This week has been fantastic. I’ve just launched two projects and have managed to find some time to play! I’ve had a crack at a new blog theme (still haven’t decided if I’m going to use it), I’ve made a start on the new footloosemoose.com site, and I’ve had a bunch of game ideas.

What I’ve got to show you is something that I never intended to take this far… although now that I have, I’m starting to think that I should really finish off all of my other game-like experiments!

I’ve created a very simple game that will reward reflexes, concentration and nimble fingers. Here’s a very quick chat on the influencing factors and then you can kill some time on the keypad.

Back in my second year of university, I had a job that required me to be in the city around lunch time each day. I usually had about an hour to kill before starting work so I would head down to the arcade and waste a few dollars. One of my favorite games was called “Police Trainer”.

The image above shows one of the mini-games in Police Trainer. The player had to repel the advancing robot-esque bad guys for a specific amount of time. Shooting them would push them backwards and give you a moment to breathe.

I managed to finish this game on quite a few occasions (I’ve always enjoyed the gun games - Duck Hunt taught me well!). What I really enjoyed about it was the fact that it was me versus the machine. My skills and reflexes on show. It always made the name on the high score board that much more satisfying!

So, as I reflected upon these times, I tried to figure out how I could implement these fun underlying characteristics in a flash game. Enter Accukey. Obviously the gun aspect of Police Trainer wasn’t going to happen… so what I focussed on was a fast-paced, action-packed burst of concentration - using the ‘numpad’ as the weapon. Only the most skilled and dexterous will hit the top of the (non-existent) high score board

One of the best things about it is that the game only takes a few minutes to play… which means you can play once if you need a quick break from your TPS Report or 100 times if you need to beat your previous best.

Simple Instructions:

• Click the applet to bring the browser focus to the game and press 5 on your keypad to start.
• Hit the keys that have a red, green or blue dot pulsing on them.
• Points are based on your speed and accuracy.
• When two dots are on the same key, hitting it increases the value of each successful key hit and gives you a 1 second time bonus.
• When three dots are on the same key, hitting it will double your score and give you 5 bonus seconds.
• If there is a circle on the key, the points gained from it are doubled.
• If you hit a key that doesn’t have a dot on it, you lose 5 seconds and your key bonus restarts.
• The game ends when you run out of time.

Have a play and let me know how you go:

Post your best score in the comments.