Great New Games For GameTruck@HOME Featuring The Nintendo Switch

A few weeks ago, I was excited to share that GameTruck had created a contactless event we call GameTruck@HOME. This program features the Nintendo Switch, and one of the things I love about this program is the ability to upgrade the program as time goes on. In partnership with our owner operators, we are able to distribute new games quickly and easily.

What makes GameTruck@HOME special is that every switch has all the games we promote. This creates maximum flexibility for each of the players at a celebration. I feel it is pretty cool that we now have partners like Epic Games and Microsoft joining alongside Nintendo First Party favorites.

The latest game update includes:

• Just Dance 2021
• Minecraft Dungeons
• Among Us
• Rocket League, and… 
• FORTNITE

These five additional games really connect on the multiplayer fun level. What’s more, they each dramatically diversify the fun play experience at your event.

Just Dance

Just Dance, has been a popular dance franchise for more than a decade. A perennial favorite on the Wii, and later the Wii-U this game can support up to four players dancing to their favorite tunes. The motion sensors within the JoyCon do a tremendous job matching player movement to the beats and dances of the songs. I can’t remember a single GameTruck hosted event I have gone to over the last 5 years that did not start out with Just Dance on some screen. In case you didn’t know, the GameTruck@HOME featuring the Nintendo Switch comes with a docking cradle, so you can connect a Nintendo Switch to your home theater.  Try it.  It’s an absolute blast. The girls may start Just Dance, but don’t be surprised if the boys join in too.

Sigh… if only I had rhythm. 

Minecraft Dungeons

Many people bag on the blocky graphics, but I am really excited about this game. Minecraft broke all the rules when the game launched, written in Java and released on Linux with horrible graphics – nearly every pundit who saw it thought it was doomed from the get-go. What no one except the creator knew, was that Minecraft delivered freedom. Most video games are highly constrained, limited to what the developers can design and render. Minecraft made the rendering trivial, this allowed the limited system resources to be used to do what the players really wanted: To experience freedom.  Not just freedom, but creative power as well.  Minecraft gave the power to the players, not the developers. This freedom was so compelling that millions of users played billions of hours building, discovering, and exploring their randomly generated worlds.

I feel it was only a matter of time however before demand for the challenge of a well-designed narrative made the scene.  Thanks to the folks at Microsoft, that demand has been answered with an outstanding dungeon crawler based in the Minecraft world. Minecraft Dungeons creates an amazing four player cooperative experience with all the attributes we have come to know and love from the blocky universe. Honestly, this is what I think Dungeons & Dragons was meant to be – jump into a world and explore with three of your bestest buddies. What could be better?

RocketLeague

From Dance, to Dungeon Exploration, now it is time to jump into one of the fastest growing Esports in the world with RocketLeague. This amazing physics driven team-based soccer game has exploded globally with one of the first truly cross platform, free to play games designed from the ground up to be an online esport. From the ground up means that the game and the technology mesh perfectly.  There are no compromises to try and match a real-world experience.  RocketLeague seems to be built on the premise that:

If you can do it in the game.  You can do it in the game.

The network code is cutting-edge allowing players to compete globally with high fidelity competition. But why worry about global competition when you can throw down with the people sitting right next to you? This is what makes GameTruck events, and a celebration with GameTruck@Home so compelling.  Everyone can play because RocketLeague is now installed on every system!

A game of both fantasy and skill, RocketLeague is quick, brilliantly designed, and hits that magic sweet spot for great sports. It is easy to pick up and hard to master. Did you know that you could connect one of your Switches as a spectator to your TV and watch the 3v3 match on the big screen? Do you have a future streamer or shout caster? Have them call the game to add that high energy feel players crave at big tournaments. If authentic esport competition is what you crave, Rocket League just might be what you’re looking for.

Among Us

What’s a little subterfuge among friends? At Christmas the Novis clan connected for a little Among Us mischief and we laughed so hard we cried. It’s hard to explain how simple, fun, and compelling this game is. The controls are simple, the minigames will get your heart pulsing, but nothing beats the shear energy that erupts when someone smashes the alarm and everyone has to figure out who the traitor is. If you thought you knew each other well before Among Us, I hate to tell you, but you might be in for a surprise. Unless of course… you’re a little “sus”

FORTNITE

I don’t think there is anything I can say about Fortnite that hasn’t already been written. Fortnite is currently a 600-pound gorilla of popular compelling games.  Fortnite is a competitive blast, and perhaps the number one game for kids of all ages. The brilliant characters, the compelling game play, and the fast turn to get back into a match make Fortnite the reigning champ. If you saw my article last week, you know that this game requires the internet and therefore is not available in every market when booking the Game Trailer.  However, GameTruck@HOME makes this game available because the players can connect to your home network! And I have to say from personal experience – Fortnite with friends is the best way to play, in the same space, the same room, shouting it out and dancing till it’s done. Show me a floss.

Conclusion

I am extremely proud of the GameTruckHQ team and our franchise owners for working together to make this tremendous offering even better for you and your celebration guests. The only problem I can see? You won’t have enough time to play them all!

GameTruck: To Game Online or Not to Game Online? Here’s a hint: It’s not about the games

From the very beginning of GameTruck, one of the questions people frequently asked me was, “do you have (fill in the blank) online game?” For 10 years the simple answer was “no.” Today our answer is more complex. The real answer is often, “that depends” 

What is it with GameTruck and online gaming?

Let me tell you.

About a quarter of a century ago high-speed networks revolutionized gaming. Doom ushered in a world where engineers at Intel, CISCO, and every other high-tech company with internet access routinely took down the local area networks (LANs) by “gaming” too much. A decade after that games like Counter Strike, and Halo exploded on the scene. In the late 90’s private Counter Strike servers were numbered in the 10’s of thousands, and more people played First Person Shooters (FPS) than watched Seinfeld every night. By 2005 The Halo franchise changed gaming because players used game controllers (thumb sticks and dpads) to play FPS games than players who used a mouse and keyboard.

The power of internet gaming is obvious. You can play with people practically anywhere in the world. But GameTruck wasn’t built around the idea of playing games with or against strangers. It was built around playing the best games with your best friends, people you could actually see and know, and hang out with.

I built GameTruck as a vehicle for making friendships. Video games are the glue we use to bind people together emotionally. I have come to believe that friendships are made shoulder to shoulder through the shared strive of common interest. 

In that light, online gaming works exactly opposite to GameTruck’s mission. Why would you have a party to play against a bunch of strangers?

And yet, I understand why parents ask for online gaming.

They ask because, when children play at home, they usually play online

Parents want their children to be happy and to have a party around the games their children love best. Today, more and more of those games are online. And so are their friends.

As a Video Game Studio President and General manager, I had access to everything. At my studios we could play literally any kind of game we wanted (and often did). I loved researching video games most of the time. (Not all games are great, but even bad games can teach you a lot about game design.)

GameTruck was designed to be the experience we enjoyed the most at the development studio

All of this research led me to find, repeatedly, the experience developers enjoyed the most was playing together, in the same space. When we could see each other, and hear each other, in combination with playing together – that experience created an electric energy that is hard to describe.

There is something magic about playing together in the same space. What surprises me is how few kids have actually done it. Before the rise of cheap high-speed internet, developers would pour enormous resources into supporting LAN parties. Teams of people would work for hours (sometimes days) setting up. I made GameTruck a LAN party on wheels. All the setup was done and ready to go. All you had to do was show up.

In the Early Years

In the original configuration of the trailer, we started with Mario Kart Double Dash on the GameCube (because it supported a LAN mode!) and Xbox 360 because Halo was famous for its network mode. Same screen multiplayer games like Madden and Smash Bros gave players lot of choice for playing together. Time and time again, gamers would tell us how much fun they had playing together only with people in the trailer. I believe there are several reasons for this:

1. The Trailer experience is private. No one from the outside is barging in.
2. Matches happen much, much faster in person than online.
3. The energy of playing in person just can’t be beat

This is probably why after 16 years, GameTruck parties are still as popular as ever, and some owners remain committed to providing the “original” experience.

The Dawn of Fortnite and Roblox

About 5 years ago we saw a titanic shift in demand from kids and parents looking to have Fortnite or Roblox parties. In many markets, we did in fact roll out packages to support playing these kinds of games online. As popular as these options are – and if they are available to you awesome. There are some things you should know.

Mobile Internet is Still Inconsistent at Best

Despite all of the hype from the cellular companies about wireless data, no one has produce a reliable, affordable, broad band connection that is effective with multiple gaming systems in the same immediate vicinity of each other. Most of the marketing assumes that people are spread out. We have seen over the past 12 months what it is like when every single person in a household wants to use Zoom at the same time. Even true broadband networks can collapse under the strain of that kind of demand. And I’m talking about cable or fiberoptic networks, the highest bandwidth most robust connections available.

Connecting 4 or 8 consoles in the same trailer to the same wireless tower is a challenge. For years many hotspots would not support more than 3 consoles connected at once. Add to that bandwidth throttling, and you can see how online play can be easily impeded. 

To mitigate these risks, sometimes our owner operators rely on the host to provide internet by extending a super long cable from the trailer to the house. In a COVID world I hope it would be obvious why this is no longer ideal. While it can provide a consistent link, any time you are plugging into routers and home network equipment, there is an element of the uncontrolled. I’m reminded of the old Information Technology joke. “You know it’s the smoke that makes your computer run right? Because if you open the case and let the smoke it, it won’t work anymore.” No one wants to let the smoke out of your network equipment.

Aside from the obvious technical challenges of getting lots of broadband internet to a mobile trailer – there is a fundamental design difference between multiplayer “couch games” and internet games.

Console games are designed for groups. PC Games are designed for individuals.

What I mean by that is that a console is normally installed in a family room, a living room, a playroom connected to a large format TV. It is installed in front of a couch. It has multiple controllers attached. It screams come play with me, together. A personal computer or laptop in contrast is, well personal. It has one keyboard, one screen. And as I have joked, there’s one chair, never share. It is designed to be used by one person at a time. I will admit that the latest generation of consoles definitely blurs the line, but even those still support at least two controllers attached at the same time.

The GameTruck concept prioritizes connection with live humans you can hang out with, over people you have never met over the internet. Online games often do not share the screen in any meaningful way, which means that instead of a single console entertaining up to 8 people at once, that console can only engage one. This means sometimes more children are watching than playing. Not always a bad thing as spectator esports has exploded over the last half decade. This generation of players love to watch a great match of their favorite game.

Some Do, Some Don’t

While it would be nice and simple if all GameTruck franchisees offered online gaming, but I understand the reasons and rational for the difference. Allow me to explain how they break down.

The Connected Markets

In the connected markets three factors come into play. First, there is generally excellent cellular coverage for high-speed Ointernet. Second, the market price point supports the high expense in providing online games (specialized equipment like screen splitters, more consoles and TV’s, plus labor for downloads are needed resulting in higher operating costs.) Third, through experience and due diligence owners have a high degree of confidence that they can reliably deliver the expectation and experience that customers want. Online parties are great if they work. They are horrible if they don’t. No one wants to disappoint a child on their birthday. We have to know we can deliver the experience people expect if we are going to offer it.

The Original Experience Markets

For markets where cell coverage is inconsistent – and with no way to guarantee execution (you just cannot predict bandwidth restrictions and coverages in some markets), our owners have wisely focused on delivering the original GameTruck party experience. Outfitted with Nintendo Switches which allows players to form ad hoc private networks (See GameTruck @Home Article ) – players can have many of the great experiences competing together as if they were online.

So what is the answer? Focus on the shared experience

When I went back to analyze the data, I was surprised to find that markets that do not offer online gaming actually score a higher Net Promoter Score with a total of ~89, than markets that do offer online gaming. (Total score ~87). 

How is that possible?If you recall my story about Laser Tag, while people focus on the trailer and the games, that is not what they are actually buying. They are buying a celebration. A celebration is about feelings of respect, and value. Those feelings come from the people around you and the way you are treated, not from the software or the hardware you use. Shockingly, the data seems to indicate it is not so important what you play, it is far more important how you play, and who you are playing with.

Games Change but Play Is Eternal

When I look back over the decade and a half that we have been running GameTruck parties, I am often shocked at the rate of change in video games and how our little company not only survived but thrived through it all.

It is hard to believe but I started putting down the first ideas for GameTruck in 2005. I assembled a prototype in my garage using an Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube. I knew the Xbox 360 was coming thanks to my work in the video game industry. In fact, the graphics on some of the early prototypes for the Xbox 360 were so impressive – they crushed anything in the arcade. With the success of Halo as a local area network play game, I knew people would want to have that experience.

It’s Hard to Believe We Loved Those Old Consoles So Much

I happen to have this sort of “collection” of old gaming systems in my house. I have fond memories of playing “Zelda Ocarina of Time” with the kids when they were young. When I set up the garage prototype of GameTruck, we played, “Jack & Disaster” (Jack and Daxter on the PS2). 

So many people worried that GameTruck would not last because the games would change so often. I have to admit, it was a concern I had as well. But when I look back at those old games – and this is hard to do – do you still have a CRT television with an S-Video cable input? Remember those old RGB connectors? You had to plug in a bundle of them to get… gasp, 480i in rich color. 480 vertical rows of pixels interleaved. 

The jump to “HD” with 720P was amazing… until you look at it today.

The Games We Launched With

When we started the first GameTruck business, we used: 

• Halo
• Mario Kart Double Dash
• Smash Bros Melee
• Madden
• FIFA
• Call of Duty

And that was pretty much it. The world was obsessed with Grand Theft Auto at the time and parents were paranoid we would bring that game out. Of course, we never did because GTA was a single player game and we only wanted to bring out games that kids could play together.

Looking back on those old games it is hard to believe that we started before the launch of the Wii, before the Guitar Hero, Rock Band Craze, and before anyone used the words “esports”.

Not too long ago I fired up a copy of a video game I had worked on. ATV Offroad Fury. That game was fun to play, however by todays graphics standards it is hard to look at. It is also hard to recall how groundbreaking that game was at the time. Or how excited everyone was to see Zelda in 3D, or even Mario in his first all 3D adventure. Looking back it seems like it is hard to see what all the fuss was about – and yet those games hold a special place in my heart and the hearts of millions of children that grew up with them.

The Evergreens

A few of those games have evolved through to today, and remain as popular as they were when they were first introduced. While some entire genres of games have faded away (remember racing games? You hardly see those any more), a few games have become industries in their own right.

If you were to walk into a GameTruck Party today, I think it is interesting how some games have become nearly timeless in their appeal. These are games that kids just love to play together. While some games did in fact change our business (Fortnite cough cough), most games were fads that lasted for a while then faded away. (Remember Tony Hawk? How huge was that game?)

Even in 2021 you are still likely to see when you step into a GameTruck Party :

• Smash Bros Ultimate
• Minecraft (the new kid on the block)
• NBA2K (has muscled its way onto the sports scene) sometimes displacing Madden or FIFA, sometimes right alongside of it.
• Dance-Dance Revolution

And depending upon the game of the child, you could see:

• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
• Luigi’s Mansion
• Call of Duty
• Fortnite

What we have learned

Over the years, what we have seen is that what really makes a party experience work, is a combination of key elements. The first is that we have the multiplayer games kids tend to be very interested in playing. Most kids in the 8-12 year old range are poly-gamers. They play the most popular games on a range of gaming systems. They can easily switch between building in Minecraft, battling it out in Smash Bros, or teaming up for a competitive game of Madden or NBA2K.

The Lure of playing together in person, and have a wide selection of the most popular games, updated and ready to go gives the players choice. The game itself is not nearly as important as the game a group is interested today is interested, up to date, and ready to play. This ready-to-play phenomenon is what I like to call Zero Friction Gaming.

Zero Friction Gaming

I believe that one of the reasons GameTruck has persisted all of these years is that our amazing staff take care of all the annoying details required for a dozen or more people to play together. Pre-COVID parties were much bugger, but in the beginning 8 – 10 kids was not uncommon. And that number – more than any one console can support – is the threshold problem. If you split even 8 players into groups of 2, this requires four systems, four screens, 8 controllers, sometimes we need to have multiple copies of the most popular games.

Most families just do not have the time, energy and resources to gather all of this equipment, let alone hook it up. (When is the last time you sync’d up a controller? – now imagine doing that for half a dozen of them in just a few minutes). The magic of GameTruck is that we show up ready to play. The players can step inside and share.

I guess what I’m getting at is that when there is no barrier to play – it is the friends that can make the magic happen. This is why we work so hard to keep the equipment update to date, updated, and well maintained. Availability is the number one factor in removing friction to game. The fast kids can play, the more fun they have, the less stressful it is for parents, and the more memories are made.

Specific games become less important than having access to lots of popular options that are ready to go. We have definitely seen this in our GameTruck @Home program. Every player gets a console. Every console has every game. Anyone can play anything at any time. Now that is Zero Friction Gaming.

Conclusion

Despite the many ups and downs and twists and turns of the video game industry, playing your favorite games with your best friends is as strong as ever. Maybe today we need to be a little more selective in who comes over, but the desire to play and make new memories has not abated. I am humbled that this crazy idea that started in my garage 15 years ago, is loved by kids, trusted by parents, and has delivered fun since 2006.

If I think about it, what makes GameTruck special? We make the best of gaming available to the most important people in your lives.

And that has not changed.