Hot Throttle’s weird function in videogames
If you have some kind of knowledge in regards to either Fucking Werewolf Asso, Hotline Miami or Keyboard Drumset Fucking Werewolf. You are probably aware of Jonatan Söderström, also known as Cactus.
Cactus is an indie videogame developer who managed to achieve quite some fame in the year 2012. When, in collaboration with Dennis Wedin and their team “Dennaton Games”, decided to launch Hotline Miami to the public. And this is a pretty interesting story, not gonna lie, but I feel, that at least for once, we should pay special attention to the Swedish developer.
Cactus´ career implicates “less than one day”-programming and constant collaborations. He is a man that knows what he wants and when an idea comes to him, he knows exactly how to give life to it.
Many titles come to my head: Clean Asia, Xoldiers, Gamma4…and the title that brings us all together today…Hot Throttle.
The information regarding this game online is practically null, apart from a short video during a French program where the game is introduced, the only source of information is an entrance on Doomlaser´s blog (which you can read here), another developer who collaborated with Cactus for Hot Throttle´s release. Developer whom has quite some interesting titles to show, it would be worth to get back to him some other time…Prior to this, we can find a small article on Indiegamesplus which remembers a podcast where Jonatan mentioned that the original name for the project was Burning Enthusiasm. And in reference to this one´s blog, he only has one small entrance on which he communicates that the game has been released. Plus, a promise for future updates and the addition of a tutorial which never came out.
Developed and launched for Adult Swim Games in the year 2011, Doomlaser describes the game as follows:
“It´s about a gang of men who like to race pretending that they are cars.” -Doomlaser
Hot Throttle introduces itself with a joyful tone. A bright, yellow sun rises while a past storm vanishes, as confetti congratulates our presence, we get to see an urban ambient. Two human creatures united to car machinery welcome us…and all we have left is to press X.
We are a man, an almost naked man. We won´t answer to other people´s callings. Cars don´t wear any clothes, nor do they talk. Other men similar to us are waiting on an improvised starting line for us to begin, not a race, but an odyssey.
The control scheme for this game is quite simple and anyone can easily get used to it after some time. Arrow keys allow us to move and as long as we keep our speed while avoiding crashing, this one will increase gradually and considerably. Something we will notice not only by how quickly we move, but for different visual stimuli too:
You see, as our speed increases, we go through four different stages, stages that I have come to denominate as: Carsonification. Each and one of them is interrupted by a sound effect and a dark cloud, implicating that little by little, we are achieving what we so much desire.
The first stage is “Overzealous”. As our eyes are exalted, saliva drips from our mouths. If we move, our arms will savagely shake in the air.
Is also worth mentioning that if we encounter the situation of crashing, our eyes will cover with tears. We can, want and must move quickly.
“Feeling it” stretches our arms in front of us, but we should not confuse. We are not pretending to hold a wheel while driving the car, we are the car. Imitating the overall structure of a vehicle. All of these accompanied by the facial expressions of “Overzealous”. These are two irascible and uncontrollable stages; our eyes seem too close to pop out. It´s the immaturity…the great tribulation.
“Working it” is the third stage. Our eyes squint and a small grin lets us know that we are incredibly close to achieving perfection. We will primitively get on all fours.
And finally, the last stage. “In the zone” represents the cusp of our carsonificaction. It defines our identity. It´s the commodity and wellness. We close our eyes, and all we should focus on is imitating typical car sounds. We…simply let go, resting ourselves above our arms. As a small child who dreams while sleeping. We are calm. We are the perfect machine.
Regardless, we are not alone. Others…want to surpass us.
Crashing onto an enemy implies losing speed, being ran over. Something we must not allow. Luckily for us, we count with four different items which can be activated by pressing X.
The excrement is placed on the road fulfilling a similar function to a proximity mine, while both the cans and the knifes are throwable objects which scatter in 3 three different directions gradually as they advance. Last but not least, the gas detonates right at our backs, affecting anyone who is hot on our heels.
Prior to this, we will be able to acquire different modifications for our carsona between every race. These upgrades vary on their effects depending on which one we choose. Changing values such as our maximum speed limit or the ease with which we carsonificate.
We have five different circuits at our disposal: Justice City, Crumbumb Junkyard, Fat Cat Beach, Android Headquarters and Bizarro Woods. Each one unique from the last, with their own hazards and settings which become more and more bizarre progressively. Introducing a wide variety of characters who contribute to the reaffirmation of the title´s eccentricism.
Eccentricism which shines on the dialogues. Before and after every encounter, our protagonist will interact with a particular being native from the scenario we are occupying. These interactions escalate between a woman simply questioning the fact that we are naked to asking for gasoline from extraterrestrial creatures.
These conversations implicate an agglomeration of different realities and how it´s ridiculous nature it´s found with a character who is already strange and weird. And that is this game at its best.
Hot Throttle is simple, striking, outlandish and short. An experience which is gone in a few minutes. It´s a momentaneous interaction, a re-count of misunderstandings that happen to then simply…not happen anymore. There is no motive which explains why our main character is where he is now.
That´s what this title transmits us, or better, what it doesn´t transmit us. It´s empty, hollow and won´t leave us with anything when it´s game over time. And despite all that, it has a great value to me.
The scenes presented are unpredictable and it´s gameplay formula is solid enough to keep your attention until the end. These are settings plagued with madness, voracity, and there are very few games which have awaken on me similar feelings. I was not advancing because of a compromise or because that was the point of the game. It was because I knew that after that finish line, I would witness a new photography, new oddities to amuse myself.
Hot Throttle, in my opinion, still holds up brilliantly even nine years after it´s initial release. The game counts with a great philosophy on how to manage randomness which I believe is still an uncharted field in this form of art. We are not talking about a “Mario Kart with dick jokes”. And this is why I encourage you to try out this small but worthy of your time title. You can do so by clicking here.
Thank you for reading!
(This is an adaptation from a script I wrote for a video which can be found on my YouTube channel, I hope I see you again around my profile another time. Have a nice day!)
