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OUR CURRENT FAVOURITE GAME (IS FOUR YEARS OLD)

7/4/2015

6 Comments

 
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Back when old Mr Biffo was at school, typing - like cooking, sewing, and personal grooming - was considered to be a thing that only girls did. Indeed, the only boy in the entire school to take typing as an 'O' Level was his pioneering friend Steve. 

Steve's decision may have raised some eyebrows at the time, but even though Biffo never needed a typing course to develop a 65 words-per-minute typing speed, he probably would've benefitted from one, given that he now suffers from crippling RSI in the fingers and wrists and elbows - whereas Steve's digits remain flexible and limber.

Of course, we live in more enlightened times, and the line between genders has never been more blurred - indeed, modern boys are more likely to be found picking flowers, skipping in meadows, or befriending bluebirds, than punching one another in the throat, or playing war, or throwing bricks at old televisions.

Outside of, say, text adventures, there have been precious few games that have used typing as a control method. Indeed, we can only think of Sega's bizarre Typing of the Dead (and "thinking" was as far as our research went). We somehow missed it when it was released online four years ago, but there's another out there: Z-Type. Johnny-come-latelys we may be, but we're hooked.

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CATCH SOME ZZZZZs
Taking old-school shoot 'em ups as its starting point, Z-Type was described by its creator Dominic Szablewski as an "experiment", rather than a game (it is a game, though).

Part Galaxians, part Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, Z-Type's enemies descend from the sky, each dragging a word with them.

Eliminating the enemies requires typing out the words, before the invaders descend onto your stupid head; once you've started typing, you need to finish before you can move onto the next word. Occasionally, a bigger ship will regurgitate a string of individual letter missiles - naturally, these motherships will have a longer word attached, or may generate a second word after the first is typed away.

Providing you're not a complete typing incompetent, it's all absurdly addictive - and best of all, you get given your typing speed at the end of each session, allowing you to lord it over people with stubby fingers. Go play here.

6 Comments
Chris link
7/4/2015 05:10:54 am

There's Scribblenauts too, of course. Although I'm not really sure if that qualifies as "using typing as a control method", as the usual D-pad does the actual controlling.
But there is typing involved.

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Mr Smith
7/4/2015 05:26:27 am

Are you sure that RSI isn't gout? We know from experience that gin (and meats) will do that to you. (Give you gout.)

This looks ace. There's surprisingly quite a few typing tutor games. In fact, it seems to be its own mini-genre.

Cheers!

Reply
Virtual Hermit link
7/4/2015 08:47:13 am

I gave Z-type a go, got to level 13 I think.

Score: 001499
Accuracy: 97.8%
Words per minute: 27.4

Bookmarked it, pretty cool. Could totally make a proper full game out that.

Reply
Ken
7/4/2015 07:13:21 pm

I got to level 11 then things get a little too crazy, lol. I'm sure I could do better with practice though and the sound track is pretty cool.
Good time killer.

Reply
Adam
7/4/2015 07:46:07 pm

This reminds me of a friend who once got a temping job by answering 'yes' to the question of whether he could type forty-five words a minute. When he started the job and it was clear that he couldn't type for toffee, he explained that he had misheard the question as 'four to five words a minute'.

Reply
MrDrinks
8/4/2015 08:40:39 am

Typing of the Dead was excellent although the graphics haven't aged well, part of the fun was the ludicrous things it would ask you to type. I've not played the newer Typing of the Dead : Overkill, but I really enjoyed the gun version (even though some of the humour misses the mark) and this has inspired me to get it on Steam.

Biffo I reckon if you like Z-Type you should give Typing of the Dead a go, it sounds like a stupid idea but actually works very well.

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