Nerds of yesteryear, rejoice! Google has today released a retro styled game that takes the best elements of 80’s gaming and design and melds them with modern hardware and tech. Google’s Super Sync Sports is a web-based game played through the Chrome browser, and uses smartphones and tablets to control wacky characters in this Olympic style racing game.
To get started in the four-player madness, users must fire up their Chrome browser on their laptops or desktops, and navigate here. Once the website has loaded, it’s time to point your tablet or smartphone browser to the mobile website. Users are then prompted to choose a single or multiplayer game, and then enter a sync code on their devices. After the code is entered, it’s off to pick an avatar and begin the race. Up to four players can participate.
Of course, the tech behind this whole is experience is amazing, but there’s also a lot of creativity in the design elements of the game. The visuals, while simple, are definitely in the style of 70’s and 80’s cartoons and video games, bearing a heavy resemblance to the animation of School House Rock!. The sprites/avatars are pretty silly, featuring everything from a giant eyeball to an 80’s looking keyboard. The level designs are nothing to write home about, but fit in well with the other visual design elements. The music fits the aesthetic as well, and may annoy some but will soothe those of us who were raised jamming out to 8-bit sounds.
Behind the experience is some impressive browser technologies, such as HTML-5, CSS3, SVG and Canvas. Clearly the most impressive, however, is Google’s Touch API which enables the game to utilize smartphones and tablets for controllers. While Super Sync Sports may not be the most involved game out there, it is an awesome look into the possibilities of future gaming. And it’s a heck of a lot of fun. Try it!
[Google via TechCrunch]