Cowboyana

By: Derek Yu

On: July 16th, 2008

messhof’s latest game, Cowboyana, debuted last night at Light Industry in Brooklyn, New York. The game, which is set in the Old Pixelly West, is strictly a two-player same-computer kinda affair, so if you want to enjoy it you’d best find a friend to play with. Or perhaps an enemy? In Cowboyana you’ll be both – as the game moves from scene to scene, you’ll alternately find yourself fighting alongside your pal and trying to shoot him. Other times you’ll work together to pour whiskey shots. The game goes on indefinitely, but what happens in one scene can determine how later scenes play out. Get shot, and you may even end up as a horse!

As the game muses:

Hard to talk, drunk
Hard to walk
Hard to kill your buddy

Cowboyana oozes all kinds of Old West style and grit – I daresay more than any other cowboy game I’ve ever played. It also seems particularly well-tuned for same-room multiplay, although I’ll have to get my buddies over here before I can test that theory. In the meantime, you can read auntie pixelante’s thoughts on the game. She was at Light Industry last night playing it the way it was meant to be played!

TIGdb: Entry for Cowboyana

Posted in Freeware, Multiplayer, Platformers, Windows | Tags: messhof

http://www.puppybuckets.blogspot.com/ Alehkhs

YEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeHHAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaWW!

I love the art direction!
muku

This looks surprisingly, uh, non-abrasive for a messhof game?
Julius

It’s games like this that make me wish I had friends.
cactus

I can’t get the game to start. When I press enter at the title screen it just restarts. Dang :(
messhof

Sorry, the enter key restarting was for testing and I should take it out. Both players have to shoot to progress through the credits.
FISH

you’re on fire, mister essen.
i wish i could play your games.
Lim-Dul

This game is pretty cool. ^^
Roger

I got to play it last night in bklyn, it was awesome! I love the reloadin’ action. Congratulations and nice job mr. esshof!
Dusty Spur

I picked a great day to invite my friends over. I’ll post my thoughts on this after playing it with them.
Cloudbreath9

how do you shoot and reload for player one?
messhof

I think I set up the joytokey with the wrong player 1 controls– that was a problem we had before the show started. Player 1 uses I O and P.
Dusty Spur

Gatdamn, I tried to run it but it doesn’t seem to work with my computer’s resolution. Is there a way to put it in windowed mode? Sorry if this is really obvious but I am kind of dumb about these things.
messhof

f4 switches to windowed
Dusty Spur

Ah. Thanks, messhof!
Exoduster

This is fun as hell. Seriously. I do wish that the chances of certain events occurring was a bit more balanced, though. In half an hour of play we got the bar scene 10 times and the shootout in town only once.

Also found out that if you kill someone with a shotgun, you can take his gun. Anyone else notice anything like this?
Xotes

I’d play this, but the only person in the house who’s even remotely computer savvy thinks it looks stupid and refuses to go at it with me.
http://www.puppybuckets.blogspot.com/ Alehkhs

Public poll:

Cowboyana > Rock Band
vanarbulax

Me and my brother fought for the shotgun the whole game. I also learnt a few things, you can turn the drinking game into a duel by hitting shoot. You can aim specifically by holding down shoot then pointing in the direction and it only fires after you let go of the key so you can line up shots if your waiting.

This made duels fairly easy to win once I had the shotgun. I’d just hit shoot when I entered a drinking game and hold it down until it changed to the duel. When it went into duel I’d let go of the shoot button and unless they jump away ultra fast it’s and instant kill.