Simpsons fans, rejoice: Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge, the iconic video game from season seven's 'Marge Be Not Proud,' now exists as a free-to-play browser game. Created by a fan named Aaron Demeter, the game features stunning graphics that look like they’re made from the latest version of Microsoft Paint.
In the episode the game was given to Bart by Marge in lieu of Bonestorm, the ultra-violent game he'd wanted for Christmas. Fittingly, Putting Challenge gives players the immersive feeling of being both completely underwhelmed and slightly bored in the best way possible. In that way, it's a faithful recreation, a slow and dreary game that won't even let you have fun making mistakes without a warning.
With audio clips taken directly from the Simpson's episode where it premiered, Demeter has created a masterpiece of gameplay, perfect in its banal simplicity. Players must choose between two clubs to make a shot; use 'Feather Touch' or 'Power Drive' to hit the ball; enter a numerical passcode to swing; and watch as the ball sinks into the hole, past the hole, or dives into a parking lot, depending on the decisions they've made.
The possibilities are… not endless, they're actually quite limited, but entertaining nonetheless.
The recreation of Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge has received blessings from Simpson’s showrunner Bill Oakley, who promoted it on his Twitter account, which pretty much pegs the game at an 11 out of 10 in my book.
Demeter has expressed surprise and gratitude over the positive reaction to the game . "This was not the response I expected when I was making the game," he wrote on Twitter. On itch.io, where the game is hosted, he added, "The response has been completely unexpected and a bit overwhelming to say the least! [...] It's been a great learning experience and I'm excited to make some more games for y'all!"
If his take on Lee Carvallo’s Putting Challenge is any indication, Demeter has a bright future in gaming ahead of him.
