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Channel: Hockey Ideas – Dave's Geeky Hockey

Hockey Video Games That Need To Happen

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3DS Hockey Video Games 2012

I should confess I haven’t played an EA NHL game since NHL 09, which is odd for me as I played just about every iteration of that series religiously prior to that. Instead, I dabble with some SNES NHL 94 now and again. There is nothing wrong with the recent EA games, but I find myself more often than not dreaming up other hockey video games I’d rather play. And here they are:

1. Stylus-based hockey game for the Nintendo DS/3DS. If I could open a bank account in the U.S.A. this would be my Kickstarter project. Basically you do all your passing and shooting with the stylus, and you’d control the player with the D-pad or thumbstick. You’d swap players automatically or hit the bumper button to do so.

Passing and shooting would be drag and release motions with the stylus. You could execute some fancy dekes within your puck range (the blue circle on the bottom screen), or try to intercept passes with an active stick. One interesting play mechanic is fighting for the puck in the corners with the opponent, or trying to fish the puck out from a scrum.

The top screen layout would be friendlier to the NES Ice Hockey/Blades Of Steel side-to-side play, rather than the EA NHL 16-bit games which had an up-and-down orientation.

This game would also be ideal for the Wii U, which also has a stylus.

Lego Ovechkin Legovechkin 2012 Washington Capitals

2. Lego Hockey. This game would be a traditional hockey game like the EA NHL series, but the players (minifigs) would explode into several pieces when hit. There would also be a powerup system where you strategically build brick walls to aid your team/fluster the opponent. Read more about it here.

3. Nintendo Ice Hockey 2. Another game I touched on before, however this could be done in the style of the stylus game I mentioned above. One thing that I would like to add is that when a fight occurs, it would launch into a Smash Bros. style of game.

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I was going to say an iPad table hockey game, but that was attempted with mixed results.



The Hockey Pad Of My Dreams

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Dream NHL Hockey Pad Budweiser Arena Screen Zamboni Fridge Rec Room Dave Delisle davesgeekyhockey.com

Note: The use of the NHL logo is to keep this design team-neutral. The rampant use of the Budweiser logo is to hopefully land me some free beer (the best-tasting kind).

Taking a break from jersey designs today, I thought I’d share my ideal “Hockey Pad”, a place to watch hockey, play hockey video games, and just hang out in general.

The theme of this room is to replicate an NHL Arena. It would feature a score board entertainment unit, a zamboni fridge, and a few other fun details.

NHL Couch

Starting off with the boring stuff: I’ll be honest, I would want a couple of fancy reclining chairs for my pad. But for fun, I designed this “goal net” futon set. The curved metal bars of this old futon set always reminded me of a hockey net, so I thought a coat of red paint and some netting would make for the perfect hockey furniture.

Dream NHL Hockey Pad Budweiser Arena Screen Zamboni Fridge Rec Room Dave Delisle davesgeekyhockey.com

The centerpiece of the room is an entertainment unit based on the scoreboard you would find in an NHL arena. This one was inspired by the one at Rogers Arena. It would be anchored into the wall a few feet above ground. With a crowd mural on the wall, the scoreboard would appear to float in mid-air. It would be flanked by speakers suspended from the ceiling, as well as a fleet of banners to compliment the illusion of being at the game.

NHL Scoreboard Dream NHL Hockey Pad Budweiser Arena Screen Zamboni Fridge Rec Room Dave Delisle davesgeekyhockey.com

Instead of enlisting a bunch of smaller LCD displays to flank the TV, I decided to make the signage section of the entertainment unit a place for storage. Cabinet drawers and sliding panels reveal ample room for electronics and media. This configuration has 4 sliding panels above the TV, and 3 below it.

NHL Scoreboard Dream NHL Hockey Pad Budweiser Arena Screen Zamboni Fridge Rec Room Dave Delisle davesgeekyhockey.com

The Zamboni fridge! I initially thought an ice cooler shaped like a Zamboni would be neat, instead I decided to make it a fridge, which is a more ideal (and permanent) fixture for a hockey pad. This fridge on wheels would also be a neat place to park a beer keg, seeing as a lot of Zambonis have similar-looking canisters at the rear of the vehicle.

NHL Scoreboard Dream NHL Hockey Pad Budweiser Arena Screen Zamboni Fridge Rec Room Dave Delisle davesgeekyhockey.com

I designed this fridge to open just like a Zamboni would when emptying its cache of ice, a nice touch but not practical. I imagine a real-life Zamboni fridge would open like a deep freezer.

Other details in the room include an NHL rink carpet, that neat Budweiser red light gadget (on the ceiling, top image), and a side table that is just like the one the Stanley Cup sits on when presented. There is a ton of other stuff I’d like to throw in this room, like a tabletop hockey game, one of those neat coffee tables made of hockey sticks, not to mention all my Calgary Flames paraphernalia.

So there’s my dream hockey pad! If you’re looking for more furniture ideas please head to my other blog.


Table Hockey Ideas Part 1: Twisting Upper Body Players

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Table Top Hockey 3D player upper body movement STIGA table hockey Dave Delisle davesgeekyhockey.com

Rather hypnotic, isn’t it?

Just like how video killed the radio star, video games have killed table hockey (at least here in North America, it’s a national pastime in Sweden). One factor is that hockey video games continue to evolve, while table hockey has remained essentially unchanged since it debuted in the 1930′s.

I still have fond memories of playing table hockey, having owned a Wayne Gretzky’s Overtime table in the early 90′s, with a bunch of extra teams and add-ons (like a Zamboni). That table saw many games. Nowadays very few people I know are interested in playing the game. Breaks me heart.

With that said, I’d like to offer up a series of ideas that will shake things up for ye olde table hockey game. Today we start things off with the key component of the game, the hockey players themselves.

What I propose is an independent upper body that is spring-loaded, allowing the players secondary movement above the waist. Normally the whole player is static and revolves in place, but now the upper body would be separate, allowing it to echo the movement of the lower body that is controlled directly by the user.

The image above shows the red lower body and the blue upper body. With the hockey stick attached to the upper body, the game would change dramatically. Here is how:

1. More torque for passing and shooting. The player would essentially “follow-through” with the stick when releasing the puck.

2. Players would cradle incoming passes a little better. No more bouncing the puck off a static hockey stick to your opponent.

3. And the best part: no more “clashing” hockey sticks with your opponent. There would actually be some give now, so opposing hockey sticks would brush by each other instead of coming full-stop. I really hated jamming my hand fighting for a puck.

The one downside is some upkeep: replacing springs in the players. Hopefully this is a rare repair.

Notes: This idea can be applied to both molded 3D players and flat 2D card players.

Bonus idea: the above player has a raised foot because this would make it harder for people to shovel the puck in the net with the player’s feet (often done by the center player). Also you could potentially play the puck with your raised foot as well, by kicking it up to your stick instead of having to back up and corral the puck. You might be able to kick the puck to a teammate as well.

Stay tuned for more table hockey ideas.


NHL 14 Box Art In The Style Of NHL ’94

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NHL 94 Cover for NHL 2014 2013 Legacy Mode

Click To Enlarge

With the release of NHL ’14 only days away, I thought I’d make an alternate cover for the game in the style of NHL ’94, seeing as they included the much-hyped Legacy Mode this year. Feel free to print this sucker and place it into your copy.

I used the Genesis box art because the Super Nintendo version wouldn’t translate all that well to a contemporary game case. I omitted the legalese and I shrunk the ESRB Rating to match whatever rating system was on that Genesis cover. Other than that it looks like the real deal.

PS3 fans: If this cover proves to be popular I’ll make a PS3 one too (I’ll update this post). These game covers are a lot of work! Speaking of which, I learned that I hate writing copy. The folks who have to write the blurbs for physical media packaging are heroes.

Special thanks to Evan Eckard and his very handy 360 template (links below the video), which accelerated this design a great deal.

If you like this please check out this NHL ’94 Chair Mat on my other blog.

UPDATE: The PS3 cover has now been added. Special thanks to Deviantartist AdrianThomassen92 for the template.

NHL 94 Cover for NHL 2014 2013 Legacy Mode PS3

Click To Enlarge


Pixel-Based Table Hockey Players

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Blades Of Steel NES Ice Hockey Sprites Pixel EA NHL Table Hockey Stiga

Seeing as video games killed the table hockey star*, why not incorporate video game imagery into table hockey? Player sprites from NES Ice Hockey or Blades of Steel or EA’s venerable NHL series could be turned into table hockey players (the flat 2D variety), creating a retro look for the ol’ table top.

The player sprites from NHL 94 (or any EA game from the 16-bit era) would probably be the most ideal for superimposing onto existing table hockey players. The sprites for NES Ice Hockey would probably need their own custom player shapes (as seen above).

I might have to tackle this fun idea one day. I just wish there was a proficient way of making DIY stickers, y’know?

*I don’t mean to brag, but I am of course referring to myself.


Grab Your Own NHL ’94 Chair Mat

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NHL 94 Chair Mat davesgeekyhockey

Last year I designed this chair mat based on NHL ’94, and it proved to be a hit with many folks. My friends at ES Robbins made the chair mat sample which became famous on Puck Daddy.

Until now there was no way to allow others to get their own, but I’m happy to announce that ES Robbins has created a brand-new DIY website where you can upload your own image and you can buy a custom chair mat for $88 with free shipping (US Customers only).

As for the art, I will supply it for you. You just need to email me (davesgeekyideas@live.ca) the following information:

- SNES or Genesis

- Star Color

- Do you want the “puck control” highlight inside the star?

- Player number (1 or 2 digits) and position (G, D, L, R, C, for Goalie, Defenseman, Left Wing, Right Wing, and Center respectively).

Here is a chart:

NHL 94 Chair Mat Star Colors

 

I will then reply within 48 hours with a large .png image like this based on your specifications:

NHL 94 Chair Mat

You can then upload it at the Office Trends website when you purchase your chair mat. This for the 36″ x 48″ chair mats (carpet and hardfloor models).

These are your only design options right now from me. I’m sure many want Gretzky blood in there, and I would like to eventually add that option, but I can’d find accurate sprites for that injury.

Note: I stretched the art vertically from the game so it would read better on the floor. The finished model would be similar to the top pic, where there’d be a clear border outside the image.


The NHL Transformed

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Rodimus Prime Zamboni Transformers NHL

I love the NHL and Transformers, so I’m pleased to merge the two here. My intent is to celebrate Transformers lore, a few teams (like the Detroit Junkions and Pittsburgh Pretenders) aren’t intended to be jabs; in fact DET and PIT were among my first designs and helped inspire me to do the whole league.

A few of these aren’t to my personal liking either (PHI, COL) so maybe one day I’ll revisit them. And if time permits, I might add defunct teams too (QUE, HFD). For now I hope you enjoy!

Click To Enlarge:

Transformers NHL Hockey League

 

A few of these teams might become t-shirts from 80’s Tees too, so stay tuned for news on that front. Team and league posters might be a bit of a stretch, but we’ll see.


NHL All-Star Jersey Idea

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Shamrocks and Shenanigans

As the title suggests, this isn’t a design post exactly, more like a general idea. In light of this year’s weird take on the NHL All-Star jerseys, I thought I’d put forward a new concept, where two unique team identities are created solely for the All-Star game.

The two teams would adopt fun nicknames that pay tribute to the host city. For the example above I chose Boston, so the teams would be the Shamrocks and Shenanigans (note: I goofed, thought House of Pain was from Boston, they’re actually from New York). If Toronto was hosting, team names would be something like the Yorkton Bullies and the Queen Street Trolleys.

The team identities would happen regardless of format (East Vs. West, North America Vs. World, Captain Vs. Captain), so there may be some subtitling: Eastern Conference Shamrocks, or Captain Crosby’s Shamrocks, etc.

The NHL shield would get bumped up to the right chest or shoulders. I’d also like to bump the Reebok logo to the hem, and put the team logo above the player’s name, but there is no way Reebok would ever permit that.

With a couple of solid team designs, I feel these jerseys would have more appeal with fans in all NHL markets than the current NHL shield jerseys.

Note: why not a few geeky designs for All-Star jerseys, like Star Wars or DC Comics? I don’t think any NHL team would go for that, to be honest. But with the All-Star game the NHL has shown they’re willing to experiment with jersey designs, so a couple of sporty/beer league designs seem more plausible.



The Golden Goal – NHL ’94 Style Wallpaper

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NHL 94 Golden Goal Sidney Crosby Iggy 2010 Winter Olympics dave delisle davesgeekyhockey

Click here for a large wallpaper.

The ten year anniversary of Sidney Crosby’s Golden Goal is fast approaching, thought I’d capture the moment in style! Can’t believe I haven’t done anything like this in several years.



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