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Big Buck Hunter
Developer(s)Play Mechanix, Inc
Publisher(s)Incredible Technologies (Arcade, initial series)
Raw Thrills (Arcade, Pro/Safari series)
Crave Entertainment (Wii)
GameMill Entertainment (Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch)
Platform(s)Arcade, iOS, Wii, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Release
  • Big Buck Hunter
  • December 2000
  • Big Buck Hunter: Shooter's Challenge
  • February 2002
  • Big Buck Hunter II: Sportsman's Paradise
  • August 2002
  • Big Buck Hunter: 2006 Call of the Wild
  • March 2005
  • Big Buck Hunter Pro
  • January 23, 2006 (Arcade)
  • October 28, 2009 (iOS)
  • September 15, 2010 (Wii)
  • Big Buck Safari
  • March 11, 2008 (Arcade)
  • October 5, 2011 (iOS)
  • Big Buck HD
  • June 2012
  • Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
  • October 25, 2016
  • Nintendo Switch
  • October 16, 2018

Big Buck Hunter is a hunting video game developed by Play Mechanix, Inc. Primarily developed for arcades, the goal of the game is to shoot moving bucks without shooting a doe or female animal.

The Incredible Technologies' initial series of games from December 2000 – 2005 operated on a single gun platform and allowed four players to compete round robin style through various treks and bonus stages. Raw Thrills' Big Buck Hunter Pro and Big Buck Safari introduced a two gun platform, allowing head-to-head competition in addition to a variety of new animals and critters to hunt.

Gameplay

Inspired by Duck Hunt, the game's goal is to shoot the male animals as they run across the screen. The round ends when a female one is shot.[1] Each scene will begin with a couple of animals walking without any suspicions. After a first shot is done, the animals will begin running and the hunt starts.[2] Big Buck Hunter is separated in five screens, also known as "treks". A hunting sessions concludes in a bonus round.[3] The players can either participate solo or one on one by using two plastic rifles.[4] How much points will be earned depends on certain factors like distance, weight and accuracy. There are different states to choose from with a variety of animals, like antelope or moose.[5] The hunting can be done in different conditions varying from fog to snow, with overall 16 bonus rounds.[6] All of the Big Buck HD machines are networked so they can track the players' rankings through online leaderboards.[7] Big Buck HD was the first edition to integrate Facebook and Twitter. That allows players to share and compare scores and awards via social networks.[8]

Tournaments

Big Buck Hunter game cabinets that are connected to the CoinUp Network can support local and national tournaments. If a game cabinet is participating in a current tournament, the 'Tournaments' button will appear on the first Game Selection Screen. After selecting the Tournament button, the player can scroll through all tournaments currently playing on that game cabinet. For Big Buck Hunter Pro & Safari, the National Tournaments ran monthly (usually from the 7th to the 27th of each month for Pro and the 1st to the 21st of each month for Safari until the end of 2012). National Tournaments did return to Big Buck HD WILD for a short time in 2017 and 2018, but on a weekly basis with a particular theme for each month. Players can find out about current tournament, prizes, participating locations and follow their tournament ranking at the Big Buck Hunter Website. Operators can also choose to set up their own custom tournaments for Big Buck HD, Wild, & Reloaded games that they own via the CoinUp website. They can choose the prizes, cost, sites, and bonuses they desire and assign them to desired units.

Beginning in 2008,[9] a World Championship Tournament was introduced.[10] It brings in 64 people from all over the world in an elimination tournament, where the highest rated players in each region get to earn an invite for the event.[11] Regional Qualifying tournaments occur in August and September, with winners advancing to the World Championship Tournament, which occurs every fall in cities like Chicago, New York City, Minneapolis, Austin, & Las Vegas. On November 10, 2012, the Big Buck Hunter World Tournament was held in the Altman Building in New York City.[12]

Starting in 2013, players would no longer be divided by region, and instead they would have to play 5 national tournaments. Each tournament was themed to a specific animal for the 2013 and 2014 Qualifiers. Their 10 best scores in each tournament would determine where they ended up on the leaderboard. The Ladies' Tourney, introduced in 2011, had its own qualifier tournament as well. Starting in 2015, the qualifier would start as early as May, with a new tournament unlocking at the start of every month, and the tournaments were changed so that they would use random animals since this was the first year where there were more than 5 animals in Big Buck HD. In 2016 and 2017, the tournaments were animal themed once again, with each tournament having 1 or 2 animals in them. Australia & Canada also had their own national tournaments to determine who would move on.

In May 2018, Pro mode was introduced. This mode was designed to allow easier World Championship qualification. The player's top 5 scores on each Trek of each animal determines where they rank on the Skill leaderboard for the Qualifier Season (on Reloaded machines it is their top 3 scores obtained with the gun and their top 2 scores obtained with the bow). If they are not eligible for the Skill leaderboard but have a sufficient cumulative score, they would be on the Wildcard leaderboard. If a player is female, their scores would count for both the World Championship and Ladies' Tourney. Also, any region can participate in Pro mode, and they are no longer locked into their own leaderboards. With Pro mode becoming a core part of the game, the qualifier would start in November, and end in September, with the World Championship happening in October.

Development

The game is intended for the adult drinking community, hence it is being marketed more to be used at bars than arcades.[citation needed]

Big Buck Hunter's concept came from George Petro, the Play Mechanix's founder and the former staff of Midway Games, while thinking about what to do next with the company. After the release of Midway's Invasion: The Abductors in 1999, Petro thought that hunting games were popular in homes but there was also a lack of those in arcades. He pitched the idea to the design team, and shortly after started developing the prototype with Incredible Technologies doing the manufacture of the arcade machine. Incredible Technologies partnered with Play Mechanix to create the rest of the games until Call of the Wild in 2005.

Outside of Big Buck Hunter, Innovative Concepts in Entertainment (ICE) partnered with Play Mechanix to develop eight games: Special Forces: Elite Training (2003), Johnny Nero Action Hero (2004), Rhythm Nation (2005), Zoofari (2006), Deal or No Deal (2007), Ice Age: Ice Breaker (2012), Angry Birds Arcade (2016), and Pink Panther: Jewel Heist (2017)

Needing financial support to do an improved version of the game called Big Buck Hunter Pro, the developers contacted Raw Thrills in 2006. As a part of the agreement, Play Mechanix got a design role, while Raw Thrills took over the production and distribution.[13] Raw Thrills was also involved with Big Buck Safari, which introduced hunting in Africa, as well as trophy hunting, which included animals such as zebras, elephants, hippos, and other big animals. They released Open Season in 2009, which added more animals to Pro. In 2010, a year later, Big Buck World was released to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Big Buck Hunter. It combined Open Season & Outback (the upgrade to Safari) into one cabinet.

In 2012, they released Big Buck HD, which combined elements from Pro & Safari and presented them in 1080p high-definition graphics, and added groundbreaking online features such as the ability to compete with players from other locations live, improved tournaments, and easier account creation. A Duck Dynasty-themed side game was added in 2013.

In 2015, Big Buck HD WILD came out, which added 3 new animals (which were released separately by year) as well as a zombie-themed shooter. A 4th animal was added in 2018.

In 2020, Big Buck Hunter Reloaded was released and added more stuff to Big Buck HD. In addition to a new animal, 2 new side games were introduced, including a sequel to the zombie game as well as a partial remake of Terminator Salvation, which was released in 2010. And it also presented a brand new player interface to make it easy to navigate.

List of games (Arcade Releases Only)

Big Buck Hunter: 2000

Big Buck Hunter: Shooter's Challenge: 2002

Big Buck Hunter II: Sportsman's Paradise: 2002

Big Buck Hunter 2006 Call of the Wild: 2005

Big Buck Hunter Pro (2006)

Big Buck Safari (2008)

Big Buck Hunter Pro Open Season (2009)

Big Buck World (2010)

Big Buck HD: 2012

Big Buck HD WILD: 2015

Big Buck Hunter Reloaded: 2020

Release

It spawned a series of new arcade versions including Big Buck Hunter Pro and Big Buck Safari. In 2012, Big Buck HD was released. It includes elements from both Big Buck Hunter Pro and Big Buck Safari in high-definition.[14] In 2009, an iOS version of Big Buck Hunter Pro was released.[15] Following that, an iOS version of Big Buck Safari was released in 2011.[16] GameMill Entertainment released parts of Big Buck HD WILD as Big Buck Hunter Arcade for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in 2016, and for Nintendo Switch in 2018.[17][18] Play Mechanix also made a partnership with Tastemakers LLC in 2019, and both had announced that Big Buck Hunter Pro arcade will be part of Arcade1Up lineup in Fall 2020.[19][20]

The developers partnered with Anheuser-Busch InBev, offering a special permit that unlocks a special "Great White Buck" level. The money earned from purchases of those went to the National Forest Foundation to help preserving forests in the United States.[21] Big Buck Hunter has sold around 7,500 units in 2006.[22]

References

  1. ^ Gallagher, Matt (May 5, 2015). "One Man's Mad Journey to the Big Buck Hunter Championship". Wired. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  2. ^ Poff, Curt (November 26, 2009). "Big Buck Hunter Pro for iPhone". Macworld. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  3. ^ Halpering, Alex (November 25, 2012). "Big Buck Hunter: Meet the world's best fake marksmen". Salon. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  4. ^ Lipinski, Jed (May 20, 2011). "City Dwellers With Time to Kill". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  5. ^ Goldman, Adam (July 25, 2006). "Deer hunting game is a surprise hit". NBC News. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  6. ^ "Big Buck Hunter". Killer List of Videogames. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  7. ^ Hill, David (December 22, 2017). "The Hunting Party: Two Wild Days in Vegas at the 'Big Buck Hunter' Championships". Thrillist. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  8. ^ Eisenband, Jeff (July 19, 2012). "Big Buck Brings HD And Social Media Technology To Arcade Game". ThePostGame. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  9. ^ Annear, Steve (November 8, 2013). "Somerville Couple Competes for Big Buck Hunter Championship". Boston. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  10. ^ Roenigk, Alyssa (September 21, 2011). "Big bucks". ESPN. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  11. ^ McCann, Zach (November 12, 2012). "'Big Buck Hunter' championship hits NYC". ESPN. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  12. ^ Robinson, Ben (November 9, 2012). "The Big Buck Hunter Is The Hunted: Stalking The Chance To Play For The Video-Deer-Shooting Championship". Deadspin. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  13. ^ Zimmerman, Jenn (February 23, 2011). "'Big Buck Hunter' a trophy kill for Glen Ellyn company". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  14. ^ "BigBuckHunterHD". Play Mechanix. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
  15. ^ Chiappara, Damian (October 31, 2009). "Big Buck Hunter Pro Review". AppSpy. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  16. ^ "Merge Interactive Launches Big Buck Safari® on iTunes". Business Wire. October 14, 2011. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  17. ^ "GameMill Entertainment Launches Classic Big Buck Hunter® Arcade on PlayStation®4, Xbox One and Windows PC". GameMill Entertainment. October 25, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  18. ^ "The World Ends With You tops this week's big Nintendo Switch eShop update". Polygon. October 11, 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-10-11. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  19. ^ "Arcade1Up's latest home machines include pinball and light gun shooting". VG247. 2020-06-18. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  20. ^ "Arcade1Up Releasing More Arcade Cabinets". Game Rant. 2020-07-07. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  21. ^ Paynter, Ben (August 28, 2019). "Drinking beer and killing virtual deer is now a good way to save America's wildlife". Fast Company. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  22. ^ Gerdeman, Dina (July 11, 2007). "Shootout at the local pub: Big Buck Hunter is a direct hit". Pekin Daily Times. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
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