Releasing May 24, Pocket-Run Pool keeps the excellent presentation and high quality physics simulation of modern pool videogames, but throws out the notion of simulating a real sport. Instead Pocket-Run installs a brand new set of rules for 8-ball pool that results in a wonderful new version of a sport we already love.
Billiards is an incredibly popular videogame genre, but nearly every pool game is either a vastly dumbed down version of 8-ball, or a flight-simulator level of fine-grained controls. Pocket-Run Pool leaves aside intense reality but still offers a version of pool best played virtually.
“I've always loved pool, and when I got my first iPhone years ago, the world of digital pool games opened up to me.
There are certainly a lot of options out there, but finding a simple and enjoyable single-player pool game was harder than I expected. I found one that I enjoyed, but after playing it extensively I found it too easy to beat the computer every time. Suddenly the problem with pool hit me — when you play against a computer in a physics simulation, you're literally playing against a god... By which I mean, either the computer is going easy on you (for a reason), or it's playing a perfect game and taking all your money. It dawned on me that if I wanted a good single player pool game, I'd have to make a new kind of pool — a variant that doesn't need a computer opponent, that's built around the notion of scoring and improving, of taking risks, and of presenting unique and interesting challenges."
WHAT MAKES POCKET-RUN DIFFERENT?
Skill & experience aside, pool involves two interesting elements:
- The cerebral tension between the shot you want to take, and the shot you know you can make.
- The physical sensation and of knowing, by the feel of the cue motion, if you pulled it off — even before the ball pockets.
Pocket-Run Pool captures these elements while offering something new to fans and casual players of pool. By combining a rotational scoring system with a more fluid method of using the cue, Pocket-Run captures the feeling of risk, the importance of performance, and the cerebral nature of pool in a way that is fresh, fast, and accessible.
