TypeRacer
TypeRacer is a multiplayer online browser-based typing game. It was launched in March 2008 and claims to be the first multiplayer typing game on the web.[2]
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Type of site | Multiplayer online game |
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Founder(s) | Alex Epshteyn |
URL | play |
Alexa rank | ![]() |
Commercial | Yes |
Registration | Free |
Launched | March 2008 |
Current status | Online |
History
TypeRacer was launched by programmer Alex Ephsteyn, working on his own, using the OpenSocial API and the Google Web Toolkit.[3] Alex was inspired by teaching himself to touch type with a shareware Windows program that lacked a multiplayer mode. He describes himself as not a hardcore gamer, and had never played other multiplayer typing games such as The Typing of the Dead. Ahmed was contacted by a former Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing engineer, who expressed approval of TypeRacer.[4] Ahmed holds a master's degree in Computer Science from UMass Amherst and was an intern at Google in 2005.[5]
TypeRacer was listed among PC Magazine's "Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites of 2008".[6]
Overview
Players compete by racing miniature cars that advance as the users type short passages that are 20 to 100 words long.[7] Accuracy is required; any typing errors in words have to be fixed before continuing with the race.[8] The typing passages come from popular songs, films and books, such as Monty Python and the Holy Grail, A Clockwork Orange, and Stephen Colbert's I Am America (And So Can You!),[9][10] and can be contributed by users.[11] Some users that achieve typing speeds over 200 wpm have been suspected of being robots, or otherwise cheating, which TypeRacer has taken repeated measures to restrict.[12] The protection is requiring users that get over 100 wpm in a race to do a CAPTCHA. If they pass, then they have to perform a score that is 25% higher than the attained CAPTCHA speed to activate the CAPTCHA test once more.
References
- "TypeRacer Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
- About TypeRacer, official site. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
- "Featured Projects on Google Code: TypeRacer", July 08, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
- "The Story Behind The Addictive Web-Game 'TypeRacer,' A Competitive Mavis Beacon" Archived 2011-01-01 at the Wayback Machine, by Patrick Klepek, MTV, May 8, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
- "Making Polls Social" Archived 2010-12-02 at the Wayback Machine, Alex Epshteyn, Google Social Web blog post for Google Friend Connect, April 21, 2009. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
- "The Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites", by Kyle Monson and Eric Griffith, November 11, 2008, PC Magazine. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
- "Website of the Day: Typeracer", GeekSugar, May 5, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
- "TypeRacer tests your typing skills, patience", by Josh Lowensohn, April 25, 2008, CNET News. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
- "How sharp are your typing skills?", by Whitney Matheson, Pop Candy, USAToday, May 12, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
- "Forget ‘Speed Racer’: The Sport of the Future Is TypeRacing", by Nick Confalone, New York Magazine, May 8, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
- "Contribute a Quote to TypeRacer", official form. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
- "Encouraging Honest Competition", February 7, 2009; "New Speedometer And Improved Cheat Protection", May 19, 2008; "No More Cheating", May 18, 2008: all from The TypeRacer Blog, Ahmed Asif. Retrieved November 1, 2010.