graFighters- A New Draw to Life Vintage Game
Take those cartoon sketches and bring them to life!
Computer and video games have long been about how fast you can push a button or navigate an intricate world. But from out of the young generation of gamers comes a concept that brings you away from your computer screen- at least for a moment. What if you could bring your doodle sketches to life? A game that requires kids to pick up a pencil and paper....and draw.
The concept is simple: Users draw a character and the only limit is your imagination. Take a picture of your drawing, upload it to graFighters, and build a cast of characters on your profile. You pick people to batttle, and watch as your character fights other drawings- dueling it out for victory. You gain rewards in the form of ink points, which in turn buy you better options and weapons and moves against your opponents. Do you have what it takes to draw the baddest character of all?
I'll admit I have a vested interest in graFighters since the co-owner is my brother. I remember him as a nerdy kid, always on the computer, trying to beat the latest game. He drove my parents crazy, testing the limits of our family computer, infecting it with viruses as he tinkered around with the up and coming technology. It turns out his quirky habits had some rising potential.
Cool concepts in Grafighters
1. It is a combination of past gaming ideas rolled into one.
It is a social game, allowing users to interact with each other. It is a game that levels the playing field for people with two left thumbs. You don't have to push buttons quickly like Pacman or Mario. You do the drawing, the computer determines your character's winning potential. It is a free app-like game, the kind that are gaining popularity (think Zynga and PopCap). It requires no software or fancy equipment. You need a pencil, paper, computer, and camera (to take a snapshot).
2. It is free!
Users can join and use the game as long as you have an Internet connection and computer. You can create a user account that is linked up with your Facebook account.
3. It is not limited to anything other than your imagination.
Drawings come to life, and if you can think it- it can be created. People who are not decent sketch artists can draw a circle with four stick limbs and you can still fight! You may suck, but who cares! People who want to go the easy way can take advantage of some built-in options.
4. The game is is built by geeks.
Unlike the Zynga games (which all seem to have similar styling and themes), graFighters has nerdy awesomeness everywhere. The whole style is designed to look like a sketchbook and you will forget you are on a computer game. Be prepared to square off against lots of creative nerds.
Notice when the game is loading, it says "Loading Awesomeness" and underneath are smaller words that say, "not harvesting crops, making birds angry, sprinkling pixie dust" and other nonsense. You will find nerdy digs all over the place!
The CNN tech article
- GraFighters: A game that brings your drawings to life; Whats Next - CNN.com Blo
By Nina Raja, CNN (CNN) --- When boredom struck, Eric Cleckner and David Chenell decided to get creative. They co-founded an online fighting game called graFighters, which lets users bring their own drawings to life. Endless days of doodling during c
It is still in beta
My brother and his partner have been working on this project for years it seems. It all started when the two of them sat in class, doodling on their notepad. They started a discussion about who would win if they battled, and the idea was born.
Since that day, both David and Eric have spent countless hours pitching their idea to marketers, investors, and traveling to gaming conventions. The growth was slow and steady until CNN tech featured a video on the dynamic duo. Since then, the number of users has skyrocketed, and the two have been working full time to keep up with the demands of a game still in beta.
The game has a slight learning curve, meaning it will take you a bit to learn the ropes- and keep in mind that continual updates means frequent changes and improvements. But it is a game that wows children and adults alike- as people get hooked on watching their doodles come to life and battle it out for a graFighter victory.
The ultimate goal
Eventually, Dave and Eric want to build a program sophisticated enough to not only bring characters to life, but to make them move and fight the way they are drawn. So instead of just typical fighting moves, dragons can breathe fire, cats can scratch, and sumo wrestlers can squish people.
If you love to draw, check it out. You will be glad you did!
-Julie DeNeen
