A really good typist’s (130 WPM) experience with the Touch Type Tale demo - a typing game where speed doesn’t always matter
When Indie Arena Booth came around, my team singled out Touch Type Tale solely because of how much of a maniac I am when it comes to typing games. It ended up being a team favourite even for those not typing-crazed like I am. (I have a WPM of 130+ btw.) Those who hadn’t planned on buying it were convinced by the demo, which showed off a stunning amount of creativity in a genre that can feel to be quite constrained. All the typing games I have played boil down to: Type faster to win. But in the RTS-inspired Touch Type Tale, just typing fast isn’t good enough. As I learned the hard way…
I already type really fast (130+ WPM btw. I’m pretty proud of it if that wasn’t evident). I frequently do typing tests from 10fastfingers and hop in for a typing match on typerracer every now and then; I’ve been into typing games since I was a child - from Typer Shark to Typing Terror. Nowadays, I try to pick up whatever typing games I can. I’ve played The Typing of the Dead - Overkill, a strange typing remake of House of the Dead, and Epistory - Typing Chronicles, a gorgeous RPG typing game.
I’m just painting a picture to show that when it comes to typing games, I’ve definitely played a wide variety. All of which reward players for quick fingers. (After all, with my WPM of 130+, I was very good at them. Did I mention my typing speed before? I’m quite proud of it.) For someone that just enjoys the feeling of typing, and typing fast, what else could I experience in a typing game? Pumpernickel Studio’s Touch Type Tale was the answer; it handles the typing mechanic in a way I have never seen before. And in a way that is highly enjoyable to the experienced typist, one who is looking for the next hill to climb that is more than just “type faster”. What happens when there are words you might not want to type? When typing is how you make strategic decisions in this RTS-typing game blend, quick fingers can only get you so far.
Touch Type Tale takes place in a fantasy medieval setting. The art itself seems inspired by medieval illuminated manuscripts or wood carvings - eyes of the characters have prominent circles around them and the characters have stylised bold shapes. You play a young lad who defends his kingdom from invading barbarians using a magic typewriter. The story and setting are pretty standard, and I’m normally a sucker for deep, thematically rich games or games with a unique voice—both absent here. However, the unique, immersive gameplay of Touch Type Tale surpassed all that. I have never seen such mechanics appear in another typing game. And I have played many typing games. It’s not the most unique story, but that’s also not the reason why I was into it.
Most typing games use keyboard inputs as a weapon. The whole point is to damage enemies. In Typer Shark, the player is swarmed by waves of shark with words written on their bodies. By typing that word, the shark is defeated. Typing of the Dead has ravenous zombies and mutants launching themselves at you. I would describe typing in those games as a meditative experience. There is one goal in mind, and that is just to type. And type fast. At my fastest (and that is a WPM of above 130 if I haven’t mentioned already), I hardly register anything except the words - it is very much like a thoughtless trance of muscle memory.
Though I will say that Epistory is unique in that it allows the player to move and explore the map (with a really cool option of using the typing home keys to do so rather than the traditional WASD). When typing, the player can also switch between elements that affect the type of damage done. However, Epistory still relies on typing being used to vanquish enemies.)
All these typing games share the same limiter on their skill cap - the player’s typing speed.
There might be many words on the screen. But what you type matters! It isn’t about clearing a screen from words. The words are your command interface.
Basically, as long as you are a good typist (and I’m pretty sure I mentioned that I am. 130+ WPM after all), you’ll excel at these games.
What sets Touch Type Tale apart is that the typing is used as a means to command rather than a means to destroy. As a real time strategy game as well as a typing game, the players use typing to control units rather than as a way to directly hurt the enemy units. This adds a layer of complexity that I never felt was lacking in other typing games. But now that I’ve experienced it, I just want more.
So it’ll tell you something that when my team and I played the demo of “Touch Type Tale”, they ended up finishing the second level before me. Despite the fact their WPM are all well below 130+ (which is how fast I type btw. I am quite proud of my speed)(Note: My sister would like it known she thinks she types quite fast and is offended by my statement of her skills.). Turns out, there’s a little something needed called strategy. And I actually needed to think before I typed.
We all review each other’s writings before things are published. As you can see, a few slow pokes had issue with my accurate description of their sub 130 WPM typing skills.
It was a humbling game.
After boasting to my team about how I’d wipe the floor with them in Touch Type Tale, I ended up finishing the first level last. All those years of playing typing games were basically thrown out of the window.
In Touch Type Tale, typing speed matters most when resource collecting.
As mentioned before, typing faster in Touch Type Tale does not wipe out waves of enemies; it’s tied to collecting resources, recruiting units, and building. True to its real time strategy genre, your units in Touch Type Tale are those that directly engage the enemy, not the player. This could have been a make or break portion of Touch Type Tale as the ability to micro your units and maneuver them is an important part of the RTS genre. Touch Type Tale does implement the ability to split groups of units and there is a level in the demo where the player’s success is determined by how well you do so. Flanking fragile archers and catching them in a pincer is very satisfying indeed. And it is somehow all done by typing.
Should you type “drawn”? Should you type “speed”? At the very least don’t be like me and try to type both. Decisions matter when it comes to what you type.
In the end, with the exception of resource collection, typing faster merely means your units will respond to commands faster. And if the commands you are giving are terrible? No matter how fast you are, you’ll have a really bad time. For a really good typer like myself (130+ WPM!), I was forced to give up my preconceptions as to what a typing game was.
I redeemed myself by finishing the demo before my teammates did though I was severely behind on the first level. I spent the first level typing every single word I saw on the screen as fast as I could. Which obviously went very poorly as that had the equivalent effect of playing a game of Starcraft and clicking every lit up button as fast as you can. Our friendly competition has definitely incited all of us to grab a copy of Touch Type Tale and go at each other’s throats again. It’s a great feeling to discover a game that makes everyone excited for more.
I’m excited for Touch Type Tale’s release and will definitely be playing more of it with my team.
