- Designing for the Needs of the Coin-Op Market
- Going Online All the Time in Real Time
- Restructuring the Tournament System
- Introducing Player Customizations and Other Options
- Offering a Helping Hand
- Animating the Golfer with Motion Capture Technology
- Making the Game a Little More Interesting with Hole-N-Win
- Selling the Idea Back Home
Making the Game a Little More Interesting with Hole-N-Win
Experienced players will recognize Hole-N-Win as a feature of Golden Tee Fore!. With Hole-N-Win, you have the option of inserting an extra dollar before you tee off on a par 3 if you think you have the skills to make a hole in one. If you sink the shot, you win some extra money. The feature was actually designed for LIVE but was added to Fore! during one of its game updates. Ironically, it didn’t make it into early releases of LIVE.
When the concept of Hole-N-Win arose, Larry and Jim didn’t even have a name for it yet. They’re both risk takers, so the idea of upping the ante on a particular shot appealed to them. They did this kind of thing all the time when they were out golfing. During their meeting, they jotted down some numbers to figure out how many people were playing par 3s and then called the office for some additional figures. When they did the math, the numbers were staggering, and they immediately recognized the financial opportunities. What they designed in that meeting is pretty much what Hole-N-Win turned out to be. Instead of waiting for LIVE, however, they added it to Fore!.