Advocacy & Safety - "dangerous cycling" simulator/game

Another edit (12/24):

I posted an updated version of the game >>>>here<<<< (http://wangedwa.googlepages.com/bikegamev.2.1), which includes a dead-end bike lane and a mid-block zombie, as well as SUVs, two different bike speeds, and a choice of the game length.

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Since i'm (1) not brazen enough to run red lights/stop signs/riding through gaps in traffic at full speed like some of the people on this forum (i.e. Joeybike), (2) live in a suburb where I can't possibly keep up with cars, and (3) i'm not allowed to ride anyways and have little better to do, I made a little flash game over the past week to simulate the "dangerous" stop-sign running (shooting gaps in traffic) and passing cars thing.

The game is -->here (http://wangedwa.googlepages.com/bikegame%21)<--. (Edit: Linked fixed to googlepages, which works but is framed)

Alternatively, -->this<-- (http://wangedwa.googlepages.com/bike-game.swf) links directly to the original file but I think it forces a download (i.e. you can't simply open it in your browser). Though, you could probably open it with your browser upon downloading.

The controls are just arrow keys and spacebar to reset if you crash - the map is circular, with the bike starting on the left side).

(xposted to general cycling)

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EDIT:

I posted a second version of the game with dynamic traffic and an endless road (well only if you go up, and even then only for the duration of the game).

This is the direct link to the game's *.swf file, which can be opened with any browser. (http://wangedwa.googlepages.com/bike-game-traffictest.swf)

This is a link to a googlepages site with two different sizes of the game embedded. (http://wangedwa.googlepages.com/bikegamev.2)

Notes: (red is outdated)
(1)To minimize the 'lag' factor on my computer, there can only be 20 cars on screen at one time, i.e. the 21st car is deleted, which means cars might disappear if you stay at the same intersection for a while.
(2)Its still relatively laggy on my computer, which means it might be on yours
(3)It's pretty buggy, with cars spawning going upwards often overlapping, as with left-turning cars.

New Notes:
I updated the file to one that lags a lot less;

I used to have each of the 20 the cars check 4 different positions for other cars (front left, front close, front far, front right), for 20 other cars, 15 times a second - which is why it was so slow. Now there's only one test (front medium), and I made the traffic thicker and allowed for 25 cars.

Cool game. It makes me feel like a beginning rider.

why does the bike start on the wrong side of the road and the left arrow make you go right, up arrow make you down?

Is that why it's a "dangerous" game?

why does the bike start on the wrong side of the road and the left arrow make you go right, up arrow make you down?

Is that why it's a "dangerous" game?

wrong side? There IS no wrong side for bikes... :innocent:

The controls are relative to the bike, i.e. the left arrow makes the bike move towards the bike's left.

and...sure.

Nits unrelated to the blow-stop-signs bit - I see it as a potential cycling simulator (not necessarily in the JoeyBike fashion).

That said:

Realism problem #1: Not enough traffic visible in main game screen.

Realism problem #2: I grant you that a number of drivers are bad - but I've yet to see 100% of them fail to use their brakes when a cyclist is in front of them.

Realism problem #3: The layout is too short.

Nit #1: Is there any way to rotate the background graphics, and fix the bike in one position? The upside down controls can be confusing on the first two tries. Spinning a 180 to get the feel of the game relative to the keys worked to ingrain it into the memory.

Nit #2: Can the cars at the stop sign be programmed to turn onto the main road? I'm not a proponent of filtering, though the game forces it.

Otherwise, it is an well-done little game. Funny stuff for CM'ers...

-Kurt

Cool. I think I got a fixie cause my bike has no brakes.

http://www.jaysmarine.com/cars.jpg

How long do I have to have it there before I get hit?

http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/bikewheel.jpg

-Kurt

P.S.: This thing has some "epic trackstand skillz."

...I made a little flash game over the past week to simulate the "dangerous" stop-sign running (shooting gaps in traffic) and passing cars thing.

Nice Job. I like how the bike slows down in the grass too. Took me about 5 minutes to master. It's fun. Can you make the streets continual, lets say vertically (south to north)? Keep some double-parked cars and add a few "zombies" walking across in the middle of the block and you could sell this game!

Here are some notes and my "official" seal of approval. Very realistic as my notes highlight the true events.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=89700&stc=1&d=1229794107

Again....GREAT JOB!

Now I am going to play it again....

OKOK....not I get the "circular" part of your instructions. Man, I wrecked a lot of bikes.

Make the world bigger or circular. If there's a way to go around a block and negotiate left and right turns, that would be cool.

Make the world bigger or circular. If there's a way to go around a block and negotiate left and right turns, that would be cool.

That was my first impression, but it is actually circular. Start rolling forward, go to the 4-lane turn left and keep turning left at every intersection for the circle. It is a bit easier to U-turn the bike and go all rights, cause you never have to cross any busy streets.

I made a little flash game over the past week to simulate the "dangerous" stop-sign running (shooting gaps in traffic) and passing cars thing.


I think it also illustrates how dangerous it would be to operate your bike electronically via a keyboard. Especially in traffic.

hey, that was real cool. just like real life. no good roads to ride on and those cars act like they don't even see you. But no right hooks?- that's when I knew it was only a game!:thumb:

But no right hooks?- that's when I knew it was only a game!:thumb:

They don't run stop signs either, but since most drivers pass out drunk at stop signs here in New Orleans, I feel right at home in the game. :lol:

Good effort but I feel a little seasick now...:(

They don't run stop signs either, but since most drivers pass out drunk at stop signs here in New Orleans, I feel right at home in the game. :lol:

Do you also go faster then all the vehicles on the main artery?

EDIT: I'm getting the message "Worst Game Ever." when attempting to enter it now. Did the OP take it down?

-Kurt

Do you also go faster then all the vehicles on the main artery?

EDIT: I'm getting the message "Worst Game Ever." when attempting to enter it now. Did the OP take it down?

-Kurt

Its probably the host - anyone know where I can upload *.swf files?

Bummer! I was just getting good at that thing. Contraflow on the 4-lane, splitting lanes, passing cars, cutting across the grassy medians - just like my commute.

Please put it back up if you can!

hmm...is it supposed to be only a very small section of road with cars then driving on the grass? Not very well thought out...I wasn't expecting much though. With a bit more work that could maybe be fun

Tried FRAPS'ing a session, didn't work for some reason...

-Kurt

Alternatively, -->this<-- (http://wangedwa.googlepages.com/bike-game.swf) links directly to the original file but I think it forces a download (i.e. you can't simply open it in your browser). Though, you could probably open it with your browser upon downloading.

Downloaded in 2 seconds. Looks OK in I.E. I'll play it and see how it does.

Ran a couple of laps. Works great! Thanks. When I get better at it I will play it with the helmet cam and shoot you a PM with the mayhem!

hmm...is it supposed to be only a very small section of road with cars then driving on the grass? Not very well thought out...I wasn't expecting much though. With a bit more work that could maybe be fun

The road with cars continues on to the right, though not for too long.

Nits unrelated to the blow-stop-signs bit - I see it as a potential cycling simulator (not necessarily in the JoeyBike fashion).

That said:

Realism problem #1: Not enough traffic visible in main game screen.

Realism problem #2: I grant you that a number of drivers are bad - but I've yet to see 100% of them fail to use their brakes when a cyclist is in front of them.

Realism problem #3: The layout is too short.

Nit #1: Is there any way to rotate the background graphics, and fix the bike in one position? The upside down controls can be confusing on the first two tries. Spinning a 180 to get the feel of the game relative to the keys worked to ingrain it into the memory.

Nit #2: Can the cars at the stop sign be programmed to turn onto the main road? I'm not a proponent of filtering, though the game forces it.

Otherwise, it is an well-done little game. Funny stuff for CM'ers...

-Kurt

Based on realism problem 2 and nit 2, I tried making the traffic dynamic...though it seems like its gonna fail. Its lags horribly, at least on my computer, and the act of turning left is cursed.

http://wangedwa.googlepages.com/bikegamebeta <-preview (bike can't move though)

Based on realism problem 2 and nit 2, I tried making the traffic dynamic...though it seems like its gonna fail. Its lags horribly, at least on my computer, and the act of turning left is cursed.

http://wangedwa.googlepages.com/bikegamebeta <-preview (bike can't move though)

No lagging here - works smooth. Granted, the left turns are slightly slower then the car's general speed, but it works nevertheless. I find it amusing that the vehicles sometimes go through the intersection during a light change :lol:

Oh - one other thing - the cyclist, in the original simulators, appears to have the ability to travel at the same speed, if not faster, then the motorists. Any method of limiting speed?

As for other ideas:
Perhaps the addition of poorly-built, dead-end bike lanes as a split-second safety zone? Perhaps one or two cut-through lanes marked as sharrow areas, where the cars cannot hit you?

-Kurt

P.S.: Alleyways would be nice, just for the heck of it. This might become a cult game classic...

Since i'm (1) not brazen enough to run red lights/stop signs/riding through gaps in traffic at full speed like some of the people on this forum (i.e. Joeybike), (2) live in a suburb where I can't possibly keep up with cars, and (3) i'm not allowed to ride anyways and have little better to do, I made a little flash game over the past week to simulate the "dangerous" stop-sign running (shooting gaps in traffic) and passing cars thing.

The bike being faster than the cars was actually one of the primary premises for the game

All well and good - it makes for entertaining gameplay, if somewhat pushing the envelope of believability ;)

P.S.: I left that test intersection running for 10 minutes or so. Didn't know it would be this realistic:

http://www.jaysmarine.com/jamup.jpg

:eek: :lol:

-Kurt

Hmm almost tempting to make something in DirectX...

Here's a good educational use for the game.

Once you master it and can go around easily, try riding against traffic. See how long you live then.

Once you master it and can go around easily, try riding against traffic. See how long you live then.

Already tried putting the game up to that test - there's enough room :lol:

-Kurt

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=89700&stc=1&d=1229794107

The seal of approval is hilarious. :roflmao2:

I just noticed the second set of intersections to the right.

The seal of approval is hilarious. :roflmao2:

The game actually makes you ride like me if you want to get around smoothly.

I posted a second version of the game with dynamic traffic and an endless road (well only if you go up, and even then only for the duration of the game).

This is the direct link to the game's *.swf file, which can be opened with any browser. (http://wangedwa.googlepages.com/bike-game-traffictest.swf)

This is a link to a googlepages site with two different sizes of the game embedded. (http://wangedwa.googlepages.com/bikegamev.2)

Notes:
(1)To minimize the 'lag' factor on my computer, there can only be 20 cars on screen at one time, i.e. the 21st car is deleted, which means cars might disappear if you stay at the same intersection for a while.
(2)Its still relatively laggy on my computer, which means it might be on yours
(3)It's pretty buggy, with cars spawning going upwards often overlapping, as with left-turning cars.

This just makes me envision some kind of first person perspective full 3d game really badly. :(

I posted a second version of the game with dynamic traffic and an endless road (well only if you go up, and even then only for the duration of the game).

Unlike the demo, it is quite (unfortunately) laggy, yes. Makes it quite difficult to handle the bike properly. Could it be that more animation frames then required are being requested for purposes of animating the vehicles to a smooth stop?

Would elimination of the left/right turning vehicles have any effect on the game's performance?

-Kurt

P.S.: 49.57s through the 6 intersections, Joeybike style :lol: . Still scares the crap out of me to do it in the game though, much less envision someone trying those nutty stunts in actuality.

44.12

There are no Hummers, flatulent sounding little Japanese and Korean teenage rockets or '73 VistaCruisers with cardboard in the tailgate window and bad shocks.

Especially no drunken people trying to wash their windshields for Night Train.

Need a stupid T-bone at the convenience store and at least 2 211s, a rescue ambulance call and a section-wide power outage forcing everyone to stop and yield, plus Pizza delivery vehicles and 12 scooters in scooter punk gang formation.

Joeybike style...

I screen captured a few minutes of me playing the game - JoeyBike style!

http://www.vimeo.com/2597559

I updated the file to one that lags a lot less;

I used to have each of the 20 the cars check 4 different positions for other cars (front left, front close, front far, front right), for 20 other cars, 15 times a second - which is why it was so slow. Now there's only one test (front medium), and I made the traffic thicker and allowed for 25 cars.

Oh, and nice video.

44.12

Couldn't beat you. 44.95 was my best time on the new one.

-Kurt

I screen captured a few minutes of me playing the game - JoeyBike style!

http://www.vimeo.com/2597559

Close calls
.49
1.32
1.51
2.16
3.33
3.47
4.22
5.41
5.51
6.41
6.47

and not one reaction from those suckers

That is cold

THIS GAME IS AWESOME!!!

Haha, this made my day getting to play this. Everytime I see the cars head-on collide at intersections it makes me laugh. I wish I knew how to code flash to help add to this project.

Very happy to see a timer/score added to the game. The bike lanes to nowhere sound like a good idea as would potholes. Maybe have a way to transition it from the two lane road to four lanes then back for some variety?

Great fun though, thanks!

edit: 44.42 is my best so far...

This game is seriously fun. Requesting a version that is truly endless. I like the timed run thing, but I would love to just keep going and see how many intersections I can get through without crashing.
44.15 is my best.

44.15 wide open the whole time with one slight swerve at one intersection.

Nice job! Those turning cars freaked me out at first - been playing the first generation game too much I guess.

Thank You

Couldn't beat you. 44.95 was my best time on the new one.

-Kurt

Mostly luck of being able to drive in almost a perfectly straight line, plus or minus any shotty programming in the game that may make times semi inaccurate.


Basically if a car pulled out in front of me, I'd hit to to restart anyway because I'd lose time... too bad life isn't that easy, eh?

I posted an updated version of the game here (http://wangedwa.googlepages.com/bikegamev.2.1), which includes a dead-end bike lane, sidewalks and a mid-block "zombie", as well as SUVs, two different bike speeds, and a choice of the game length (so you can make it as long as you want).

also: I made it so that 15% of cars don't see bikes (in addition to all the turning ones), and now you can press the spacebar during the game to straighten out the bike.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3227/3132744473_78aa15888d.jpg?v=0

Minimize making sudden turns..or don't turn too hard

um, is it not giving a "seconds per intersection" time? that's weird...

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=90064&stc=1&d=1230136024

the timing isn't consistent with the previous versions, since the bike speed, framerate, and obstacles are different. The lack of the 'seconds per intersection' thing seems to indicate that's the previous version?

Oh, You mean this one?


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3134/3133298651_257e1747b9.jpg?v=0

The more I think about it, the more I think the OP has a great idea of creating a game that can create situations and be a great learning tool.

Of course I'm stuck at the "go with DirectX or Ogre" decision.... sigh... really fast or cross platform, boo.

Oh, You mean this one?

Yes, i mean that one (0.03s = one frame, btw - 0.03125, to be more specific)

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=90110&stc=1&d=1230154423

edit: I just got 43.63 (6 intersections), but i'm too lazy to post a new picture