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Okay, "tournament of champions" may be a little ambitious, but this past weekend while
we were out in Minneapolis kicking off ConQwest 2004 (shameless cross promotion) we stumbled
across a mechanical bull just a block away from our apartment.
Alright, so "stumbled upon" may also be a little misleading. Way back in 2000, I was out in
Las Vegas (Comdex) with the Vindigo kids on our way back to our hotel when we walked by a
bar with a mechanical bull. While I can't remember specifically why we didn't just drop all our
dot com swag right then and there to take up bull's challenge, the fact that we walked away
from the sight of a mechanical bull has been haunting me since that day.
Don't think about trying to find one in NYC... Rodeo bar has one, but its not operational. Rumor
has it a place called Denim and Diamonds had one, but looks like they closed down. (Any other suggestions?) Two weeks
ago, when we were playtesting ConQwest in Seattle, Mattia and I ran across a mechanical bull on a
random Monday afternoon, but it only runs on the weekends.
Anyway, before we kick this off, lemme mention 3 things...
1. It's not as easy as it looks.
Scoff all you want at our 15 second runs. 24 hours later and my arms are still burning and my elbows are covered in rug burns.
2. It's not random.
The movement of the bull is neither random nor pre-programmed (who knew?!?). Look in the background and you'll see the
guy that controls the mechanical beast with a Street Fighter-esque joystick setup.
3. Difficulty is subjective!
Since the bull is actively controlled (not following pre-programmed instructions) the difficulty of
the ride is in control of the operator. I'm just saying!
Round 1 :: Dens (21.79 seconds)
Hi. You may have read about me in such publications as Rodeo Cowboy Quarterly and Discovery Channel Canada.
ps: As soon as I got on the bull, I told the operator to take it easy since it was my first time (and I was a little drunk and just ate a 24+ oz. steak). The guy looked at me and said, "Don't tell me how to do my job!" then jerked the bull real quick. Ha!
Round 2 :: Liz (25.50 seconds)
Liz is helping with ConQwest from the SS+K side of things. She opted for the more traditional
cowboy hat look as opposed to borrowing my Lucky Hat(tm). Sucker.
Round 3 :: Frank (19.39 seconds)
Frank is leading the game design for ConQwest. He's proof that you only have to (kind of) look like a cowboy to pull
off the semi-graceful dismount.
Round 4 :: Kevin (20.24 seconds)
Kevin is running the whole ConQwest show from the SS+K side of things. His two rides fit into a
video the length of Frank's warm-up routine.
Round 5 :: Mattia (18.31 seconds)
Mattia - a fellow PacManhattan alum - is working with Frank on the game logic. Though
18.31 is a respectable score, he's still ranks as a better arm wrestler than bull rider.
Round 6 :: Naomi (27.99 seconds)
Naomi works with Kevin and Liz on the SSK side of things. Representing Brooklyn with the "lean back"
approach, she takes the top spot for longest ride.
Of course, these official standings are less-than-scientific. I started the stopwatch when I
decided the bull started to "move unpredictably." Expect these numbers to change when we head back
to Seattle on 10/23 (or maybe even Denver on 10/16).
| official scoreboard |
| Naomi |
27.99 seconds |
| Liz |
25.50 seconds |
| Kevin #2 |
22.24 seconds |
| Dens #1 |
21.79 seconds |
| Frank |
19.39 seconds |
| Mattia |
18.31 seconds |
| Kevin #1 |
10.22 seconds |
| Dens #2 |
9.73 seconds |
| Dens #3 |
8.76 seconds |
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