Skip to main content

Why Hangout Games are due for a renaissance

Cutting-edge casual.

'Any last words?' they demand.

'RIP,' she responds. 'RIP me.'

Who said that? Was it Joan of Arc? Mary Antoinette beneath the guillotine? No. It was congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, shortly before she was punted into space during the first round of her Among Us livestream in September. The mainstream press was quick to praise Cortez for her media savvy, but little attention was paid to the game itself (the Guardian called it faddish). This strikes me as a serious oversight. While it looks like something spawned on the pages of Newgrounds circa 2005, Among Us is the perfect game for today - and quite possibly tomorrow, too.

Cast your mind back to March. I know it's painful, but please, bear with me. Along with sourdough bread and Animal Crossing, there was a period of early quarantine when absolutely everyone was doing Zoom quizzes. It was a nice enough idea. The problem is, quizzes suck. The formula runs dry pretty fast, and there's no sense of adventure, no drama or visual flair. Quizzes died a gradual death. But the hunger for communal fun remains.

When organizing a digital meetup, we're stuck with the same question asked by gangs of friends since the dawn of time - where should we go? It's a delicate balance. At one end of the spectrum you have conference software like Zoom, pure virtual spaces, the equivalent of an unfurnished room in which your friends and colleagues randomly blip in and out of existence. Useful, but not much fun. On the other end are tightly constructed multiplayer experiences: Overwatch, League of Legends, pick your poison. These games are fantastic, but there's a high barrier for entry, both technical and financial. Somewhere in the centre lies the platonic ideal. The perfect game for just, you know. Hanging out.

I don't think that game exists yet. But I can take a rough guess at what it will look like - or at least, what it'll steal from the current leaders. The perfect hangout game will combine three crucial virtues: communication, convenience, and downtime.

Watch on YouTube

Among Us is an obvious example of communication done right, with a paranoia-infused whodunnit formula ripped straight from the decks of classic party games like Mafia and Werewolf. When playing as the imposter, AOC used her natural charisma to deflect attention. 'Are you really gonna do this to me?' she asked Rep Ilhan Omar, who agonized, torn between her Democratic loyalties and the overwhelming evidence against Cortez. Every game turns into a little soap opera, with the roles of hero and villain shuffled around at random, weaponizing the player's personalities to delicious effect. This emotional LARPing might seem a bit goofy from the outside, but it serves a much deeper purpose. Because hangout games don't exist just to cure boredom - they cure loneliness, too. Engaging players on a personal level is vital.

In terms of convenience, the current frontrunner is probably Fortnite. Epic's gargantuan cashcow is available on pretty much every platform under the sun, and has surprisingly great accessibility for players with disabilities. It's also free, brightly coloured, and easy to pick up. Get killed and you'll drop back in again in under a minute. Don't fancy fighting? That's fine, just hijack a truck and hightail it over the nearest cliff. Gameplay is deliberately shallow, so you can dip your toe in and still have a good time. Granted, the motives may be questionable - even the most miserly and strong willed players will find it hard to resist the siren call of the store - but Fortnite's chatroom/playground blend has set the benchmark for universal appeal.

The last point is the hardest to isolate, but maybe the most crucial: Downtime. Downtime does not mean loading screens, menus, piddling about in the lobby, or any section where a game suddenly decides to get boring. It's a natural gap, an intake of breath. I had some of the happiest nights of my life playing Mario Kart on the crumb-littered floor of my friend's student house, but we didn't sit and play for hours at a time. We'd take it in turns, have snack breaks, run down to Tesco for a pack of outrageously cheap lager. And during those breaks, we'd chat. If casual multiplayer games are to live up to their full potential, they have to integrate some kind of empty space.

Watch on YouTube

No game I've played pulls this trick off better than Sea of Thieves. The high seas ArrrrPG is a few leagues south of perfect, even with a slew of new features in the last year. Quests are too open ended, combat can feel fumbling, the mechanics are abstruse. New players will spend a lot of time lost and confused. But it's in the journey that the game comes to life. Sailing in Sea of Thieves is designed as a slow, careful, collaborative experience. You can't steer and read the map at the same time. If one person is lowering the anchor, another needs to hoist the sails. Sometimes you'll run into another ship or a rampaging kraken, but more often than not the trip from one island to another is an interlude of wind and silence, minor adjustments to the rudder, foam-tipped waves glowing in the evening sun. A perfect moment to turn to your crewmates and ask, 'So how've you been? Like, how've you really been?'

Pearl-clutching science fiction writers have warned us for years about the dangers of getting absorbed in virtual reality. But life under lockdown has exposed an opposing problem. It's all too easy to get trapped by the real world, by the grueling repetition of day-to-day work, to drench yourself with bucket after bucket of terrible news. Escaping with your friends for a few hours is nothing less than a matter of survival.

The explosion in popularity of Among Us shows just how hungry people are for new kinds of digital space. Because it's not enough for a game to just be Mario Kart any more: it needs to be the sofa as well, the beanbags on the floor, the kitchen, the garden, the crazy, jubilant atmosphere of the whole house. That's what we're missing right now. Developers haven't quite figured out how to fill that gap, but I have faith that they will. And when they do, I'll be there - Carling on my shirt, controller in my hand, grinning from ear to ear.

Read this next

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com