Bang! Howdy
Encyclopedia
Bang! Howdy is an online strategy game
with a "Wild West" theme. It is made by Three Rings Design
, the makers of Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates
. Public beta testing ended on December 1, 2006 and the game is now "live". There is no cost to download the game (or to play it in-browser) and start playing. Three Rings Design's website tallies the total number of "pardners", or players, at 500,000.
The setting mixes elements from a variety of related genres, such as steampunk
or Native American
myth. Several of the players' available units are entirely mechanical, including artillery
and a "steam gunman", a robot
boasting large wagon wheels for movement while wearing a cowboy hat. Other, more conventional units include cavalry
and gunslingers. At the 2006 Game Developer's Conference, Three Rings described the formula as "Chess
+ Mario Kart
+ Real Time
/ Turn-Based
+ Steampunk
Western
s + Secret Sauce".
game with minor real-time strategy
elements added; the player (up to four players in a given match, including those controlled by the AI) chooses a set number of units, which are then laid down on a grid. Units have a set distance they can move during their turn, and a set range at which they can attack. However, for purposes of playing against other players, a real-time element was added: Units can only move every four "ticks", each tick roughly equivalent to five seconds, and all players' units move in tandem. The result is that gameplay moves a lot faster than it would if each player had to wait for the others to decide to move.
In addition to the set number of base units (varied by map and game mode), players also may bring into play one more powerful "Big Shot" unit with special abilities, as well as cards that can be played at any time to achieve various effects. If a unit is killed, it will respawn
at the owning player's base some time later.
At the end of each game, players earn scrip
(currency) based on how well they placed. In addition, players are able to use real money to purchase a separate in-game currency, "gold". Scrip can also be exchanged for gold in-game. These currencies can be used to buy cards, unlock additional units, or change the players' in-game avatar
. Badges are earned for completing particular tasks, and may also unlock units, customization options, duds, or other things. In all modes, play continues until time is up, and the winner is determined by the points they have at the end of the round, mostly determined by the objective, but also by the player's kills or other bonuses. Except for the objective, all game modes follow the same base rules.
There are currently eight different game modes.
The first four are available in Frontier Town. In "Gold Rush", players send their units out to collect gold, and bring it back to their mine. "Claim Jumpin'" further allows players to steal gold from opposing players' mines. In "Cattle Rustling", players' units brand cattle, while keeping their opponents from stealing their cows. "Land Grab" has homesteads to claim around the board, which are vulnerable to attack just like any unit.
The other four modes are available in the newly released Indian Trading Post. In "Wendigo Attack", players must move to safe zones or get items to protect their units from a periodic attack by demons. In "Totem Building", players get points for stacking totem elements on a base. In "Forest Guardians", the players cooperate to fight off logging robots and protect seeds as they grow into trees. In "War Path" players fight to get their Big Shot on top and gain the most levels by killing opponent's units.
, and was a finalist for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize.
Strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
with a "Wild West" theme. It is made by Three Rings Design
Three Rings Design
Three Rings Design, Inc. is an online game developer that was founded on March 30, 2001 by Daniel James and Michael Bayne. The company is named after the Three Rings of the Elves in Tolkien mythology, and the names of the Three Rings show up in various places throughout Puzzle Pirates such as in...
, the makers of Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates
Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates
Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Three Rings Design. The player takes the role of a pirate, adventuring on the high seas and pillaging money from roaming enemy ships . The mechanics of Puzzle Pirates are driven by puzzles...
. Public beta testing ended on December 1, 2006 and the game is now "live". There is no cost to download the game (or to play it in-browser) and start playing. Three Rings Design's website tallies the total number of "pardners", or players, at 500,000.
The setting mixes elements from a variety of related genres, such as steampunk
Steampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
or Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
myth. Several of the players' available units are entirely mechanical, including artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
and a "steam gunman", a robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
boasting large wagon wheels for movement while wearing a cowboy hat. Other, more conventional units include cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
and gunslingers. At the 2006 Game Developer's Conference, Three Rings described the formula as "Chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
+ Mario Kart
Mario Kart
is a series of go-kart-style racing video games developed by Nintendo as a series of spin-offs from its trademark Mario series of platformer adventure-style video games...
+ Real Time
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
/ Turn-Based
Turn-based strategy
A turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...
+ Steampunk
Steampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
s + Secret Sauce".
Gameplay
Gameplay most resembles a turn-based tacticsTurn-based tactics
Turn-based tactics , or tactical turn-based , is a computer and video game genre of strategy video games that through stop-action simulates the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics in generally small-scale confrontations as opposed to more strategic...
game with minor real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
elements added; the player (up to four players in a given match, including those controlled by the AI) chooses a set number of units, which are then laid down on a grid. Units have a set distance they can move during their turn, and a set range at which they can attack. However, for purposes of playing against other players, a real-time element was added: Units can only move every four "ticks", each tick roughly equivalent to five seconds, and all players' units move in tandem. The result is that gameplay moves a lot faster than it would if each player had to wait for the others to decide to move.
In addition to the set number of base units (varied by map and game mode), players also may bring into play one more powerful "Big Shot" unit with special abilities, as well as cards that can be played at any time to achieve various effects. If a unit is killed, it will respawn
Spawning (computer gaming)
In video games, spawning is the live creation of a character or item. Respawning is the recreation of an entity after its death or destruction....
at the owning player's base some time later.
At the end of each game, players earn scrip
Scrip
Scrip is an American term for any substitute for currency which is not legal tender and is often a form of credit. Scrips were created as company payment of employees and also as a means of payment in times where regular money is unavailable, such as remote coal towns, military bases, ships on long...
(currency) based on how well they placed. In addition, players are able to use real money to purchase a separate in-game currency, "gold". Scrip can also be exchanged for gold in-game. These currencies can be used to buy cards, unlock additional units, or change the players' in-game avatar
Avatar (virtual reality)
In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...
. Badges are earned for completing particular tasks, and may also unlock units, customization options, duds, or other things. In all modes, play continues until time is up, and the winner is determined by the points they have at the end of the round, mostly determined by the objective, but also by the player's kills or other bonuses. Except for the objective, all game modes follow the same base rules.
There are currently eight different game modes.
The first four are available in Frontier Town. In "Gold Rush", players send their units out to collect gold, and bring it back to their mine. "Claim Jumpin'" further allows players to steal gold from opposing players' mines. In "Cattle Rustling", players' units brand cattle, while keeping their opponents from stealing their cows. "Land Grab" has homesteads to claim around the board, which are vulnerable to attack just like any unit.
The other four modes are available in the newly released Indian Trading Post. In "Wendigo Attack", players must move to safe zones or get items to protect their units from a periodic attack by demons. In "Totem Building", players get points for stacking totem elements on a base. In "Forest Guardians", the players cooperate to fight off logging robots and protect seeds as they grow into trees. In "War Path" players fight to get their Big Shot on top and gain the most levels by killing opponent's units.
Development
Initially conceived as an insect-themed game, the primary mechanic of Bang! Howdy is designed to get around the problems of both real-time and turn-based strategy. Michael Bayne, project leader of Bang! Howdy, described RTS as "overly complex and too fast-paced", while turn-based strategy is "no fun when it's not your turn." Bayne also described the development approach as episodic, with the plan of getting the core game released quickly, and working on new towns in turn.Reception
Bang! Howdy won the Technical Excellence award from the 2007 Independent Games FestivalIndependent Games Festival
The Independent Games Festival is an annual festival at the Game Developers Conference, the largest annual gathering of the indie video game industry. It was founded in 1998 to assist and inspire innovation in video game development and to recognize the best independent video game developers...
, and was a finalist for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize.
External links
- Bang! Howdy Home Page
- IGNIGNIGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
: Mac Linux Windows - Slashdot coverage of Bang! Howdy at the 2006 Game Developers ConferenceGame Developers ConferenceThe Game Developers Conference is the largest annual gathering of professional video game developers, focusing on learning, inspiration, and networking...
- Howdypedia (unofficial wikiWikiA wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
)