Thursday, December 8, 2011

Boat Parking Games

By Cyger Manni


There is a plethora of parking games available online these days. However none are as unique and interesting as boat parking games. These free online games allow the player to steer a ship and park it into a dock.

Unlike
car parking games, boat docking games are affected by different set of determining factors. These factors include wind direction, differences in breaking and turning speeds, fuel supply, health bars, passing speed boats, and swimmers to avoid hitting.

The physics that go with actual boat steering such as water and wind resistance are present in these games, making them a unique challenge indeed. Water resistance slows down turning speeds, as the ship has to fight against the strong ocean currents. The wind affects sail boats and can push them off course or make them turn slower or faster depending on if you are trying to turn against or with its direction. The fuel supply steadily diminishes as you steer, making coming in to dock all the more urgent than if there was just a simple timer counting down the seconds as there are in most parking games. Health bars allow the player to hit obstacles multiple times before sinking the boat, which is a refreshing change from the one hit, game over scenario of other flash games. Speed boats dash across the screen, making it imperative to avoid them while attempting to maneuver the ship, else you'll crash right into them and they'll sink. Swimmers too, are an obstacle to steer clear of. After all the last thing that a ship captain wants to do is hit an innocent man enjoying his day at the beach.

In the boat parking game Dock It, the wind direction is shown on a compass on the lower right hand of the screen. The boat you steer is a sail boat, and the sails move in accordance to the direction of the wind current. Even the flag on the dock waves in the wind. In this online game, the boat also has a health bar. As you crash into speed boats, swimmers, or the dock, the health bar goes down. On the lower part of the screen is a timer, moving steering wheel and wind direction compass.

The graphics of white churning water washing up on the sides of the yacht as it turns are quite remarkable. The swimmers and sunbathers on the beach add a certain visual charm to the setting, making the player feel as though they are almost there with them, basking in the summer sun.

Occasionally the shadows of large jumbo jets flying overhead pass by, giving the scene a sense of scope and depth that other parking games do not have.

Boat parking games are a fun and unique addition to the parking game genre. They are more challenging than the average parking game and require a bit of patience in order to get to the dock. But the sense of achievement when you do is well worth the effort.




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