11/06/01 For Immediate Release
Hasbro announces Sausage-eating contest / Racing sim
"Gullet Master"
Hasbro, in conjunction with Breyengarten Germany, has announced the
development of a sausage-eating contest / racing sim, tentatively titled
�Gullet Master�.
Development manager Arn Kolen (Hasbro) stated: "Obviously, or at least
obiviously to the [simulation] community, there has never been quite
anything like this. Based on the popularity of the various game-hunting
and varmint-hunting titles, as well as the popularity and success of
Dirt Track Racing (Ratbag) and the Papyrus Nascar releases, we have
decided to
enter the niche of "real-world" sporting simulation."
The basic premise of the game is to eat sausages in a contest (which
vary in size and category, increasing in difficulty) and then perform
various types of races. The novice starts out as a skinny person and
gradually grows through the ranks to near-sumo-proportions. Beginner's
races are easy, such as one-person "Potato Sack" races, "Push the egg on
the ground with a spoon" races, and special events such as "Red light/
Green light." Later races involve tricycle sprints, hurdles, and
skateboard luging as well as "Mother-May-I" and a final even similar to
a steeplechase.
Naturally there will be plenty of player customization, such as clothing
choice and whether to sit or stand. Certain competition categories
dictate eating position, however, including several advanced stages
wherein the contestants must consume in "Unusal Attitudes" such as
laying on their sides or hanging upside-down.
Kolen continued, "We wanted to have fun with this. You see, it's one
thing to win a sausage-eating contest. But to compete and place (first
through sixth) in the sausage-eating contest, then go on through the
rigors of a fifty-yard dash is simply unheard of until now. We will be
following current trends and include a level/contest editor based on the
popularity product which include these seem to receive.
Michael West, of Hasbro North America, and responsible for physics
models in Gunship! (and was slated to be the lead programmer on Hasbro's
now defunct tank simulator), is the physics programmer on GM. We asked
about the approach to physics on this game and how it differs from the
average racing sim.
"Well, the aspect of eating a big meal and then racing - be it on foot
or on a 25 horsepower mini-bike - was intriguing from the outset when
Tom (Tom McGuire of Hasbro) contacted me. Until now, I had only worked
on projects involving eating and digestion - Pie Hole, as an example. As
you may remember, it was first-person view only, and even though you saw
your competitors, there wasn't much change other than their apparent
speed of eating. When Tom talked to me about the project for the first
time, he described his vision - a fully-realized 3D environment in which
you can look around, view from a first or third person perspective, and
actually see the strain on your competitor's faces - well, I knew it
would be a challenge. But wow - he described the racing aspect, and man,
that blew my mind. I envisioned the work it would take to calculate the
gastrointestinal stress encountered by, say, a 165-pound woman after
eating 14 Hebrew National [ed. note: pending contract approval] hot dogs
and then racing on foot up ten flights of steps. "
"The realism is what will set this sim apart, so, for example, this
woman might end up vomiting. That's where the strategy comes in - eat
one or two less hot dogs? You'll end up starting further back in the
field for the stairclimb, but perhaps you can make it up by exerting
yourself a little more. Depending on your physical constitution, it's
likely, for example, that you will eat less in a contest to conserve
strength for a potato-sack race. But if your character has stress on
their intestinal system from a previous event, it is quite possible that
you will do well in the race, but end up disqualified for moving your
bowels unintentionally."
"Also, the characters' physical appearance is directly related to their
experience and ranking, and various characters will grow differently
over time. Some characters might find that their buttocks grow slightly
disproportionately large compared to the rest of their body. But that
may be an advantage in the Bratwurst-Musical Chairs contest."
Female competitors haven�t been forgotten, according to Michael West.
The sim uses technology similar to what is being implemented on
Playstation 2, specifically, a muscle-and-bone system which enables
designers to simply specify age, gender, and weight, and the character
model and physics sytems are implemented automatically.
Gullet Master (working title) is slated for release in the 2001 holiday
season.
Visit http://www.hasbro.com/gullet-master for more information.
-30-
gmpr110601
