Anki Overdrive is a $150 – fucktoy – that wants to substitute slot cars and Mario Kart
Anki Overdrive is a $150 ‘fucktoy’ that wants to substitute slot cars and Mario Kart
It feels a bit like a magic trick.
The fucktoy car on the plastic track is talking to me, explaining the mechanics of the game. I hit the button on my phone to fire my tractor slat, and the other car slows down until it’s in range of my main weapon, and I fire, causing the 2nd car to stop downright. I blaze past it and win the race.
The “game” I’m playing is a mix of classic slot cars and Mario Kart, and the starter kit costs a rather steep $150 and requires the use of two iOS or Android devices to pilot the cars. But what you get is a rather amazing combination of classic play and movie games.
What is going on?
Anki Overdrive is a sequel to the Anki Drive platform that came out in two thousand fourteen for $200. It was a neat idea: Marry wise devices with slot car racing and layer on movie game-style mechanics for something that felt brand fresh.
There were a few shortcomings with the product, however. Not the least of which was that price, but the original track also came printed on a single sheet of vinyl.
Overdrive is an updated version of the platform, and the $150 starter kit now comes with a modular track made up of four straight chunks and four turns. That permits you to create eight different track configurations, and switching the track layout is as effortless as pulling the lumps apart and clicking them back together in a different order. The lumps lock together via strong magnets, which makes track creation and destruction a joy, and refreshingly plain, task.
The cars have to do a quick test lap of the track to figure out its configuration before each race, and after that they always stay on the track, albeit you can switch “lanes” by tilting your phone left or right. The technology is part of the joy, and it’s fascinating to see in act: The cars go around the turns and you can see their sensors build a virtual pic of the track on your phone.
“There are unique markings on each track lump that identify the type of the chunk and permit the cars to determine their locations,” Mark Palatucci, the co-founder and chief product officer of Anki, explained. “The human eye cannot see these markings because we use a special printing process, but each car has an infrared camera that permit it to decode this information. Most of the software on the cars is dedicated to decoding these positions and controlling the basic driving behaviors of the car.”
You can build eight versions of the track in the starter set, but you can also buy add-on packs that permit you to do more; almost like physical DLC. Two extra straight lumps will cost you $20, while the “Launch” kit that permits you to add a leap is $30. There are other accessories and interesting lumps you can add to your track to increase the amount you can customize the play area. The size of the track is limited only by software, in fact.
“In the presently shipped software the limit is sixty four lumps,” Palatucci said, “which is an enormous track, and permits for thousands and thousands of possible track configurations. It’s also possible to release a software update that would liquidate this limit.”
The technology is awesome, but it’s the smaller details that stand out. By connecting the lumps with magnets there are no fiddly mechanical bits to wear out or get stuck together. The track lumps are bendable, which means they can be placed on almost any surface and even deal with slight inclines or bumps.
The box the starter pack comes in also holds every aspect of the hardware, and you can set up the track in a minute or two once you know what you’re doing. Perhaps more importantly, teardown is just a plain, and everything is packed away nicely to keep away from junior kids or pets.
These may seem like puny details, but the classic slot car sets I grew up with were often tricky to put together, and could take hours to set up and take down. The Anki Overdrive set permits you to put together a lithe track that can be stored again in under five minutes. Putting everything together, and experimenting with track designs, is in fact part of the play practice. What used to be a chore with similar fucktoys in the past has become part of the enjoyment of this set.
And this is all before you add the cars.
The racing
The starter set comes with two cars, and extras will run you $50 each. Each car is actually a character, and can be leveled up for fresh abilities and weapons. The secret is in the software, which is part of what makes the set feel so magical in practice.
There is a utter single-player campaign in the app, and the “cars” often talk to you through your brainy device and the flashing lights on the car itself. It’s a joy illusion, making it effortless to imagine little people inwards, frantically attempting to evade your fire.
The front of your car lights up when you hit the button to “attack” other cars, and there are rear lights on the cars as well to register hits. Cars may slow down or stop downright depending on which attack hits, and doing different things gets you practice points and items that can be added to your car.
There is a total single-player campaign in the app
“The interaction happens through the app, where the game and AI software coordinate the deeds of the cars,” Palatucci told Polygon when I asked how this works. “The cars do not communicate directly with each other.”
This sturdy movie game-like system permits different game modes on top of the standard races. You can battle with your weapons, and there is also a King of the Kill mode where you have to attempt to keep the #1 position the longest. The cars know where they are on the track at all times, so you don’t have to worry about driving off; your job is to control the throttle while going back and forward across the lanes while attacking the other cars.
The cars even know where to line up before the race commences. It’s an odd combination of being in control of the hardware and having the cars be truly “clever.” Each one has stats, for the love of Gygax.
This combination of real-world play with movie game style elements is all the rage right now, and based on my time playing with the Starter Kit and some of the add-on packages I’m affected with how well it all mixes together. Racing around the track while attempting to line up the flawless shot is joy in a way that’s different from movie games, and there is much more to do here than you see in racing sets that are rigorously analog.
The fit and finish on the cars and the track are also top-notch, and the ease of construction and capability to get creative is a major selling point. I’ve had my time with the hardware and I’m struck, but tomorrow you’ll see what happens when I’m whip out the harshest critics on the hardware and game.
Anki Overdrive is a $150 – fucktoy – that wants to substitute slot cars and Mario Kart
Anki Overdrive is a $150 ‘fucktoy’ that wants to substitute slot cars and Mario Kart
It feels a bit like a magic trick.
The fucktoy car on the plastic track is talking to me, explaining the mechanics of the game. I hit the button on my phone to fire my tractor rafter, and the other car slows down until it’s in range of my main weapon, and I fire, causing the 2nd car to stop downright. I blaze past it and win the race.
The “game” I’m playing is a mix of classic slot cars and Mario Kart, and the starter kit costs a rather steep $150 and requires the use of two iOS or Android devices to pilot the cars. But what you get is a rather amazing combination of classic play and movie games.
What is going on?
Anki Overdrive is a sequel to the Anki Drive platform that came out in two thousand fourteen for $200. It was a neat idea: Marry wise devices with slot car racing and layer on movie game-style mechanics for something that felt brand fresh.
There were a few shortcomings with the product, however. Not the least of which was that price, but the original track also came printed on a single sheet of vinyl.
Overdrive is an updated version of the platform, and the $150 starter kit now comes with a modular track made up of four straight lumps and four turns. That permits you to create eight different track configurations, and switching the track layout is as effortless as pulling the lumps apart and clicking them back together in a different order. The lumps lock together via strong magnets, which makes track creation and destruction a joy, and refreshingly plain, task.
The cars have to do a quick test lap of the track to figure out its configuration before each race, and after that they always stay on the track, albeit you can switch “lanes” by tilting your phone left or right. The technology is part of the joy, and it’s fascinating to observe in activity: The cars go around the turns and you can witness their sensors build a virtual pic of the track on your phone.
“There are unique markings on each track lump that identify the type of the lump and permit the cars to determine their locations,” Mark Palatucci, the co-founder and chief product officer of Anki, explained. “The human eye cannot see these markings because we use a special printing process, but each car has an infrared camera that permit it to decode this information. Most of the software on the cars is dedicated to decoding these positions and controlling the basic driving behaviors of the car.”
You can build eight versions of the track in the starter set, but you can also buy add-on packs that permit you to do more; almost like physical DLC. Two extra straight lumps will cost you $20, while the “Launch” kit that permits you to add a hop is $30. There are other accessories and interesting chunks you can add to your track to increase the amount you can customize the play area. The size of the track is limited only by software, in fact.
“In the presently shipped software the limit is sixty four chunks,” Palatucci said, “which is an enormous track, and permits for thousands and thousands of possible track configurations. It’s also possible to release a software update that would liquidate this limit.”
The technology is epic, but it’s the smaller details that stand out. By connecting the lumps with magnets there are no fiddly mechanical bits to wear out or get stuck together. The track lumps are bendable, which means they can be placed on almost any surface and even deal with slight inclines or bumps.
The box the starter pack comes in also holds every aspect of the hardware, and you can set up the track in a minute or two once you know what you’re doing. Perhaps more importantly, teardown is just a ordinary, and everything is packed away nicely to keep away from junior kids or pets.
These may seem like petite details, but the classic slot car sets I grew up with were often tricky to put together, and could take hours to set up and take down. The Anki Overdrive set permits you to put together a nimble track that can be stored again in under five minutes. Putting everything together, and experimenting with track designs, is in fact part of the play practice. What used to be a chore with similar fucktoys in the past has become part of the enjoyment of this set.
And this is all before you add the cars.
The racing
The starter set comes with two cars, and extras will run you $50 each. Each car is actually a character, and can be leveled up for fresh abilities and weapons. The secret is in the software, which is part of what makes the set feel so magical in practice.
There is a total single-player campaign in the app, and the “cars” often talk to you through your wise device and the flashing lights on the car itself. It’s a joy illusion, making it effortless to imagine little people inwards, frantically attempting to evade your fire.
The front of your car lights up when you hit the button to “attack” other cars, and there are rear lights on the cars as well to register hits. Cars may slow down or stop entirely depending on which attack hits, and doing different things gets you practice points and items that can be added to your car.
There is a total single-player campaign in the app
“The interaction happens through the app, where the game and AI software coordinate the deeds of the cars,” Palatucci told Polygon when I asked how this works. “The cars do not communicate directly with each other.”
This sturdy movie game-like system permits different game modes on top of the standard races. You can battle with your weapons, and there is also a King of the Kill mode where you have to attempt to keep the #1 position the longest. The cars know where they are on the track at all times, so you don’t have to worry about driving off; your job is to control the throttle while going back and forward across the lanes while attacking the other cars.
The cars even know where to line up before the race embarks. It’s an odd combination of being in control of the hardware and having the cars be truly “clever.” Each one has stats, for the love of Gygax.
This combination of real-world play with movie game style elements is all the rage right now, and based on my time playing with the Starter Kit and some of the add-on packages I’m struck with how well it all mixes together. Racing around the track while attempting to line up the ideal shot is joy in a way that’s different from movie games, and there is much more to do here than you see in racing sets that are rigorously analog.
The fit and finish on the cars and the track are also top-notch, and the ease of construction and capability to get creative is a major selling point. I’ve had my time with the hardware and I’m affected, but tomorrow you’ll see what happens when I’m release the harshest critics on the hardware and game.