Experiment 0: Homestretch Bet
Experimentation on the open web is a core part of our plan for 2weeks.
We can rapidly prototype new game concepts and put them out on the web much earlier than we could on other platforms. We want to get a lot of experiments out quickly and see what sparks interest (and what doesn’t). The speed, flexibility, and independence of the web is going to help us try more things.
Building experimental prototypes is what we’re best at, and has been at the heart of our development process across many studios, but prototypes usually get built in secrecy early in development, and we’ve rarely been able to show the ones we’ve built, let alone release them publicly. We’re very excited to be doing something different and bring you in early to see our experiments and get your take on where we can go with them.
The original God of War combat prototype Foge worked on at Sony Santa Monica, and the multiplayer "Toybox" prototype Brandon worked on at Oculus
Homestretch Bet
Our first experiment is Homestretch Bet!
Click to play! (PC only... for now!)
Homestretch Bet is a horse racing game inspired by Texas Hold ‘Em. The horses race based on their stats and luck. You place your bets as the race progresses and more cards are dealt, trying to pick the winner. Horses come into the homestretch with different boosts and energy levels, each vying to win. With some luck, you and your favorite horse will both win!
Where it’s going
This initial prototype is focused on making the core race experience fun. It’s a single-player experiment with randomized horses and races.
Our vision for an expanded version of Homestretch Bet is an ongoing synchronized broadcast of a series of races where you and your friends can share box seats at the track’s clubhouse, enjoy watching the races together, and see who can win the most over the course of the season.
Our goal in this early phase for 2weeks is to get multiple prototypes out so we can see how they perform relative to each other, and then reinvest in the ideas that show the most potential with actual players. That might be Homestretch Bet or one of our future prototypes!
We’d love to hear what you think! Please come join the 2weeks Fun Club Discord server and share your thoughts!
Why we made it
Homestretch Bet is an outlier in our initial list of planned prototypes - you probably won’t see a bunch of experiments from 2weeks built around betting mechanics and themed around pastimes with problematic histories.
But Homestretch Bet is special to us.
I (Brandon) have a deep and weird love for Japanese horse racing simulators, particularly Derby Owners Club, which was the strangest and most interesting arcade game at the Seattle GameWorks that Foge and I (and several other of our game developer friends) liked to hang out at when we first started working together at ArenaNet.
You sit down at one of a cluster of cocktail cabinets, train your horse, and watch the races on the shared bigscreen TV in front of all the stations. While you’re playing, you mostly do… nothing! Early on, your horse may not even qualify for the races, so you might just be watching it roam around a virtual grazing area. Even in the races, you’ve got a couple of buttons to push, but you shouldn’t push them often or you’ll wear your horse out!
For a game where you do very little, it was endlessly fascinating, and I loved spending time with friends hanging out and getting wrapped up in the stakes of our little virtual horse races. It’s a really unique experience; simple to play, but very fun to watch, especially with your friends.
Recently, when Foge and I started talking about starting a new studio together, Homestretch Bet was his first pitch. He will gladly admit he heavily tailored the pitch to appeal specifically to my interests so that I’d be more invested in starting the studio with him. I will gladly admit he hit the bullseye. I couldn’t wait to give it a shot.
With all of our experiments, we’re looking to see if the prototypes can generate the kind of engagement that would justify additional investment to expand it into a more complete experience. We’re currently incubating a few different experiments, but we thought carefully about which one we wanted to put out first.
Homestretch Bet was the obvious choice. It’s a fitting tribute to our early days, when we first became friends and creative partners. We don’t know if it’s the first experiment we’ll expand on, but we do know it’s a great place to start.