdest one at the show. The game is a side-scrolling "dodging" type of deal, very similar to Iraira-Bou, or, to you less familiar with bizarre titles based on Japanese game shows, sort of like the board game Operation on rails.
Essentially what you do here is compete with player two to collect the most coins and get to the end first. Your controller is "attached" to your character. If you move the pointer around on the screen, like a TV remote, your character moves. The big cool here is that you must twist the remote to turn your character to either slide through tricky passages or match up onto person-shaped glowing icons that will give you more coins. Bumping into anything makes you spew your coins everywhere, where the other player can then try to scoop in and grab them.
The objects you must traverse are absolutely bizarre. You have to maneuver your peculiar red or blue character through spinning pizzas, kitchen equipment, tiny umbrellas, airplanes, bees, rainbows, and demented octopii before you finally reach your goal. Visually, the colors are bright and vibrant, and the style could only really be compared to the kind of Katamari Damacy that might be dreamt up by a three year old and then cut out of construction paper. It is verily outlandish.
This game deserves particular attention not only for its peculiarity, but for the extreme sensitivity of its control. It is without a doubt the most sensitive Wii game I played; even the slightest twist reacted to pivot my character, and just minute movements were necessary to get my player to coast through the maze. It was highly impressive to see such precision was possible, after having played Wario Ware, where huge, exaggerated movements were par for the course. Obstacle Course is another great little demo that I think would seem right at home as part of a compendium of little two player games built into the system right out of the box.
Remote Pointer Demo: Table Tennis
Rockstar Games Presents: Table Tennis this shore ain't, but it is (like the other demos) a fun sort of play on classic gaming ideas. To be fair, Remote Pointer Demo: Table Tennis is really more like Pong than regular table tennis, and that makes it one of the more simplistic titles, even for a demo, that were on display. This demo was also one player only, which gave it more of a feel that you were competing for a high score than it did with the other games. Truly, the goal was to achieve 100 returns to the computer player; not once that day did I see anyone even approach that.
Actual gameplay could probably best be described by using the original instructions from the instrumental Pong, mentioned previously: Avoid missing ball for high score. Truly, this is what you do in Table Tennis: you use the remote as a pointer, and "move" the ping pong paddle to hit the ball back. No command input is necessary, no swinging motions, just make sure the paddle is behind the ball once the computer player hits it to you. Volley 100 times and I guess the game's over, but like I said earlier, I have no idea if anyone actually succeeded in that task.
Though this game might not work as well as the other two in a bundled software sense for two players, I think there would be something joyous about having a quick, pick-up type pong game with a high-score leaderboard that everyone could constantly compete to stay at the top of. Much like video game wizards strove to keep their Asteroids score at the top, Nintendo could implement a small initials system and make sure the family stayed mad at each other for days at a time. Let's see it, Nintendo!
So, obviously these games aren't quite ready for prime-time. The thing is, they were never intended to be prime-time. They're quirky, zany little guys that would find themselves at home as Wario Ware unlockables, actually, and if they don't go the way of pack-in titles or OS integrated, I think that would be a great place for them. The Remote Pointer Demos are a perfect representation of the idea that games don't have to be epic, complex, or offer 45 to 50 hours of gameplay to still remain addictive, competitive, challenging, and most importantly, fun. Let's hope we see these in living rooms once launch time rolls around.