Nanaca Crash: A Modern Day Slot Machine

As of late, this curious little flash game has been satisfying my late night cravings for gaming goodness. For a game largely dependent on luck, I couldn't understand how it has managed to become so addictive. Is it the cute expressions of the anime characters? Is it the upbeat music coupled with the cruel nature of the goal? Is it because the game requires next to zero attention?

Maybe that's the draw of the game. The fact that with constant play, your luck is bound to reward you with that coveted Cosmic Force Field special. Big gains are yours so long as you master one simple skill: click the screen and play a lot!

This gameplay mechanic seems oddly reminiscent of the gameplay mechanics in casino slot machines. Both games involve an initial interaction that sets the tone for the rest of the game. In Nanaca Crash, the initial interaction is the choice of angle and power at which you launch the poor dude. The rest of the game is spent, with minimal interaction, hoping that your dude crashes into the right girls (literally, no metaphors here) for the special bonuses (...). In slots, the initial interaction is the pulling of the lever (and whatever voodoo you might perform beforehand) with the rest of the game spent hoping that the slots show up lucky 7s.

It's true that Nanaca Crash allows players to perform an extremely limited set of interactions (the "Aerials") whereas slots has more of a fire-and-forget feeling, but the principles are the same. Think of Nanaca Crash as a row of serially connected slot machines whose outcome affects the outcome of the next slot machine connected in the chain. The game is still based on luck, but allows for minimal interaction.

Sometimes I think back to the bygone days of arcade culture and wonder if Nanaca Crash would have ate up quarter after quarter much like its slot machine brethren.

Anyway, a new Gate 88 temporary fix was released. Grab it: http://www.queasygames.com/gate88/temporaryfix.html. The fix uses slightly different logic than the old servers and so turrets may go a bit spastic. Join my server called "Running temp fix: mar1/05 - READ THE NEWS ABOVE," to alleviate the spasticness.

Oh, and the globe background shouldn't mess up now:

Let's hope it all works this time.

-j