‘Boet fighter’is coming to ‘drib you in the t*ts’

Walking into the tiny office of Califourways Games in Randburg, Johannesburg, there are very few signs of just how much of an impact this little company has had online. Just over a year ago the company launched its first teasers for a game called “Boet fighter” and instantly went viral, despite the fact that the game itself was only in the conceptual phase.

The game has already gathered a rabid following who greet each new photo, drawing and gameplay trailer with a fervour that was probably unexpected by the team as they went into production.

Centred around a “typical Joburg Boet” named “Hard Eddy” the game is a side-scrolling comedy platform game in the mould of Double-Dragon that follows the adventures of Eddy and his friend “Mod-C” as they rampage their way through some of Joburg’s “t*ttest attractions”.

Conceived by Louis Du Pisani and Gord Laws, the game became a smash hit off a few drawings, and now a year later, within the next “six weeks to one month, whichever comes first” the game is set to go to Beta testing.

During that time things have been nonstop for the team who have designed and hand-drawn hundreds of concepts and discarded most of them, and now are close to completing a game they say is far more than just a side-scroller.

“Initially we conceived the game as just a fun bit of Joburg boytjies moering each other, but as the interest grew we knew it couldn’t just be a single level and then you lose interest. There’s a story here now, that players will get to slowly reveal via the method of boytjies moering each other,” says Louis.

“Intrinsically at their heart, boets are good guys”

At the heart of the game is the character of Hard Eddy. A Joburger through and through, Eddy is one of those guys anyone who has been to the city has met. Tribal tattoos, protein shakes, and unshakeable belief in his own ability to solve almost any problem with his fists, Eddy is the creation of radio host, and one-time FHM Captain Beer, Gord Laws.

“I have been playing this character for about 12 years now. I used to make appearances as him on Gareth Cliff’s radio show. I know him. It’s like he is a separate person living inside my head,” says Gord, who is quick to mention the affection he has for Eddy and the other “Boets” like him.

“Intrinsically in their heart, boets are good guys. They have a totally different way of thinking and their self-belief is phenomenal. For someone who grew up as an ostracised geek, that confidence was extremely fascinating. I love the culture, we both do, and this game is a homage,” he says, almost as though he might get beaten in the parking lot if he doesn’t.

Love for the game

The game is packed with allusions to SA life. While it generally steers well clear of politics there are moments, and characters in the game, which are just so clearly South African, the player can’t help but laugh and the dialogue is both clever and ridiculous at the same time.

There is little doubt that the team has a lot of love for the product as, at this stage, there are almost no details that have been missed.

“We were lucky. We managed to secure a financial partner, which allowed us to take the year off to make the game. We didn’t want to be doing this in the evenings five years from now – hating the game and ourselves,” says Du Pisani.

Having now played the test version we can confirm that it scrolls beautifully, the action is fast and unrelenting, and in the style of a true 80s/90s side-scroller the end of level bosses are a rough challenge.

“Getting the balance right was so important. We wanted the game to be fun and challenging, without it being tear-your-hair out frustrating,” says Du Pisani. “To be fair there was so much extra that could have gone in to make the game more complex, or more difficult, but in the end we settled on making a game that we knew would deliver the most enjoyment. ‘Is this element going to make things more fun? No? Get rid of it.”

Already registered on Steam, Boetfighter’s release date is expected to be mid to late September.

This story originally appeared on Leisurely.co.za

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