It’s been said that constraint inspires creativity. Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes provides the latest example of this axiom. In just a few days since its Oct. 8 release on PCs the game has become an indie hit, with overwhelmingly positive reviews, Twitch streamers and Youtube videos earning more than 1 million views. While some games like Smash Hit have successfully made the jump from one platform to another, Keep Talking is the first title to be made for VR first and then find success on other platforms.
The bomb defusing game was built ingeniously for the constraints of early VR so that each time playing is challenging and requires only one person owning a headset to play it multiplayer. One person tries defusing a bomb while others join in reading from an online bomb manual to offer instructions on how to defuse it. These design constraints have helped turn the non-VR version that launched on Steam into something of a viral sensation as people who don’t even play games can get sucked into playing at any moment with little more than a Skype call.
An example review from Steam:
-Playing with 2 friends over Skype
-Another friend joins in
-They think it’s a good idea to say ‘cut the blue wire’
-I cut blue wire, and explode
-I now have 1 fewer friends on Skype
And check out this intense Youtube video that’s earned more than 1 million views since last week:
I’ve only attempted the first bomb so watching how crazy and difficult defusing bombs becomes at higher levels is kind of overwhelming. Co-creator Ben Kane of Canada-based Steel Crate Games outlined levels of mastery for the game on Twitter:
Novice: No experience. Every puzzle is a bizarre mystery. Lots of confusion, exploding, nervous laughter.
— Ben Kane (@benkane) October 9, 2015
Apprentice: Understands rules, has solved every puzzle type. Might quit here thinking they "beat" it. Have really only learned how to play.
— Ben Kane (@benkane) October 9, 2015
Skilled: Pushes limits of efficient communication by taking shortcuts. Begins to make more mistakes as speed increases.
— Ben Kane (@benkane) October 9, 2015
Expert: Works on modules in parallel for greater efficiency. Has a crisp defuser/expert protocol.
— Ben Kane (@benkane) October 9, 2015
Master: Has over 600k views on YouTube https://t.co/9lE3QPPQGj
— Ben Kane (@benkane) October 9, 2015
It’s obviously still early but Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes could very well go down as the first hit game built for VR. With very few other apps competing against it for that title at the moment, it should be taken with a bit of a grain of salt but the game’s success is significant for the industry nonetheless. Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes is $15 on PCs and a DK2 is optional. It’s also available on Gear VR for $10 and is planned for release on PlayStation VR.
