Crime And Pun-ishment: First Person Shouter
Often to my own detriment, I am wildly intrigued by things that confuse and frighten me. True story: this kind of thinking resulted in me being chased across a gorgeous Japanese park by a herd of enraged deer. It's with a similar mentality that I bring you word of First Person Shouter. From the look of things, it's about embittered nerds rebelling against their school bully oppressors by... screaming at them? I think there might also be psychic powers. It's certainly got an eye for style, though, and I'd be remiss if I didn't throw my implicit support behind such unabashed punsmanship. Study it in the form of a maybe-not-so-timely Skyrim parody after the break.
I'm definitely digging the dingy, Sin-City-ish school environment they've created. That, however, isn't the only thing that stands out here. See, First Person Shouter is microphone-controlled. You shout, and so does your character. Here's the full rundown:
"Darkness has swept over your our high school. Darkness in Adidas tracksuits. For too long have you and your fellow classmates been under the firm Nike shoe of the bullies. Its time to fight back! But do not fear, you have a rare gift. You have... THE VOICE. Prepare to lose your voice, as you experience the power of controlling the world around you by shouting! Basically, the game is in first person, but instead of doing something boring and typical like clicking to attack, you shout into a microphone to play."
Originally, developer The Anti-Socialites wanted to have First Person Shouter finished by now for submission to the 2013 Independent Games Festival Student Showcase, but that didn't end up working out. Apparently, though, a demo's right around the corner.
In the meantime, there's definite promise in this one - even if it seems like a bit of a crazy hodgepodge idea-wise. If nothing else, it'll be solid, silly fun (just imagine screaming at your opponents in multiplayer), but bullying's also ground that gaming rarely covers in a meaningful way. Well, you know, aside from Rockstar's, er, Bully. Regardless, silly things can still pack an emotional punch, so we'll see. And if not, SHOUTING. IT'S FUN AND NEVER ANNOYS ANYONE AND I ONCE USED IT TO SCARE AWAY SOME REALLY MEAN DEER.