Source - I made this with Pxyel Edit, Photoshop and assets from Killer Queen.
Hello hello!
As I mentioned in my last post... I love games and I love game design.
I don't actually spend much time playing games... I can go months without touching one, but I absolutely feel like that games and I have grown up side by side (or y'know, not grown up).
It's crazy to me that his is how the first game I played looked like this:
Wizard of Wor - Commodore 64 Source
while this is pretty typical now:
Crysis WarheadSource
Games were always a thrill.... but the most exciting aspect to me was the social side of it. Probably my favourite memory of high school was the IT lab guy setting Doom 2 on all the computers in the computer lab, and we all played one rainy lunchtime. It was a game I had already loved, so I destroyed everyone, most had never seen it before... but it wasn't the winning, I didn't care about that... it was the shouts and cries and cheers that I loved... the shared stories and I loved being able to see each other on different people's screens.
Like so many people, in so many areas... I peaked in high school.... once everyone got consoles my god-mode skill-dominance ended... which is fine because I've now played a hundred trillion video games in my life...
… which is why I feel like I'm adequately qualified to tell you why Killer Queen is the best of them all.
What is my relationship with a Queen that Kills?
We had some friends stay with us, and during our touristing of Portland, we found a cool little arcade bar called Ground Kontrol.
Firstly, I was so excited to find this place and massively head down memory lane, playing so many games from my childhood... we had a gang of 5, and so each time we had played a Ninja Turtles, X-Men, Simpsons game, someone had to sit out... so when we found Killer Queen we were excited that we could all play together.
It was all one screen... and it was chaos!
We had absolutely no idea what was going on though... we didn't realise we were on opposing teams, we didn't know which character we were... or who anyone else was, or how to win, or what the hell was going on.... but it was all so cute we didn't even care.
We had 3 on our team, versus a super game-competent couple... and they won the first 3 games easily... which gave me all the competitive motivation I needed to start figuring it out... and we won the last two... and then everyone ran out of quarters.
And I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since...
So what is Killer Queen?
Killer Queen is the world's only 10 player arcade game.
There are two teams, gold and blue. 4 players play as the drones and 1 person plays as the Queen. I'm sure it doesn't need saying, but in the image to the right... the queen is the middle character.
The controls are so crazy simple... left, right and a button to jump.
That's it.
The queen character is infinitely more complex... as well as jumping, going left or going right, she can also go down.
"Whoaaaaaaaa!"
I know right?
Despite the controls being the most simple of any game... the incredible amount of decision making is nuts.
And that's because....
Winning Killer Queen
There are 3 different ways to win!
That is the genius of this game, all 10 of you have to continuously wrestle between these various win conditions, if you ignore one, that's pretty much the quickest way to lose.
It makes for an incredibly fun and frantic game.
1st way to win... Snail Soccer
In the image above... see the very bottom of the screen? There is a gold worker bee/drone riding a snail and eating a blue drone?
So... if the gold guy keeps riding that snail all the way across the bottom of the screen... then the gold team wins a snail victory.
The crazy thing is.... if your character is riding the snail... you're literally not doing anything... you're not pressing any buttons, you might as well have a drink from the very convenient cup holders built into the console... and yet it's so incredibly thrilling because you feel like such a ninja... and totally trusting in your team to defend you. Since you're riding the snail, your team is basically a member down.
The other team will actually try to get eaten to slow you right down... it's all so genius!
2nd way to win... Kill The Queen
If you scroll back up to that big image, you can see at the very top there are 4 eggs... two on the blue side and two on the gold side. That means that both the Queens still have 2 lives (plus their current life left).
Given the simplicity of the controls... you can kill the queen by running into her with your sword. If two queens fly at each other, then the Queen who is slightly higher will get the kill. Combat is easy, whoever is higher wins... but in that simplicity comes a whole range of skill. In the Insta to the right, the gold Queen is slightly higher... therefore... Blue dead.
One of the 5 players on the team plays the Queen... they can kill the drones, and stop them from winning the game, but everyone is out to get them... they have that extra dive control to attack from above... but it also means you're now lower than everyone who is out to get you.
3rd way to win... Collect all the berries
The cutest possible way to win is to collect all the berries and take them back up to the hive at the top... if you scroll back up to bigger image above... you'll see berry bushes scattered around the place... and then at the very top where they Queen eggs are, you'll see the 12 berry spots. In the example above, the gold team is leading with 4 berries to blue's 2 berries.
It's the cutest way because the drone guys actually follow the berries into each slot, and then pop their heads out and the fall out with all the grace of Winnie the Pooh carrying a pot of honey.
There are finite berries on the screen... and berries have a couple of different uses...
So many decisions...
One of the secrets to game design is decision making... the more options a player has at any one time, the more fun it is... however, if one decision is usually the optimal path, then that effectively reduces the options for players, even if there are technically a lot more options. Game balancing is super hard in any game... but I feel that the makers of Killer Queen have worked so incredibly hard to really balance this game.
Decision Number 1
Do you play as a drone or the Queen? Are you the best person to play as the Queen on your team? The Queen has the most power... they're super quick and can kill any other player on the opposing team... but everyone is out to get you, all the time... and everyone else has infinite lives. If you die 3 times... your team has lost.
Decision Number 2
If you play a worker bee/drone... do you try and ride the snail to victory... or collect berries?
The snail is super slow, and you're easily killed, but you're also tucked away at the bottom of the screen... and anyone who tries to attack you is then in a position to be attacked themselves...
The berries require so much more mobility... but that means you're jumping into areas where you're easily attacked.
Decision Number 3
As a drone... do you use the finite berry resources to take back to the hive... or do you use them to transform into a speedy worker?
There are 5 gates on the screen...
The Queens... by flying through the gates then control them for their team. If the blue Queen flies through a gate, then only the blue drones can use that gate. A gold drone can't... even if it is carrying a berry.
 Source |  Source |  Souce |
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The gate to the left is the Speed Gate... the gate in the middle is the Warrior gate.
If you go through the Speed Gate and then the Warrior Gate... then you become a super fast Warrior... but that's also taken up two berries that you could have used to get an economic victory (collecting 12 berries before the other team). If you use a berry to become super fast or a warrior... and you're killed by a Queen or an opposing Warrior, then you lose those powers.
Decision Number 4
Do you use a berry to transform into a warrior?
Unlike drones... warriors can fly... you just press the Jump button a lot.
A warrior can kill Queens, drones and opposing warriors by flying straight at them... again... if two warriors charge at each other, the one that is slightly higher will win.
A warrior cannot dive at an enemy either... so they're not nearly as nimble as the Queen character.
If a warrior dies, then he respawns as a drone.
The thing is... a drone can win the game by riding the snail into the goals... or by collecting berries to fill in the hive spots... but a warrior can only win the game by killing the quicker and more agile Queen. The warriors though can assist their Queen, and protect the drones as they try and win the game.
Decision Number 5
How does your team play? Which strategy suits your collective skill-set? How can you disrupt the other team while still achieving your goals? How will their strategy upset yours?
If you've ever played a multiplayer game with random people over the internet... you know that everyone scattering and doing their own thing is the quickest route to defeat... unless the other team is even less organized.
A game like Killer Queen removes that frustration because you're right there, standing beside your team... but also, the other team is also right there totally within earshot.
Even so... do you all play as drones? All as warriors? A mix? Do you protect your Queen or just hang with a snail?
Why is Killer Queen the best?
So I've explained what it is (kind of), how to win (touched on) and the decisions available (barely).. but I still haven't really explained why I'm so excited about this particular game.
After all, there are squintillions of games all over the world, why this one?
Probably the biggest single reason for me, is that Killer Queen is not available on any device.. anywhere, it is only available in arcades... and when I say "arcades"... I only mean:
That's it!
While you could technically find it in the arcade and play it yourself... it's never going to be anything like playing with 9 other people.... so not only do you have to physically find an arcade that has the game... but you really can only play with 4 best friends and 5 arch-nemeses.
This unholy restriction has actually created a community... which blows my mind.
Most of the arcades organize league nights... Ground Kontrol has a league night for Killer Queen every Monday. These league nights have their own tournaments, and then those winnerers travel around the country competing against other teams until it all ends up in New York where it all started...
This video is less than a week old, filmed in Portland... and has commentators! It's an eSport yo!
This game was created by two best friends... they did everything... the coding, the pixel art, they built the cabinets themselves (obviously with help, since, y'know, nerds) and it's just grown one Uni campus, arcade, bar at a time... I love that, it's so indie.
The 1st world tragedy for me is that I used to live within walking distance of Ground Kontrol… for 2 years and never knew it existed... and now I'm an hour drive away without a car. I could have been in an interstate-travelling eSport team!!
I personally love pixel art... I love the idea of expressing a story in that very minimalist approach, so the artwork for Killer Queen just kills me. Since I can't play the game at all... I decided to get down an animate it... I built this in Pyxel Edit and Photoshop... and basically had to recreate all the bits off watching videos like the one above and continually pausing to get each frame right. It wasn't a perfect process...
Source - Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
So, ah, if you've made it this far... well done!
There isn't a lot of information on Killer Queen available online, so I just had to share my latest obsession with you all. I've never cared for my birthday ever... and now I'm already planning a party in April at Ground Kontrol just so I can play this game again... it's just so goddamn good! And adorable! And strategic! And great! And fun! And it has cup holders!
Thanks thanks thanks!
