Being everyone's friend is hard.  I'm watching people ostracize someone they liked two weeks ago.  I'm somebody who remembers what that feels like (it was way back in middle school) and can't turn off the empathy switch.  Not that I'd want to, but it does kind of sting a bit. 

The most troubling thing is that one person in the group was basically ostracized out of his last group.  I think he's doing to someone else what was done to him just to keep group approval.

I've got a plan we're just going to see how it goes.
1) Be everybody's friend.
2)

Well, looks like this plan is a one-stager.

Alright, let's talk video games.  I hung out with a friend of mine today.  My friend's videogame console selection was limited to a gamecube.  Not a bad system, quite portable and had a few gems before ultimately dropping out of the race when ps2 and xbox were so far ahead.  Anyway, we were playing Mario Kart Double Dash.  If you've never heard of it, take the original mario kart games and add a passenger who rides on the back.  This can be done by one player switching between characters or two players riding in the same cart, one driving and one acting as gunner.  The second part was a lot of fun.  I was the gunner and my friend drove.

What I would like to talk about are some improvements I would make to the game.  I have never played it before and have no idea if there was a sequel made or if any of these improvements have already been added to something, but I just want to throw these out there.

Game Concept:  Take existing franchise (Mario Kart) of combat racing and add depth by splitting the combat and racing between two cooperating players. 

This was cool and provided a unique, fun and memorable video game experience.

Problem 1:  Gunner is very limited in what he can do.

Complaint:  This game is a combat game, but weapons are found and then used up quickly.  Without one of these pickups, the only thing I can do with the controller is a punch to the left or right and a taunt.  Melee combat was a lot of fun, but it only came up a few times per race.  This led to a lot of down time in which I had nothing I could do to contribute to team work.

Fix: Mix it with water-skiing.  Give the gunner rollerblades and a rope tied to the cart.  Not only would that simple addition of a left-right be a perfect cure for not having anything to do, it would the gunner much more defensive capabilities.  I'm thinking using the melee attack to knock out projectiles and other drivers would be crazy amounts of fun.

Problem 2:  Sometimes, there's just no one to hit.

Complaint:  For a game that found the combat aspect of a combat racer to be important enough to devote a player to it, it doesn't come up a lot.  As the race goes on, the racers get farther and farther spread out.  The most intense combat comes up in the very begining, when everybody is bunched together.  Sometimes I would be holding one of the ranged weapon pick-ups, but everyone was too far away to use them.

Fix:  Make races won or lost on more than just who comes in first.  Wins and losses should come from how good the driver is, how good the gunner is and how well they work as a team.  At the end of the race, players get points for how well they placed, 1st place gets 100, 2nd gets 80, and so on.  The gunner gets points for knock outs and projectile deflection. 

The system I see rewarding cooperation is a bit complicated.  Let's look at the person who would be in first place.  The driver hits a button and reels in the gunner.  As soon as he's in, the car does a wheelie and slows down a bit.  Every half-second or so the team is awarded with points.  While this is happening, the camera moves back and the gunner gets turned around.  He is then limited to melee attacks aimed back left and back right, to ward off would-be passers.  It leaves a blindspot in which a direct hit would knock them out of first.  The same thing would happen to the people in last and second to last, except it would increase speed and decrease points.

This does a few things.  First, with the lead car rewarded for going the slowest and those bringing up the rear going the fastest, the pack stays together. This will lead to more combat.  More combat leads to more intensity which leads to a better game experience.  It also levels the playing field so that the group in last place still have a chance at winning.  It eliminates "lost cause" matches, making the game fun for everyone who plays. 

Well that's it for now.  I just had some ideas going through my head and maybe someone will read them and think it would make for a really cool game.