High Five 5000
logo for High Five 5000
“Get ready to slap those claws and paws! It’s time for...High Five 5000!”
- in-game announcer
High Five 5000 is a co-operative competitive action-adventure informal greeting simulator video game. In the most popular game mode, two teams of two players compete against each other to achieve the best high five. It is a popular esport, even though the annual tournaments only offer rare Xebec cards to the winners in place of a cash prize.
High Five 5000 received praise for the depth of its game mechanics, lifelike hand animations, action-adventure co-operative story mode, extensive lore, and “bridging the divide between humans and lizard people,” according to Esther Heppenstall of The New New York Times.
Origin and Growth
At the start of the Lizard Apocalypse, lizard people were often persecuted against for simply being lizard people like the Lizard King. This was racist and unfair, as not all lizard people support the Lizard King. Lizard video game developer ßkqqlth and human video game developer Donald Barrett sought to help people put aside their differences through a co-operative video game experience. They created High Five 5000 together and released it.
The video game industry was in a bit of a dry spell due to the loss of the internet. High Five 5000 started small, selling at pop-up booths outside Los Angeles Clawsco locations (with the company’s permission), but steadily grew in popularity. At tournaments, humans and lizard people were required to play on teams together due to the nature of the game. Friendships developed, and humanity started to see lizard people weren’t all like the Lizard King.
Gameplay
In an interview, ßkqqlth once described the game as “a cross between Smash Bros. and the written portion of the California driver’s permit test.” Teammates square off as if about to fight each other, but after a split-second of complex button inputs, high five each other instead. High fives are graded on a scale of 150-5000 points, though a perfect 5000 is nearly impossible to achieve. In between high five matches against opposing teams, players can explore the world and learn secret handshake moves from NPCs, which they can combine into a myriad of different combinations with their teammate for more points in matches.
Live Action Film adaptation
A live action film adaptation was critically panned for “relying too heavily on CGI for the high five effects” (film reviewer for The New New New York Times).
Perfect Score
The only team to ever achieve a perfect score of 5000 is Fungini, the ancient mushroom woman magician. Fungini’s subterranean mycelium network can manifest multiple physical human-sized bodies at once to operate the controls of both teammates. This perfect synchronicity allows Fungini to accomplish a perfect score in every match. She has never competed in a tournament, because she doesn’t collect Xebec cards.