written by Brad Cook

Booster beams propel the golf ball over obstacles. Super Stop power-ups bring it to a screeching halt, while the Super Grow variety make it four times its normal size for a few seconds. You've played miniature golf before, but you haven't played it the way Top Meadow's Kevin Ryan and Brian Supple envisioned it for Minigolf Mania, a concept they easily brought to fruition with help from Torque Game Engine (TGE).

Minigolf Mania

"It's a clean engine. It gets the job done. It doesn't get
in the way, and I can prototype fast with it."

- Kevin Ryan (on TGE)  

"It's a clean engine," Ryan explains. "It gets the job done. It doesn't get in the way, and I can prototype fast with it."

Ryan was familiar with the basics of ball physics, thanks to his initial design work on Marble Blast, which was the first GarageGames release to use TGE. In fact, Ryan had TGE on his computer before it was formally released, but even in Beta form, he had no trouble using it for Marble Blast. That experience paid off when it came time to work on Minigolf Mania, which was released in November 2006.

Minigolf Mania, which runs on Mac and Windows, features a nine-hole tutorial and three 18-hole courses, each with a unique set of hazards: Golden Hills, Lava Islands, and Snowy Fields. Players choose from four gameplay modes, while 40 different balls give them access to a variety of special powers, such as the ability to shoot a laser at other balls. Online top score charts let players flaunt their best scores to the world.

Making Life Easier For Everyone

Ryan's connection to GarageGames stretches back to 1984, when he joined Dynamix and worked on his first game, Arctic Fox for the Amiga. He stayed with the company through its purchase by Sierra in 1990, but left in 1999, before Sierra shut down the subsidiary. While he wasn't familiar with the Tribes technology, which formed the foundation of TGE, he notes that such an understanding wasn't necessary to start working with TGE.

In addition, TGE makes life easier for end users, Ryan points out. "The hardware requirements are such that I can support lower-level machines," he says.

Puzzle Poker

"I was able to get a prototype of a game done in a day.
It was really cool."

- Kevin Ryan (on TGB)  

More Top Titles on the Way

During the development of Minigolf Mania, Ryan took a break to check out Torque Game Builder (TGB). "I was able to get a prototype of a game done in a day," he recalls. "It was really cool."

That title became Puzzle Poker, which mixes solitaire, poker, and traditional matching action for a unique entry in the puzzle genre. The goal is to rearrange 25 poker cards into 25 hands-looking at the board up-and-down as well as left-to-right-and accumulate the highest chip cash-out possible, within a certain amount of time. As in Minigolf Mania, players can publish their best scores for all to see.

With three titles under their belt, Top Meadow has no plans to slow down any time soon. Ryan quickly prototyped a second title when he started working with TGB, and he expects to release it eventually. Odds are he and Supple have plenty more tricks up their sleeves.