Project Lead: Patrick Hackett

Bad Golf follows the traditional rules of a 3d golf game like Mario Golf, while allowing players to drive a golf cart in between shots.  Four players compete simultaneously, with score based on a combination of fewest strokes, fastest completion, and cart damage.
Bad Golf has exaggerated gameplay and mischievous antics, but maintains a realistic look over ““zany”” fantasy golf games.
For a clear picture of the game, watch these two videos at the same time: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFMArDK9oeY&t=1m44s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3A9rLoz_0o&t=26s
Thanks.

Yes!!!

Thanks for checking out the Official Bad Golf Forum!
I’ll make sure to not work all week and wait patiently for any questions or comments you have! 

Also, feel free to post pictures and videos of your favorite golf games, pro golfers, bad golfers, or anything related to golf! 
Let’s get this game made!!!

Bad Golf reminds me of “Golf?”. If Bad Golf prototype doesn’t get made, play this! http://www.hockeyquestionmark.com/golf/

Ha!  Yea, I totally saw that for the first time a few weeks ago.  A buddy at work pointed me to it when he heard my idea.
I think Bad Golf would be a lot faster paced—a lot more like Carmageddon mixed with Hot Shots or something. 
Golf? is pretty rad, though.

After watching all videos of all the games that are being pitched, I must say Bad Golf seems the most rad idea of them all.

It reminds me of Chess Boxing in a odd way: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_boxing, as both have a game consisting of 2 extremely different things.

I hope this can get all the love it deserves =D

You rule.

And yes, I also hope it gets the love it deserves.  It may not happen this time around, but some day we’ll be able to do donuts on the greens in our golf games.

Until then, we’ll have to just keep tearing up golf courses in real life.

Would you allow players to drive carts through throngs of onlookers? Since you mentioned Carmageddon and all.

I think being able to mess with other players as they try to whack the ball would be great, but the griefing potential is high.

Haha.. no, we’d have to protect the onlookers.  We’ll reserve that ability for the sequel: Murder Golf.

And you’re right, there’s a huge balance with the griefing.  You want to be able to slam in to people while they’re taking their shot, or run over their ball when it lands, or even knock their ball in to a lake or something, but if you allow all that, it’d be impossible to actually play the golf part of the game. 
We’d likely just allow *everything* at first, then dial it back as we tested it.

Any chance of loot/upgrades? Faster/stronger carts, more powerful clubs, a gopher powerup to sabotage competitors, persistent snazzy attire, etc?

louiedog - 20 November 2012 09:20 AM

Any chance of loot/upgrades? Faster/stronger carts, more powerful clubs, a gopher powerup to sabotage competitors, persistent snazzy attire, etc?

All of the above.
It’d be too ambitious to try to get all that stuff in the two-week prototype, but the full game would *absolutely* contain everything you listed. 

I’d also like to put in one-time power-ups and modifiers.  For example, “Blessed by the Dalai Lama”, is a power-up you can use at any time to hit a perfect shot.  Imagine the Zen Ball in Peggle, but for golf.

Bad Golf sounds totally awesome!  I thought this would be fun ever since the first time I marathoned Mario Golf and Mario Kart

Hahaha.. thanks!
It’s such a simple idea, but could be so fun!

This sounds like my kind of Golf.

My friends and I currently play extreme golf.  It goes a little like this.  You all tee off together and then run to claim a ball which doesn’t have to be you’re own.  Then furthest from the hole plays first.  If you run away from your claimed ball, perhaps you avoid getting hit in the head, it’s up for grabs by someone else.

Game continues till you are asked to leave the course.

I’m disappointed this isn’t getting more votes.

Saurbaum - 20 November 2012 02:07 PM

Game continues till you are asked to leave the course.

Ahahahahahaha..

Yes.  We are on the same page.

Hey, if anyone wants to meet up and play some real golf this weekend, let me know!

For real, if you live near San Francisco and want to play that par 3 course in Golden Gate Park, I’ll be playing a few rounds this weekend as long as it isn’t raining. 

Unfortunately, they don’t have carts, though. 

This game sounds like a good idea.  I love the idea of playing golf by driving golf carts recklessly.

epic - 20 November 2012 07:29 PM

This game sounds like a good idea.  I love the idea of playing golf by driving golf carts recklessly.

Thanks!!!

DF Patrick Hackett - 20 November 2012 09:06 AM

Haha.. no, we’d have to protect the onlookers.  We’ll reserve that ability for the sequel: Murder Golf.

And you’re right, there’s a huge balance with the griefing.  You want to be able to slam in to people while they’re taking their shot, or run over their ball when it lands, or even knock their ball in to a lake or something, but if you allow all that, it’d be impossible to actually play the golf part of the game. 
We’d likely just allow *everything* at first, then dial it back as we tested it.

Welp pat, you totally sold me with the griefing! Ill drop you a vote (send me one too though!)

Lol, pat. Check your email and call me about IRL bad golf this weekend!

DF DaveG - 21 November 2012 05:13 PM

Lol, pat. Check your email and call me about IRL bad golf this weekend!

On it. 
We should probably take ridiculous pictures and post them on this thread afterward.

DF Patrick Hackett - 21 November 2012 05:27 PM

DF DaveG - 21 November 2012 05:13 PM

Lol, pat. Check your email and call me about IRL bad golf this weekend!

On it. 
We should probably take ridiculous pictures and post them on this thread afterward.

Im gona run you over so hard during your backswing.

Mario Golf + Mario Kart was absolutely the first thing I thought of as well, and it sounds like probably the funnest thing ever.

Would you want to actually alternate between the quiet, slow-paced activity of actual golf and a more raucous activity like wreckless driving, or would you try to design it in a way where they both met in the middle or…? I wonder how the pacing would ultimately feel.

Also, if we’re playing speed golf and driving carts as wrecklessly as possible, I have only one inspirational image to show you.

If you ever get to make this game, I would like this to be a thing I can do with a golf cart and golf club. Please make it so.

AnAnemoneInAnonymity - 22 November 2012 04:06 AM

Would you want to actually alternate between the quiet, slow-paced activity of actual golf and a more raucous activity like wreckless driving, or would you try to design it in a way where they both met in the middle or…?

Mario Golf for the 64 is one of my favorite games ever.  I’d like to capture as much of that game as possible.  So, yes, it would alternate.  However, as soon as you put speed bonuses on it and can see other players speeding around in their carts while you’re lining up your shot, I think the traditional “quiet, slow paced” golf mechanics would fade pretty quick.  You’d want to line up your ball and hit it as fast as possible to get ahead and defend your cart.  Because, who’s protecting your cart while you’re taking your shot? 

AnAnemoneInAnonymity - 22 November 2012 04:06 AM

If you ever get to make this game, I would like this to be a thing I can do with a golf cart and golf club. Please make it so.

Sounds good.    We’ll make this one a one-time use power-up shot and call it something like, “Happier than Gillmore”.  Haha.

DF Patrick Hackett - 22 November 2012 12:36 PM

AnAnemoneInAnonymity - 22 November 2012 04:06 AM

Would you want to actually alternate between the quiet, slow-paced activity of actual golf and a more raucous activity like wreckless driving, or would you try to design it in a way where they both met in the middle or…?

Mario Golf for the 64 is one of my favorite games ever.  I’d like to capture as much of that game as possible.  So, yes, it would alternate.  However, as soon as you put speed bonuses on it and can see other players speeding around in their carts while you’re lining up your shot, I think the traditional “quiet, slow paced” golf mechanics would fade pretty quick.  You’d want to line up your ball and hit it as fast as possible to get ahead and defend your cart.  Because, who’s protecting your cart while you’re taking your shot? 

Yeah, totally! That’s exactly what I was thinking. If I were lining up my shot and could see a PC opponent or one of my buddies hopping in their cart and racing ahead of me, that really puts the pressure on. So when that happens, I feel like I’d want to be able to take the shot as fast as possible. Not TOO fast. It still has to feel like golf. But you know, speed things up a little.

So that made me wonder… if we imagine a “normal” golf game (i.e. not speed golf) as one where you’d carefully choose a club, check the wind indicator on the HUD, decide the angle and strength of the hit, etc etc. I wonder if having to click through a large number of steps before you get to the actual swing would be frustrating if all you wanted to do was, say, take a really quick (if a bit sloppy) shot.

If we’re talking about “power shots”, maybe the players could have a limited use ability where the game automatically calculates a shot that lands them somewhere in the relatively near vicinity of the hole without needing to go through all the decision making steps. They sacrifice a shot that would have possibly been more accurate, but if it’s more advantageous in the short term to just whack the ball and run in order to keep up, maybe a move like that would be a fun addition!

AnAnemoneInAnonymity - 22 November 2012 07:25 PM

So that made me wonder… if we imagine a “normal” golf game (i.e. not speed golf) as one where you’d carefully choose a club, check the wind indicator on the HUD, decide the angle and strength of the hit, etc etc. I wonder if having to click through a large number of steps before you get to the actual swing would be frustrating if all you wanted to do was, say, take a really quick (if a bit sloppy) shot.

You’re right on with this.  The golf portion would be a simplified version of a normal golf game.  We’d do things like: fix the wind for the duration of the hole so you don’t have to reconsider it for every shot, auto-select the club that gives you the longest shot, have fixed definitions for the types of lie (rough is always a 10% power penalty, sand is always 30%, etc.), omit “advanced” golf techniques like draws, fades, top-spin, back-spin (because what Bad Golfer can actually do those shots?!), and make the result of your shot ultra-forgiving.  Meaning, if you were rolling up to a pond, we’d stop you short; if your ball lands on the green and is projected to end up less than 3 feet from the hole, it’d just fall in, etc.  In short, the design of the golf portion should encourage fast play.

Awesome! That’s kinda what I was getting at when I asked if you were going to try to average out the slow parts and the fast parts to get something with a steady pace and a little bit less of a stop-and-go feel to it.

There are so many ways this could be a silly and fun little sports game. Have you ever seen Baseketball by any chance? What do you think about the ability to perform Psychouts on opponents trying to shoot? XD