Line Rider

Line Rider (Flash or Silverlight 2 version)
Developer(s) Boštjan Čadež
Publisher(s) inXile entertainment
Designer(s) Boštjan Čadež
Platform(s) Microsoft Silverlight, Adobe Flash
Release date(s) September 23, 2006
Mode(s) Single player

Line Rider is an internet game. Versions are available for Microsoft Silverlight and for Flash. It was originally created in September 2006 by Boštjan Čadež (also known as "fsk"), a Slovenian student.[1][2] Originally appearing on DeviantArt on September 23, 2006, Line Rider quickly became an internet phenomenon.

Line Rider is featured by several websites, such as Yahoo! but is mainly used on the website Linerider.com,[3] Time Magazine's website[4] and has appeared in several McDonald's commercials for the Snack Wrap in 2008. Line Rider was also selected by staff and voted by users as the Best Webtoy of 2006 in the Jay is Games polls.[5] A two-page article about the game was published in Games for Windows: The Official Magazine.[6]

Gameplay

The Line Rider character, "Bosh"

The basic concept is to draw one or more lines with the mouse on which a boy (referred to as "Bosh" by the creator[7]) on a sled can ride after the player presses the "Play" button. The game includes simulated physics, which means the track must be sufficiently smooth to prevent the character from falling off the sled. The author has said that he prefers the description "toy" to "game," as there is no goal to accomplish, nor does it have an end.[8] In spite of its simplicity, many complicated tracks have been created, which include loops and other stunts. New tracks can consist of unrealistic tricks such as "flings" and "manuals" both on and off the sled. Some tracks are even set to music and include hand-drawn mountain slopes and trees. Tracks are typically shared among users by uploading a video to web sites, such as YouTube or Google Video.[9] Revision 6.2 of Line Rider was released in August 2007, and was optimized to run more smoothly, and to have a higher-powered zoom tool. The game does allow created tracks to be saved, and shown to the public (only if creator wishes to do so). The storage is not on the Line Rider website, but on the user's hard drive, therefore allowing maximum storage implication and quicker access to stored tracks. In order to allow public viewing, the user must be logged into the website server.

On July 1, 2008, the original Flash version was replaced by a new one written in Silverlight. It includes a new feature that allows people to send tracks to other people via Windows Messenger. On October 23, 2009, this was replaced by Beta 3, which has the option to use dual players, a camera, trapdoor and deceleration lines.

IP acquisition

On December 20, 2006 inXile Entertainment announced that it acquired console rights to Line Rider.[10] The game was redesigned for the Wii, DS and iPhone platforms, in addition to the standard free play mode, the games featured a story and puzzle modes. All of the art work and sounds have also been redone.

Mobile version

Line Rider was released for portable devices in October 2008. The gameplay is similar to that of the original revision 6.2, with the addition of a multiplayer puzzle mode, and has several added features including different vehicles, exploding lines and scenery. Players are able to share tracks with others through a Bluetooth connection and can send the files in texts to other phones and to the web.

A version has been released for the Apple iPhone called Line Rider iRide. This version includes iPhone specific features such as accelerometer based physics and worldwide file sharing.

As an educational tool

Line Rider has been the basis for an article published in The Physics Teacher magazine concerning the use of computers in Physics education by members of the Physics Department of Southeastern Louisiana University.[11] The article uses video captures of Line Rider to explore the physics in the game by use of video analysis.

References

  1. ↑ "News". Linerider.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2008. Retrieved 2009-06-08.
  2. ↑ About Line Rider.
  3. ↑ Featured on the front page: November 9, 2006
  4. ↑ Ressner, Jeffrey, The Newest Time Waster: Line Rider Time.com, October 18, 2006
  5. ↑ Best of Webtoy 2006 Results at Jay is Games
  6. ↑ Murdoch, Julian (August 2007). "Line Rider". Games for Windows: The Official Magazine. pp. 36–37.
  7. ↑ a few things about line rider - fšk's DeviantART journal, December 11, 2006
  8. ↑ Line Rider on deviantART
  9. ↑ Movies at Line Rider official site.
  10. ↑ http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=12167
  11. ↑ "An Analysis Of A Video Game". The Physics Teacher.
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