Neck ‘n’ Neck is a first year project, created for the course Game Production 1: Arcade Games. We were tasked with creating both a game that uses alternative controls and with building those controls. Our game was ultimately showcased at the Gotland Game Conference 2019, where it was nominated for Best Exhibition and Best Arcade Experience, and won The Innovation Award. It was also invited to exhibit at the 2020 alt.ctrl.GDC in San Francisco, and was featured in a Gamasutra article.
Neck ‘n’ Neck is a 2D 2 player racing game, where you race to the finish line against your opponent, as giraffes. The players control the head of their giraffe which they can move up and down to avoid trees that would slow them down, and eat chilies that give them a speed boost. They can also make the giraffes jump to avoid ground obstacles.
The game is played by sitting on physical “giraffes” that we built, as seen in the picture above, and gripping their horns to move the heads up and down. The movement of our giraffe controllers’ heads is then reflected in the game, and good timing and precision are the keys to victory. There’s also a tail on the “giraffes” that, when pulled, makes the giraffe jump in-game.
The project was developed in Unity by a team of 6 people. We were 2 programmers, and I had the leading role. I handled most gameplay elements and the local leaderboard, as well as contributing to the design of the game with the whole group.
You can find our game trailer here.
Relevant links:
Gamasutra article on Neck ‘n’ Neck
Neck ‘n’ Neck on Gotland Game Blog
