Who can forget the cartoon scene shown above where Wile E. Coyote has a little trouble controlling some tornados he seeds in yet another futile attempt to capture the elusive Road Runner?
About ten years ago I thought of creating a computer game where you could create and steer your own tornado, but then I quickly thought to myself “I’d instantly be laughed and ridiculed out of the TV weather business for making such a socially distasteful product” so the thought passed just as quickly as an F0 twister.
Today I’m wandering COMPUSA in LA and what do I see? A game called Tornado Jockey.
From the game’s website description: “Target different objects like: vehicles, baseball stadiums and drug stores. Steer your storm away from forces like ‘Ray Gun Trucks’ and ‘Radar Bombers’ that aim to kill your tornado. You’re at the helm of mother nature’s energy, so pick your path and have a little fun!”
Then they go on to add: * Percentage of proceeds are donated to the American Red Cross
Yeah…. surely that makes it far more… umm…socially correct?
Here’s a screenshot of what the game looks like in operation:
Some of the game features:
– In-game objects: dairy farms, gas stations, amusement parks, & more (what, no mobile homes?)
– Enemies like: ‘F-Killer rockets’, ‘Storm Chasers’, & ‘Ray Cannons’
– Educational facts for: funnels, tornado types, supercells, etc.
– Dynamic game-play, original settings, outstanding special effects!
There’s nothing like seeing “educational facts” while ripping apart an amusment park full of kids.
But the icing on the cake has to be the game summary, where a blonde “weather babe” does a live TV report and tallies up your damage score in dollars.
Please excuse me while I go practice some power hurling into a wastebasket. Blllluurrrrch!