zeppinger

Every cyclist should play this game. The object is to get to the end of the level alive. Although, nothing much else matters. Not all levels involve using a bicycle rider but he is usually an option. I highly recommend the level entitled "Office."

https://www.totaljerkface.com/happy_wheels.php

Caretaker

I got as far as "you haven't registered yet".

I'd rather ride my bike.

zeppinger

Hmmm, I did not have to register anything to play.

Caretaker

I 'clicked' Level Editor. Just shows I'm not in the target group. Young spotty faced computer game freaks.

zeppinger

Don't click level editor. Just click the huge "play" button.

We are always sighting cyclists in the mass media on this forum such as movies and TV commercials. This is the first time that a regular looking cyclists, that is not a racer or a BMX rider, appeared in a video game. The portrayal of the cyclist is not so bad but his appearance along side of the other characters is disheartening. The game designers seemed to have picked a group of characters that everyone would universally love to see die and get dismembered.

Roody

I made it to the finish line on my first try. Well, actually one chunk of my meat made it.

GriddleCakes

Seriously?

The average age for self identified "gamers" in the US is in the mid-30s; video games are as ubiquitous as television these days, and playing them hardly makes one a freak. Welcome to the year 2011, welcome to the western world.

Obviously you never played Paperboy, circa 1984. I used to play this on my old Gameboy, it rocked!

Edit: This game ranges from boring to terrible; user created levels are teh sux0rs. I'll stick with Victorian BMX for my online flash-based cycling silliness, thank you.

zeppinger

Paper Bow had crossed my mind but the paper boy was the only character. In this game the cyclist is likened to the homeless guy in a wheel chair, the fat lady in the hover round, ect...

Caretaker

No, you're welcome to it.

GriddleCakes

Ah, I see what you're saying. You're right that the game characters are basically a gallery of losers/misfits; a fat lady on a mobility scooter, a homeless guy in a wheelchair, a segway rider. And by including a cyclist (named "irresponsible dad", implying that it is inherently irresponsible to transport a child by bike) the game designer is perpetuating the dork/loser cyclist stereotype. Kind of like what Caretaker was implying about gamers being spotty faced freaks.

I wasn't saying that you should participate in gaming, or even accept gaming culture; just that your stereotype is ridiculously outdated and inaccurate.

zeppinger

Sorry, I should have made my point more clear. Actually I originally just wanted to post the game and see if other people read into the same way that I did or if I was just being an overly sensitive cyclist. I also agree with you that a lot more people play video games now. Maybe I should post this in A&s?

GriddleCakes

You might be being slightly over sensitive, the portrayal in the game is no worse than how Hollywood portrays cyclists as dorks (see: 40 Year Old Virgin, Pee-Wee Herman's Big Adventure). The range of characters from the game goes from pariah (disabled homeless man) to pathetic (fat lady on scooter) to dorky (cyclist, segway rider) to... actually, I don't see where the couple on the moped fit in here (so cute that you want to see them hurt, perhaps?).

Still, boo on the game developers for including an image of an infant in their little violent gore-fest; not even the Grand Theft Auto games would go as far as including images of children to be harmed or killed (although seniors were fair game). Actually, there's another video game with portrayals of normal, everyday cycling: Grand Theft Auto:San Andreas. GTA:SA had people in regular street clothes biking around the cities.

Edit: I just remembered, if you're interested in a decent breakdown of how Hollywood views the car-free lifestyle, you should read this article by Tom Vanderbilt, the author of Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (which you should also read).

Caretaker

If it is outdated presumably at sometime in the past it wasn't and also at that time perhaps also accurate. You quote 'statistics' to show that "the average age of self identified "gamers" in the US is in the mid-30s". If this is accurate it is a sad reflection on US society but I wouldn't like you equate this with the "western world".

Fizzaly

I though the game was mildly entertaining

Roody

And definitely not worth getting in a lather about it!

Fizzaly

Pretty much, even when i get worked up on the forums im too much of an idiot to make a good argument