four-fisted keyboard action
I had a friend over today – another skilled typist – and we played some TOTD. It was really fun, and I think that 2P TOTD could be a good party game, especially with some tournament rules. (Were I to expect a TOTD2, which I don’t, I’d expect tourney rules.)
The problems with 2P TOTD are really clear, though. The Sega keyboard is just not well-designed for rapid, accurate typing. While I’m sure it’s fine for playing PSO or logging into your Chu Chu Rocket server, it’s not good for real typing. In a typing game, I want all the advantages I can get. I’m used to the IBM m101, the One True Keyboard. Using a SDC keyboard is like… well, like something unpleasant. True TOTD enthusiasts must have the SDC-PS2 (that’s PS/2 DIN keyboard, not Sony PS2!) adapter. I’d love to get one before phun and Bryan show up this weekend, but it ain’t gonna happen.
Also, while the two-line approach works well to indicate your progress through a phrase, the three-line approach for indicating your progress /and your partner’s/ is not so hot. It was distracting, and I lost huge amounts of performance due to that confusion.
I think that TOTD has huge possibilities. If I was Sega, I’d be all about a sequel.