Paintball video game
A paintball video game is a video game based on the sport of paintball. Examples range from simulations of organised tournament play to arcade-style games using paintball equipment and objectives. They include commercial console releases, independent computer games and modifications of existing games.[1][2][3]
Gameplay
[edit]Paintball video games commonly use a first-person perspective, with players shooting virtual paintball markers and moving between bunkers or other cover. Depending on the title, play can include speedball, woodsball, recreational games, team management and multiplayer competition.[1][4]
Some games reproduce particular aspects of tournament play. Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball MAX'D includes a breakout-planning system for assigning teammates' opening movements and shooting targets. Infinite Tournament Paintball includes X-Ball gameplay, switching the marker between hands, snapshooting, sliding and diving.[3][5]
Other games take a less realistic approach. Digital Paint: Paintball 2 combines single-hit eliminations and team objectives with fast movement and jumping derived from Quake II.[2]
Development
[edit]Early computer games and modifications
[edit]Extreme Paintbrawl was released for personal computers in 1998 and was followed by several sequels.[6]
Paintball also became a subject for community-created modifications. Digital Paintball, a multiplayer modification for Half-Life, had a release announced in September 2002. The separate Digital Paint: Paintball 2 project offers a free paintball-themed game using Quake II-style movement.[2][7]
Greg Hastings series
[edit]Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball was released for Xbox in 2004. Its follow-up, Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball MAX'D, appeared in 2005 and expanded the series with breakout planning, a field editor and split-screen play.[5]
Greg Hastings Paintball 2 followed on Xbox 360 and Wii in 2010, with a PlayStation 3 edition released in 2011. It included separate tournament speedball, recreational paintball and tournament woodsball branches, alongside team management.[4][8]
Licensed tournament games
[edit]Activision released NPPL Championship Paintball 2009 in 2008 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2 and Wii. The game included licensed equipment and tournament locations and layouts associated with the National Professional Paintball League, Millennium Series and Xtreme Paintball Sports League.[1]
Independent games
[edit]Infinite Tournament Paintball, developed and published by FiveTwo Games, was released on Steam in August 2020. It focuses on tournament paintball and includes online competition, computer-controlled opponents and fields modelled on real layouts.[3]
Connections with paintball
[edit]Several games feature real players, equipment or venues. MAX'D included Greg Hastings, Keely Watson and Chris LaSoya, while NPPL Championship Paintball 2009 received design contributions from San Diego Dynasty and Bob Long.[1][5]
Developers have also used direct experience of the sport. Super X Studios reported attending tournament and woodsball events and taking its staff to play paintball while developing Greg Hastings Paintball 2.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- Activision Publishing Redefines Competitive First Person Action With the Release of NPPL Championship Paintball 2009. Activision, 25 November 2008.
- Digital Paint: Paintball 2. Official project website.
- Infinite Tournament Paintball. FiveTwo Games, Steam product page.
- Majesco Entertainment Announces the Shipment of Greg Hastings Paintball 2 for Xbox 360 and Wii. Majesco Entertainment, 28 September 2010.
- Activision's Greg Hastings' Tournament Paintball MAX'D Burns a Lane into Retail Stores Nationwide. Activision, 18 October 2005.
- Extreme Paintbrawl series. GameFAQs.
- RELEASE!. Digital Paintball development announcement, ModDB, 19 September 2002.
- PlayStation Store Update. PlayStation Blog, 14 June 2011.
- Feature Interview: Greg Hastings Paintball 2, Part I. CoffeeWithGames, interview with James Thrush, 16 April 2011.