This is a miniature golf game, which entered a competition for 1 key games. This means that the game is only allowed to use one key for the entire gameplay. This is also the biggest hurdle in this game as you have to be very precise when you aim since being late is uncorrectable and you will need to fire in that direction. The level design is great and with a few new ideas - like getting sucked through tubes to other locations on the level. But you have to admit that it is a miniature golfgame and as such very linear in concept.The idea is of course to get the ball through 18 levels in as few shots as possible. This can be quite hard, and more than one level will ruin your perfect score so far. But look over all levels before firing as there might be even better solutions than the ones springing to mind at first glance.There are several modes to play this game in. You can play single player, in three different difficulty-settings and tournaments and of course pure practice.Give it a go, it is highly recommended from this site, when balanced out against other miniature golf games.
You can find Minigolf 1shot here. The game developer is a member of Acoders.
Interview with nice swing to it.
We contacted Danny Boyd via mail, thinking that if anyone made a single key casual/coffee break game he would be the one. We wanted to ask him a few things about the game and about his development in the freeware gaming world.Chroelle:
Tell us more about yourself - how old are you, where do you live, what do you do for a living? (one of these basic interview questions)
Danny:Im 42, and live on the southern coast of Australia in a tourist town. Currently I’ve been a computer ITTech for a company here for the last 6 years. Prior to that I was a Graphic designer & Signwriter for various companies around Australia for approx. 16 years.
Chroelle: Minigolf 1shot is not the first ever minigolf game. Did you get inspired by any other titles or did your inspiration come from a personal offline interest?
Danny:When the competition first was announced, I thought of what I could create for it. Not that Im a fan of Golf or MiniGolf, it was the first thing that sprung into my mind, that would accommodate a 1 key rule.There was someone else who also did a golf entry for the competition and it was interesting to see how they applied the 1 key concept to their effort. Normally I mentally visualize what the game is to play like, and If I decide there’s flaws in the idea, or certain parts are just beyond my ability, I’ll think of something else, rather than go headlong into a project and find out weeks later I cant do it. Minigolf 1 shot was completed in less than 2 weeks.
Chroelle:1key games is a genre almost on its own. People either hate it or love it. Why would anyone make a 1key game when there are so many keys available on a normal keyboard? And are you planning on doing more of those?
Danny:For me it was a challenge. I mostly make games to see if I can. I don’t know if I’d do more of these type of games; it would depend on the mood I’m in at the time.
Chroelle:Were you ever in doubt wether you should continue to keep this a 1key game – though I know it was made for a Retroremakes 1key competition?
Danny: The game was made specifically for the 1-Key competition. I don’t think I can remember ever thinking about remaking it with more keys etc. The challenge to me was doing it with 1 key.
Chroelle:Do you have any plans of expanding the Minigolf 1key universe by making it a multikey game?
Danny:Not really.
Chroelle:Will we see Minigolf 2shot ever?
Danny:Probably not. Having said that, I do like to revisit ideas I once had years later, and see how I would recreate the idea and how I‘d work around the problems in a different way or with newly learned methods.So if there ever was a Minishot2, it most likely would be 1 key still.
Chroelle: Many casual games are made online playable to further the access to them and easy playability of them. Do you think this is the way forward, or is it just the choice of a few misguided souls?
Danny:Im a huge fan of online gaming. Its does add to the gaming experience when you know you are playing against someone who is as determined as you to win.
Chroelle:Can you tell me anything I don’t know about Minigolf 1shot or the production of the game. Simple trivia/fun facts.
Danny:The game was completed in less than 2 weeks. The voice acting for it was done under sufferance by my partner Jo.
Chroelle:Can you tell us about the other games you worked on? Which is your own personal favourite(s) and why?
Danny:Oh,it’s a big list. I’ve done a lot of games, and many no one has ever seen. I have made a bit of money from it along the way, which was never a goal. Fav’s would be Pacz because it’s the game I spent 6 months creating (longest)
Chroelle:And are you currently involved in other game creation? Freeware or commercial?
Danny:Constantly. When I have some spare time, I’ll usually work on something; whether its ever released is another thing.
Chroelle:When did you start playing games? Do you have any fond memories of those times and did you decide to make a game of your own because of some of them? Is Minigolf 1shot based on some of them?
Danny:My brothers and I got an Atari2600 for Christmas in 1979 or 80?? It started my passion, and I wanted to be able to create games like them. I never realized that until a few years later when I got a Tandy Color Computer, and really didn’t look back.
Chroelle:Did more people work on the game, and if so was it difficult leading the progress with volunteers/paid workers working for you.
Danny:Just me. When I make a game, I usually have a set plan on whats going to happen. With Minishot, I made the first hole, and then game myself a target of finishing off about 2 holes a day.
Chroelle:How do people react to the game when they talk to you about it?
Danny:I don’t really worry about what other people think really, its not a motivating factor to want to make the most popular game – as I nearly always make games for me (what I’d like to play)I’ve had good comments about Minishot Golf though.
Chroelle:Have you thought about making it into a multi-part 1key series? Or maybe making even more minigolf games?
Danny:Not thought about that at all.
Chroelle:Do you remember any ideas you had for the game that didn’t make it?
Danny:The slopes in the game, and the bouncing was a compromise with the software I used to develop it with. I was never entirely happy with it, but at the end of the day, they did what they were meant to.
Chroelle: Were the games ever in danger of not being published? Why? And at what state?
Danny:No – It went very quickly from start to finish.
Chroelle: Which freeware games do you remember playing that made you take on freeware game development?
Danny:When I started making games, there was no internet
So making games to release to the wide world wasn’t an option to me when I began.Chroelle:What part of Minigolf 1shot was the hardest part getting done?
Danny:None of it was hard, because I had a clear idea before I’d started, on how to make it.
Chroelle: What kind of game you would love to make if you had the resources needed and open boundaries?
Danny:That’s an ever changing answer. So by the time you read this, my answer would be different.
Chroelle: What do you think was the coolest feature in the game?
Danny:The feature for Minishot was the fact it was 1 Key. That was part of the challenge making it, and obviously part of the challenge playing it.
Chroelle: Where do you see yourself 5 years from now regarding game making?
Danny:At my age, hopefully still alive.
Chroelle:Do you have any favourite games from the freeware scene?
Danny:I never really play a lot of other people games apart from seeing how they did something. BUT, 1 game that I truly loved was Diabolika 1 & 2. I liked the first one better, but it had bugs. The second seemed to lack the atmosphere of the first even though it was “bugless”.
Chroelle: Any other freeware games you think we should know about for our site?
Danny:Hmm. I don’t get out enough (in the interweb)
Chroelle: Which leads up to the next question. If you were to mention somebody special in the world of freeware, who would that be?
Danny:The core group of guys at Acoders. I don’t get out that much do I?
Chroelle: What are your views on giving away commercial games as freeware when they have been commercial for some amount (you decide) of years?
Danny:I’ve done it.
Chroelle: If you could choose to do a freeware game with any game developer or publisher(freeware or commercial) who would it be?
Danny:Game creation is not really a career path I’ve ever wanted to do; I’d be afraid I’d loose the love for something if I were forced to do it every second of the day.Im happy to continue to make games at home in my spare time.
Chroelle: Ok. To finish off the interview. The classic question:Any words for enthusiastic independent game developers?
Danny:YES.. #1. Try not to bite off more than you can chew. Far too many people try to accomplish something far beyond their own skill or the ability of the software they may be using to create their game.#2. Think about the game first, write notes, and have clear goals at the beginning and at points along the way. Ie finish parts or a feature etc, before moving onto something else.If you get stuck, try to think about solving the problem a different way. If you cant, seek help. (you more than likely are not obeying rule #1)