Surgeon Simulator: Inside the World's Hardest Game

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Surgeon Simulator: Inside the World's Hardest Game

Posted by Unknown on Wednesday October 23, 2013 @03:23AM from the oh-my-god-brains-everywhere dept.

An anonymous reader writes "In the space of a few short months, Surgeon Simulator 2013 has attained cult status. A sort of spiritual successor to the maddening QWOP, the PC game requires you to operate the individual fingers of a hapless surgeon in an increasingly absurd set of gore-filled scenarios. What's so remarkable is the turnaround time: the initial prototype came out of a 48-hour game jam, and was released as a commercial game just a month and a half later. A new profile of the studio's founder looks at how Bossa Studios, the London-based development team behind SS 2013, iterates so quickly, as well as what's next from the team, including an iPad version of Surgeon Simulator, and a cross platform MOBA that's half League of Legends, half Mario Kart battle mode."

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Harder than this? by rodrigoandrade · 2013-10-23 03:25 · Score: 2

http://www.addictinggames.com/action-games/theworldshardestgame.jsp
1. Re:Harder than this? by neminem · 2013-10-23 03:38 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  I just googled that, cause I was curious what kind of game it is (games sites are obviously and reasonably blocked at work). I learned that there are apparently 3 such games in the series - they can't *all* be the world's hardest game...
2. Re: Harder than this? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 03:43 · Score: 1
  
  Much, much harder. That "world's hardest game" is simply an exercise in muscle memory, and boot a difficult one at that.
3. Re:Harder than this? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 04:03 · Score: 0
  
  Well Hardest Game #1 was the hardest until number 2 came out... that's how currently running series work...
4. Re:Harder than this? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 04:08 · Score: 0
  
  That's nothing compared to the IWBTG style games.
5. Re:Harder than this? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 05:07 · Score: 0, Insightful
  
  Yes, they can, if they are all exactly equally hard and harder than all other games. It's a preorder not a linear order.
6. Re:Harder than this? by duke_cheetah2003 · 2013-10-23 05:21 · Score: 1
  
  http://www.addictinggames.com/action-games/theworldshardestgame.jsp
  That is pretty hard, I couldn't even figure out how to move!
7. Re:Harder than this? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 06:47 · Score: 0
  
  W/A/S/D or the arrow keys
8. Re:Harder than this? by drsquare · 2013-10-24 09:20 · Score: 2
  
  The most difficult thing about that is getting used to the awkward keyboard controls. Also the game moves the goalposts in the middle of the game by telling you the object is to complete the game with fewest deaths after several levels, when you've previously been playing recklessly.
Simulator by erikkemperman · 2013-10-23 03:29 · Score: 1

... is the operative word here. Bad puns aside though, impressive stuff!

--
Gosh, thanks. That must be why the other ships call me Meatfucker -- GCU Grey Area (Eccentric)
1. Re:Simulator by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 03:34 · Score: 0
  
  I'd argue that the term "Surgeon" instead of "Surgery" is the more important detail :)
Spy by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 03:31 · Score: 1

MEDIC!!
1. Re:Spy by jxander · 2013-10-23 04:05 · Score: 0
  
  Deutsch-bag
  
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  This signature is false.
Not a Game by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 03:32 · Score: 0

It was fast to make because it's not really a game. It's sort of a physics tech demo, I guess, but it's impossible to do "well" at.
1. Re:Not a Game by seepho · 2013-10-23 04:21 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  I've found that I play better the drunker I get. After ten beers the zero-G heart transplant was a breeze.
2. Re:Not a Game by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 06:09 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Fatality!
  Lawyer Wins!
Slashvertisement by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 03:34 · Score: 0

Blatant and obvious. Keep your shitty, rushed, unbalanced and impossible "game".
1. Re:Slashvertisement by X0563511 · 2013-10-23 06:46 · Score: 1
  
  I'm confused how a non-adversarial game can be unbalanced.
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
2. Re:Slashvertisement by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 08:10 · Score: 0
  
  The hammer is pretty OP.
Although not very realistic by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 03:34 · Score: 0

Atlus' Trauma Center series were pretty fun
Not the hardest. by stewsters · 2013-10-23 03:37 · Score: 1

Dwarf fortress in an Evil area where everything keeps reanimating is harder. Battletoads 2 player is harder.
1. Re:Not the hardest. by Thanshin · 2013-10-23 03:56 · Score: 2
  
  Dwarf fortress in an Evil area where everything keeps reanimating is harder.
  Nonsense. Unless you self-impose a challenge that reduces your starting inventory, FUN can be averted for decades.
  If the Evil area is over a glacier and you didn't embark an anvil, on the other hand ...
2. Re:Not the hardest. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 04:02 · Score: 0
  
  Battletoads 2 player is harder.
  ...and if it's the NES version, it's outright impossible because you can't get past level 11 (due to player 2 being unable to move).
3. Re:Not the hardest. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 04:40 · Score: 0
  
  Try no picks + glacier.
Peek of the game by jones_supa · 2013-10-23 03:46 · Score: 5, Interesting

If you aren't familiar with the game, some months ago Kikoskia made a quite funny clip about the gameplay.
1. Re:Peek of the game by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 13:18 · Score: 0
  
  The most worrying thing is that you never see the doctor's right hand. I'm just going to assume he's only got one arm. I think that's best.
The game is only hard because it's so terrible by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 03:47 · Score: 0

Imagine a flight simulator where you controlled the plane by dancing. That's how much of a simulator it is.
1. Re:The game is only hard because it's so terrible by jxander · 2013-10-23 04:12 · Score: 1
  
  Fun fact : there's a similarly unconventional and ridiculous piloting method in the game Wonderful 101.
  You use a tablet to move your character around within the interior of a ship, stepping on and activating giant arrow keys that steer and activate weapons. The main problem being that you can't actually see the ship on the tablet, that's on the TV. So if you want to turn left, you have to watch the TV screen, figure how WHEN to initiate the turn, then look down, run your silly ass over to the left turn arrow, then go over to the right turn arrow, to straighten yourself out. Oh, and there are enemy ships in the air too, so you have to dodge their fire, dodge collisions, and return fire. Plus, because it's a video game, baddies attack you inside the ship while you're trying to execute this crazy dance number
  I can't say the whole experience is great, but it's certainly entertaining... and unconventional as hell.
  
  --
  This signature is false.
The Hardest Game? Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 03:50 · Score: 0

Surgery simulation isn't exactly brain surgery. And I should know.
1988 Version: Life & Death by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 03:52 · Score: 1

Much more retro with 8 bit graphics:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdfWCc8n_GQ
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_%26_Death
1. Re:1988 Version: Life & Death by Russ1642 · 2013-10-23 04:01 · Score: 1
  
  Always wished they made a modern version of that game. I killed so many people because I didn't click on exactly the right pixel. You had to make a 24" cut just to get at the appendix. And apparently cutting off blood flow in the aorta is ok for five to ten minutes.
2. Re:1988 Version: Life & Death by Gramie2 · 2013-10-23 04:22 · Score: 1
  
  I'd love to see that too. I played it with my younger brothers, and one ended up becoming a surgeon!
3. Re:1988 Version: Life & Death by Russ1642 · 2013-10-23 04:26 · Score: 1
  
  That's awesome. I'd show my patients the game and tell them that's where I learned most of my technique.
4. Re:1988 Version: Life & Death by Hatta · 2013-10-23 04:30 · Score: 1
  
  And a much better game at that.
  
  --
  Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
5. Re:1988 Version: Life & Death by sconeu · 2013-10-23 04:55 · Score: 1
  
  I can't remember how many patients I killed in L&D2. I destroyed so many brains, I should have started a zombie feed store.
  
  --
  General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
6. Re:1988 Version: Life & Death by gl4ss · 2013-10-23 06:32 · Score: 1
  
  for life & death you can train by having the manual..
  it's not so hard in that regard.
  surgeon simulator makes much funnier videos though.
  
  --
  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
7. Re:1988 Version: Life & Death by Valdrax · 2013-10-24 06:34 · Score: 1
  
  The Trauma Center series for DS? (If you ignore the weird plot and time-slowing mechanic.)
  
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  If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
Harder than nethack? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 04:06 · Score: 0

Just wondering...never played either...
1. Re:Harder than nethack? by davewoods · 2013-10-25 05:00 · Score: 1
  
  Different type of hard. Surgeon Simulator is hard if you do not have the right eye/hand coordination for it, I did not find it all that difficult once I got the controls down.
  Nethack is hard because you can be unlucky, and given the amount of time required to play in order to win, the chances of you being unlucky (dying) once ends up being really high. You never know when you may turn a corner and get hit with a wand of death from a random weak monster that is smart enough to know how to work a wand. Just happened to me yesterday, as a matter of fact.
Problem is the interface by FuzzNugget · 2013-10-23 04:10 · Score: 1

Requiring the use the buttons to move limbs and digits is deliberately obtuse and a test of your abstractive coordination and processing ability more than anything else.

QWOP is just a silly web game purposefully eliciting utter hilarity, but calling this thing a "Surgeon Simulator" is intellectually insulting. It's just an advanced QWOP.
1. Re:Problem is the interface by rhazz · 2013-10-23 04:43 · Score: 1
  
  Ever play Super Mario Bros using only one hand? It's the HARDEST GAME IN THE WORLD111
2. Re:Problem is the interface by RMingin · 2013-10-23 04:58 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Like many others, myself included, you have misunderstood. It is not a surgery simulator. It's not simulating you performing surgery. It's a SURGEON simulator. It simulates you performing a surgeon.
  It's deeply broken and bad, and Steam refused to allow me to return for refund, so I watch people play it on Youtube sometimes, and it's in my library. Worst 6$ in recent memory.
  
  --
  The preceding comment is my own, and in no way construes an opinon of the Emperor of Mankind.
3. Re:Problem is the interface by CastrTroy · 2013-10-23 05:20 · Score: 1
  
  My brother could beat most of the Nintendo games we owned using his feet on the NES Advantage. He was perfectly capable of using his hands, but got bored with the games we owned and eventually moved onto using his feet. There was some advantages offered by using the NES Advantage like the turbo fire, but I still think the was pretty impressive to beat games using just your feet. Took some serious dedication.
  
  --
  
  Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
4. Re:Problem is the interface by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 06:04 · Score: 0
  
  i played with normal nes controller super mario 1 through mirror with toes, without shortcuts and naturally bet was involved which i ended up winning.
  maybe i need to get 8-bit nintendo and play to the earth again and see if it's beatable :D
5. Re:Problem is the interface by almitydave · 2013-10-23 06:26 · Score: 1
  
  Now what we need is for a Surgeon Simulator add-on where you have to play QWOP.
  
  --
  my, your, his/her/its, our, your, their
  I'm, you're, he's/she's/it's, we're, you're, they're
6. Re:Problem is the interface by gl4ss · 2013-10-23 06:34 · Score: 1
  
  but calling this thing a "Surgeon Simulator" is intellectually insulting.
  
  that's what makes it so damn funny. beats train simulator any day.
  
  --
  world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
7. Re:Problem is the interface by _xeno_ · 2013-10-23 08:32 · Score: 1
  
  QWOP is just a silly web game purposefully eliciting utter hilarity, but calling this thing a "Surgeon Simulator" is intellectually insulting. It's just an advanced QWOP.
  It's a joke on "Train Simulator" and "Farming Simulator" and all those other "Thing Simulator" games on Steam. That's why the PC version is called "Surgeon Simulator 2013" - to mock things like Train Simulator 2014, Farming Simulator 2013, or Euro Truck Simulator 2. I'm sure there are more.
  Incidentally, for a laugh, go to that Train Simulator 2014 link, find the DLC section, and hit "see all." Currently at the bottom I see "$2953.65 - Add all DLC to Cart".
  
  --
  You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
8. Re:Problem is the interface by _xeno_ · 2013-10-23 08:44 · Score: 2
  
  It's deeply broken and bad, and Steam refused to allow me to return for refund, so I watch people play it on Youtube sometimes, and it's in my library. Worst 6$ in recent memory.
  I disagree entirely. The physics screwups just add to the hilarity.
  Don't play it to be any good at it. Play it for the absurdity of the entire thing. Grab the hammer and whack away at the guy's rib cage, rip out his organs, and chuck a heart in. I'm sure he'll live.
  The controls being bad is the entire point to the game and makes for some truly hilarious situations. Whoops, there goes my watch. Oh crap, I accidentally lost the bone saw and am now going to have to make do with the hammer. Oh no, I accidentally stabbed myself with the syringe! Gotta keep going through the psychedelic effects!
  If possible, play it with friends. Having a group laughing at the misadventures of Nigel the surgeon makes the entire thing great.
  
  --
  You are in a maze of twisty little relative jumps, all alike.
9. Re:Problem is the interface by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 17:55 · Score: 0
  
  That'll teach you to buy things without doing any basic research, dumbass
This isn't highschool by Alomex · 2013-10-23 05:56 · Score: 4, Informative

Inside the World's Hardest Game
It's like, the worst habit _ever_ to use, like, so many super duper words, like in, like the "hardest game _ever_", as if! It's like OMG how do they know that, WTF?? I was like, no way it's the hardest ever.
/sarcasm
Seriously, can we do away with unsupported high school superlatives such as "world's hardest", "best ever", etc.?
Oops, I forgot, this is slashdot, editors are morons.
1. Re:This isn't highschool by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 07:54 · Score: 0
  
  There are editors?
2. Re:This isn't highschool by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 08:02 · Score: 0
  
  Well,
  you HAVE also the baseball "World series" as a national sport over there, even though the game and series is played pretty much in one country.
  Sounds good of course, and evidently it makes a difference for the general audience - why else would the series be named in such a way.
3. Re:This isn't highschool by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-25 09:08 · Score: 0
  
  Ever hear of the Toronto Blue Jays?
  At one time, the Washington Nationals were known as the Montreal Expos...
Thank your for a literal LOL by istartedi · 2013-10-23 06:35 · Score: 1

When I saw this I literally LOL'd. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know this ain't brain surgery.

--
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
1. Re:Thank your for a literal LOL by davewoods · 2013-10-25 05:07 · Score: 1
  
  My favorite part of the game is the utter callousness of it all. He literally bashed the skull off of the guy, sliced the brain stem, karate-chopped the lid off of the jar, and dropped the brain in. And that counts as finished.
  
  The fact that you can go in with a hammer and just flail about inside the ribcage for a few seconds while the entire contents of his torso empties in a torrent of bone and flesh is just hilarious to me... I will have to check out more speed run videos.
Like a wet paper towel by RubberChainsaw · 2013-10-23 07:31 · Score: 3, Interesting

RageQuit's gameplay video shows how to do magic in Surgeon Simulator 2013.

--
I welcome our new 99% overlords.
Surgery Simulator by Jason+Levine · 2013-10-23 09:24 · Score: 1

Decades ago, I had a "operating room simulator" for my 286 which presented you with a series of patients. Your job was to assign tests to be performed (but not too many!), interpret the results, and recommend the proper course of action. For some patients, surgery would be needed and you would need to administer the anesthetic, slice the patient open, perform the needed operation without the patient dying from blood loss, and then close them up again.
I stunk at this game so I found entertainment in ruining the lives of my virtual patients. First, I would recommend all possible tests to run up their hospital bill. Next, I would recommend surgery for them no matter what. ("Sore throat? Got to slice you open!") For some patients, I would "forget" to administer the anesthetic (resulting in a badly synthesized scream and the operation coming to a halt). For others, I'd put them under, and then just start cutting left and right until they bled out and died. Needless to say, the game kicked me out of the virtual hospital every single time.

--
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
1. Re:Surgery Simulator by Bitmanhome · 2013-10-23 12:50 · Score: 1
  
  Sounds like Life and Death right up there at the top of this discussion.
  
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  Not that this wasn't entirely predictable.
2. Re:Surgery Simulator by Jason+Levine · 2013-10-24 01:19 · Score: 1
  
  That was the game. Thanks. That game was so tough that the only way to enjoy it was to intentionally play badly. So many virtual patients' lives destroyed. So many good memories.
  
  --
  My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
"The Surgeon" on the Amiga by Trax3001BBS · 2013-10-23 10:54 · Score: 1

The Amiga had a program (game?) called "The Surgeon" it got old fast loading graphics from a 3.5 disk.
You had different surgeries to perform; I'd cut the guy open he'd scream and die. Just too much fun.
Atlus' take on surgery operation by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-23 12:40 · Score: 0

The Trauma Center series are pretty good.
DAMMIT JIM..... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-10-24 02:58 · Score: 0

I'm a doctor not a gamer...