Snowboarding

Snowboarding was one of those straightforward Flash games you'd find in the late 2000s. It didn't have a big studio name attached, just a simple title that promised a quick run down a mountain. You loaded it in a browser window, and for a few minutes, it was just you and the slope.

You control a lone snowboarder from a side view. The goal is to get down the hill as fast as possible while pulling off tricks. You use the mouse to steer, clicking to crouch for speed and to set up for jumps. When you hit a ramp, you click and drag to perform spins and flips. The game moves at a brisk pace; the terrain comes at you quickly, and mistiming a landing sends you tumbling. It feels responsive in a basic way, a direct link between your mouse movements and the boarder's arcs through the air. The experience is a simple, physical loop of building speed, launching, and trying to stick the landing.