Google's latest Chrome Experiments aim to bring out the kid in everyone with their old-school charm and play-anywhere capabilities.Roll It and Racer turn your phone, tablet, desktop, or laptop into a full-screen gaming experience, whether you're longing for the summer boardwalk days of skeeball or those childhood slot-car races.
Roll It (pictured) brings the classic arcade bowling game to your mobile gadget and computer. Just open the website on your PC and mobile browser (Google recommends using the Chrome app, naturally) and follow the on-screen directions to turn your smartphone or tablet into a controller. Players simply adjust the aim on their device, then flick the device to roll the ball, which shows up on the computer screen.
Beginning with the traditional lineup of scored holes, each level becomes increasingly difficult, as the white rings are rearranged on the board and specialty balls are occasionally dispensed. Be careful where you aim, and don't fling your wrist too hard, or you'll overshoot the goal, and possibly throw your phone into a wall.
Racer, meanwhile, calls up the slot-car-style race tracks of yore, this time in a digital setting, available on up to five mobile screens. Touch the screen to accelerate, let go to brake, and try not to fly off of the track as you race to the finish line against friends and family playing on their own phones and tablets.
"This shows a hint of what's possible when Web experiences are designed for a multi-player (and multi-device) world," Google Chrome's creative director, Iain Tait, wrote in a blog post.
Both experiments run on WebSockets, which allows data to travel between multiple devices and servers. The same technology powers Chrome Super Sync Sports, which Google rolled out in late February. The Chrome Experiment gives your fingers a workout, running, cycling, and swimming through three animated games, playable via the Web browser and a smartphone or tablet.
Most recently, Google launched a topsy-turvy experiment that turned your Web browser inside out and upside down — literally. World Wide Maze transformed your favorite websites into a personal playground via a 3D maze through which players navigated an electronic pinball toward the finish line.
Other recent Chrome Experiments include a promotion for the recent Oz The Great and Powerful film and the 100,000 Stars project. Check out Google's video below to watch Racer in action, and rock out to some sweet techno beats.
