[Dr. Potts] Rocket League is a blast. It taps into something primal: the desire to hit a giant soccer ball with a car. I didn't know I had this desire until I tried the game. I would never call myself a car guy. I'd never say I was particularly into racing games. But somehow, driving a car that can jump and slide really nails a sweet spot.
[Jaconian] I'm in the same boat. One of Conklederp's friend's husband suggested it to me a few years back and while I knew of the game, I have never been a big video game soccer person, and until recently, multiplayer online gaming was never a draw for me. But a free game that remotely interested me that until recently has retailed for $19.99, I'll jump all over that.
[D] It helps that the matches are 5 minutes long. Other games such as Tony Hawk's Pro Skater or Stardew Valley or even Minnit have hit on the special serotonin boost that is a short-run game that you can just start again if you want to. And there's so much joy in just driving around, it's up to you to decide how much purpose you want to give it.[J] Yeah, the length of the matches I feel is perfect. 10 minutes would be too long for the type of game Rocket League is. It's a good feeling to know that, apart from queue times, I can play three to four matches in fewer than 30 minutes.
[J] I haven't really developed a consistent strategy yet, and I only recently figured out that the boosts with the ring-thing hovering over it will fill your boost back up to 100 whereas all the others only replenish your boost by 10. After one game in particular when no one was really playing defense, I realized that playing goalie is not the most glamorous job but I do find myself making a mad dash for the goal and skid around doing a 180 when the other team makes for our goal.
[D] I love that move. It's like 'to the rescue!' and, well.. it doesn't always work out but at least I put my body in the right location.
[J] Right!? It may not work but at least in the replay of the other team scoring, I will at least look like I made an effort to stop the ball. You know, as opposed to making a sprint for the ball and accidentally knocking it in our own goal and looking like a complete idiot. Which I have totally never done.
I did make the mistake recently and watched a highlight reel of people who are actually good at Rocket League and it made me feel like I have been playing the controller using only my feet with an eye patch on. These people are blasting into the air to grab the ball as well as a car can, and literally, flying it down to the goal to score.
[D] Okay, that is insane. I can't imagine being able to control that well. I have no idea how jumping works. I cannot play defense. If the ball is in the air, I will jump at it, but I will almost certainly miss. I also frequently mistake my jump button for my slide button. I think the manic energy of the game short circuits my muscle memory. Also, I could stand to spend more time with the tutorial. But I don't wanna!
[J] I would highly recommend the tutorial, I mean at least I found it to be really helpful. I initially kind of poo-pooed the idea of playing the tutorial because, like, "I've played video games before, I can figure this out" but for me at least, I found it useful as being able to judge distances, the trajectory of the ball when defending as well as trying to play forward (or Striker as they call it in-game). Plus completing the tutorials unlocks more cosmetic features which isn't a bad thing.
[D] Okay, you make a good case. My distance judgment is pretty bad, I miss the ball a lot, especially if it's bouncing. And I do like the cosmetics. I like Rocket League so much that I actually spend time customizing my car. A thing I normally don't care about, especially not with cars.
The craziness of the game is a big part of the fun, I almost don't want to get too good at it. But at the same time, I am compelled to try to do things on purpose.
Recently I played a game where our team was dominating by like 5 points, and I felt so bad for the other team, I just stopped trying to win and instead ran around like crazy, not trying to win anymore. But one nice thing they include, if you need more chaos in your life is 4v4. It's pretty fun, intense and lots of smashing.
[J] Haha, yeah. I've been on the receiving end of an 8 - 2 match and the game does give you the option to forfeit when you're down by five, but I decided to continue to play (I don't know if everyone on the team has to agree to forfeit, or if it's more than half?). And one of the things I have noticed which initially kind of irritated me was when people would just drop out of the game, especially if the team I'm on is losing. And then this last weekend I had to drop out mid-game because I was holding Goblino while playing and he just woke up and went from sleepy to everything'swrongandI'mgoingtodie in about 4.7 seconds, so maybe I'll have a little more compassion for people who just leave. Or not.
[D] Yeah, I notice people drop out a lot. And yeah, as you mention, there's no way to know what their reasons are. It might be butt-hurtitude, or it might be that something else has intervened, such as baby freakout mode. I just get a little bummed because sometimes I want to rematch.
[J] I think Dr. Potts perfectly summed this game up last weekend in that it's like playing with Hot Wheels. It's fun to drop in play a handful of games and call it good. I don't have the drive to become so much better, just enough to feel like I moderately know what I'm doing.
[D] Yes, I do want to comment on the Hot Wheels thing. My memories of Hot Wheels are pretty mad cap. The cars were never really restricted to a 'track' per se, nor did they have to stay on the ground- they could jump, and float. Mostly, they would make noise, go fast, squeal their tires and turn, flip or barrel roll. And, of course, crash into one another. Basically, exactly: Rocket League.
Dr. Potts & JWfW/JDub/The Faceplantman/Jaconian
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