Google gets interactive with doodle for Slalom Canoe

Google has come out with another interactive doodle today, and this one’s for Slalom Canoe. Whitewater slalom (canoe slalom since November 2008) is an Olympic sport and the doodle aims to capture the thrill behind it just right. The doodle, like all of Google’s other doodles for the London 2012 Olympics, lets the user play as the onscreen paddler. The paddler is set going once the button with the Play sign on it is pressed. After that, the user has to control the speed and the direction of the canoe or the kayak by alternating on the direction keys and while doing so has to take care that the canoe does not dash into any of the hurdles enroute or to the river bank, for they slow down the canoe. 

Google doodles for Slalom Canoe

The words ‘Google’ appear only before you actually hit the Play button.  In fact, the play button itself forms the second ‘O’ in the word Google. Once you hit the Play button, the words Google almost dissolve within, rather artistically. The race ends when the paddler crosses the finish line, and soon the scoreboard appears on the screen, which allows users to either go back to playing the game from start, share it on Google+ or read up on the sport. The page with additional information takes you to the Google page, complete with various news pieces on the sporting event in the London Olympics, and the sport’s schedule. It also includes a Medal Count table, along with brief trivia on the sport. 

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Kayaking to the finishing line

Yesterday, Google presented yet another interactive doodle for basketball at the London Olympics. This interactive doodle allowed you be a basketball player and enjoy the thrill of the game. You began by the hitting the Play sign first, and then pressing the Space bar two times in a row to get the onscreen player to aim for the basket and make the move. At the end of the game, users were presented with a scoreboard, wherein they had the option of either going back to the game, sharing it on Google+ and/or finding out more about the sport at London Olympics 2012. Clicking on the Search option in the scoreboard allowed users to view the entire schedule pertaining to the sport, all the latest news on the sport, along with a little history.

Previously, Google doodled for the London 2012 hurdles. The doodle had you play as the onscreen runner. It showed a runner on a track, who takes his position at the starting point and gets going the minute you hit the button with the Play sign on it. The doodle required you to alternate between the side arrow keys on the keyboard to boost the speed of the on-screen runner and press the Space bar to jump over the hurdles that appear at regular intervals. With the instructions going on side-by-side, even as the athlete runs, you could easily move on from hurdle to hurdle. At the end of the run, a score is flashed and users are given the option to either play the race again, share it on Google+ or quickly get all the information on London 2012 Hurdles.