Game of the week: Janey Thomson's Marathon

by Jim McNiven, revolutionmagazine.com 17-Jul-09, 12:45

LONDON - It's been a long week and you deserve a rest. Thankfully, it's time to down tools for Revolution's game of the week, selected by our resident gaming expert, Kerb managing director Jim McNiven. This week its retro Track & Field clone Janey Thomson's Marathon.

My last couple of choices have all been epic Flash game productions with a budget to match. A decent budget (in the right hands of course) massively increases the chance of your game standing out amongst all the rest. But what if your budget is a little more, ahem, modest? Is it really possible to make something that is going to turn heads without breaking the bank, or the agency?

The answer is yes, if you add couple of extra things into add to the mix. 1) A decent idea. 2) A client who is willing to trust the developers and not interfere.

Released this week by E4, Janey Thomson's Marathon has obviously benefited from both of the above. My company Kerb has worked with E4 on a number of occasions and they are a fantastic client. They know exactly what they want and don't have an endless list of stakeholders that feel the need to 'get involved'. So I can understand exactly why Malevolent Design, the company behind Janey Thomson's Marathon, was able to achieve such a work of art. The execution of this retro Track & Field clone is absolutely spot on and will raise the neck hair of any gamers of a certain age.

But this would probably be just another game without the devious wit of Rob Manuel of B3TA fame. I won't spoil the gag for you and suggest that, like me, you just click on the link without reading the intro. E4 reckons that you get a certificate for successfully completing the game. I'll buy a drink for anyone that Twitpics me a screengrab via @kerb.

Revolution's Game of the Week: Janey Thomson's Marathon