Scary Games

I love the Halloween season! Everything’s spooky. It just feels so on brand for me. Now, I don’t have as many games to share with you this year, but I do have a few I thought were unsettling in very different ways.

The first one is called Escape from the Haunted Room and… yeah, that’s what you’re supposed to do. There are a few puzzles, but I didn’t have any trouble figuring them out. Mostly it was just creepy. There are some jump scares, especially at the end, but the real scare is the atmosphere. It always feels like there’s something in the corner of your eye and then when you look, it’s gone.

Next is 33, which is very different, and someone even described it more as “interactive art” than a game, something I agree with. You’re in a room, and in order to get money to buy things, you have to kill others. In this case, the horror is in what you’re doing.

In that vein is also Presentable Liberty, where you play someone who is locked in a room during a plague and only receives occasional correspondence from a few people, including one who really, really doesn’t want to let you out. You can play some mini-games to pass the time between letters, which slowly reveal the plot to you. Again, it’s less of a game and more along the lines of a visual novel, but it’s very creepy. Especially when the opportunity to escape comes up… Now, this one actually costs money, but you can pay whatever you choose and it is worth kicking a few bucks to them.

So I guess that’s all for this year. Anything spooky come your way?

It’s Just A Game Two

Back in February I posted about a quick, fun game that purports just to be Tic Tac Toe… until you play a few rounds and the game starts cheating and it becomes sort of a puzzle where you have to figure out how to outthink the game. I liked it! It only took me about fifteen minutes to beat the first time, too, so it was quick. And now there’s a sequel!

This game is called Tic Tac Two and the first time I played it I was disappointed. It was just like extended levels from the first one. Fun, yeah, but not original like the first one had been. Then I found out I was giving up too soon. See, the first time it flashes the “Thanks For Playing!” screen, you’re not done! You wait and it takes you to a bunch more levels with more unique gameplay, just like the first one.

So yeah, this is one sequel that managed to live up to the first one. It was a lot of fun, and if you have some free time, go check it out!

Art

Do you like art? Do you like parodies? What about parodies of art? Will that work for you?

Over on Newgrounds there’s a guy named Munguia who makes games where you look at a caricature he drew of a well-known painting and try to guess which painting it’s from. Some of them are easy. I mean, you’re not going to have any trouble figuring out when it’s supposed to be the Mona Lisa. And if you really need help, there’s also a button so you can look at the real version of the painting. Or just, you know, google it.

Anyway, it’s a nice way to go look at some paintings for a few hours. And more importantly, I don’t have to think up a real post! Win-win. Here’s the links:

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Quality Over Quantity

Today I’m talking about a game which… kind of isn’t a game? It’s more of a visual novel that plays like a game in some places. There’s a bit of exploring, but mostly you’re walking around areas and experiencing narrative. So it’s like a book, but also like a game, which of course appeals to me on several levels.

The game I’m referring to specifically is called What Remains of Edith Finch, and involves the titular character’s return to her childhood home and unlocking the histories of her family, of which she is the last. You find different things around the house, letters, notes, even a comic book, that let you experience the last moments of Edith’s seemingly cursed to die young family. It’s an expertly crafted story that leaves you thinking about what you experienced.

In all, it takes under two hours to complete, which kind of makes the $20 price tag on Steam seem a bit hefty in spite of the beautiful visuals. However there are plenty of commentary-free play throughs on YouTube if you want to watch for yourself. Thoroughly recommended.

Standing Idly By

Time for another game recommendation, because I’m sure I’m a huge influencer in this regard.

Have you heard of idle games? AKA incremental/clickers games? They’re games that you play for a bit to set things up, then leave idle to rack up points or whatever that you then spend to… earn more efficiently. Look, it’s more fun than it sounds.

A month or so ago I found a game called Idle Evolution, which is actually less about evolution and more about collecting atoms, which you can use for a variety of purposes, one of which is making compounds that somehow advance evolution on a planet. Yeah, it doesn’t make much sense scientifically. But still, I had fun with it. I haven’t played anything like it before and it appeals to the chemistry nerd in me.

There are actually two versions of the game, one on Newgrounds, which is basically a beta/scaled down version of the paid (four dollars) Steam version. The Steam one is obviously better as it has added mini-games to make the waiting less boring, and also it’s much, much faster in terms of getting through the game. It takes like fifteen hours of gameplay to get through it in Steam; I haven’t actually finished the browser version because as you progress further it gets sooooo sloooooow. Basically it’s what you want to play if you want to see if you’ll like the full version.

It has some flaws, like things taking forever sometimes and the translation—the creator doesn’t speak English and it shows in places. But it’s worth the four bucks it costs and I love that you’re unlocking a periodic table piece by piece. I hear there’s a sequel as well, but it’s not on Steam unfortunately so I can’t check it out. Oh well.

You played any fun games lately? What do you do when you want to waste time?

Another Game

Didn’t I used to do regular posts full of distractions? I should start doing that again. And I am. Here’s another game, Planaris.

I like the creativity of this game, taking something familiar and going in another direction with it. It’s like Tetris in a way, both in the shapes of the pieces you’re given and the fact that you’re supposed to gain points by clearing lines. But the pieces don’t fall down and when a line is cleared it doesn’t drop down, which also means that you don’t lose when you hit the top.

Instead, you can move the pieces anywhere and when you clear a line, everything stays where it was. You don’t lose until there’s no spaces left for you to fit a piece into. Also the fact that everything doesn’t drop down means that if you clear a single line along the bottom, then you’ll have a hard time getting pieces that can fit in there.

The description for this game says it’s “easy to learn but difficult to master.” And while most of the time I think that’s overstating things, in this case it’s perfectly accurate. If you want something really challenging, then this is the game for you. It might also be good if you want to kill five minutes, and I wouldn’t call it super addictive, but that’s a YMMV thing.

That means Your Mileage May Vary. I’ve been on TV Tropes recently and they use that a lot. Don’t click that link though. You’ll never leave. I shouldn’t have even brought it up but it was on my mind.

Just A Game

Got another game for you today because I’d rather go write than think up a real post.

The fact that the name insists “It’s Just TIC TAC TOE” is what made me check it out. It is an ordinary game. It doesn’t even have a very hard to beat AI… at first.

It’s a really short game. I think it took me ten minutes to figure out all the levels. It’s very interesting and creative, and my only real complaint is that it is so short that it leaves me wanting more. I definitely hope to see another game like this someday.

So go take a break and have some fun!

Tis The Season (To Be Impossible)

It’s almost the end of the year! That means it’s time to slack off even more than usual!

There’s a game/torture device called the Impossible Quiz (as well as two sequels) and this year, just in time for the holiday, the creator put out a new Quiz, and this one is Christmas themed.

Now, being called impossible, it’s not supposed to be easy. Or even make sense. There are time limits on some questions that straight up end the game if you fail, oh, and others you’re not supposed to answer by clicking one of the four answers given but do something else entirely.

It’s extremely frustrating. Which is good preparation for having to spend time with your family. Go enjoy it and try not to break your computer.

Happy Nondescript Winter Holiday!

Short and Spooky

This was Liz’s idea, prompted from last week’s mention of two-sentence short stories. These ones are written by yours truly.

My Two-Sentence Short Stories

Last night, I was alone in the house and so I double checked to make sure everything was locked up tight. Then when I was in bed trying to sleep, I heard the window next to me sliding open.

The doctors wouldn’t believe me when I told them there were spiders in my skull. They changed their minds when I drilled a hole in my head and they came pouring out.

After hours of scratching, I clawed my way out of my grave. But everyone ran away when they saw the decomposing flesh falling off my body.

That’s what I came up with! Can you think of a good two-sentence short story? And to finish off Halloween month, here’s a puzzle game where you dip a pumpkin in inks in an attempt to create a certain pattern. It’s super cute and fairly easy, although the higher levels will take some thinking to figure out. The only real drawback is that there’s only sixteen levels.

Happy Halloween!

Scary Games

Because it’s that time of year again.

You Find Yourself In A Room

Not so much scary as it is psychological, this game is a text based adventure, where you type in words and the game responds almost like a story. Except in this case the game hates you. There are a few puzzles, but they are very simple. Mostly it’s just typing “look” and the game yelling at you. Anyway, it’s a fun, if weird, way to pass the time. Be warned, there is some swearing in this.

Don’t Escape

In a twist on the escape the room genre, in these three games you want to be locked in as securely as possible. They’re a mix of time management and point-and-click, and manage to be both tense and enjoyable. Go check them out when you have some time.

Deep Sleep

I’ve actually mentioned this game and its sequel before, but now the third and final game is out and you can play through the entire series. They are very atmospheric games, Lovecraftian almost. You know, without the racism.

You doing anything Halloween-y this month? Anything scary you want to share? 

293 Keys

I found a game. In it, all you do is search through a pile of keys and try them in a lock until one fits. Then you leave and see how many tries it took you.

That’s it. Seriously.

It’s the stupidest, most pointless game ever. The controls are wonky (don’t knock a key off the cliff before you’ve tried it), it’s not a particularly attractive game, and there’s literally nothing to do except put keys in the lock.

So why can’t I stop playing it??

Have you ever been unable to stop doing anything pointless? What’s the most addictive dumb game you’ve ever found?

Games, Halloween Edition

Since it’s October, it’s time to share all the spooky things I’ve come across! I’ve found two really good game series and hey, both are horror based, so this is the perfect time to play.

The first is called Cube Escape by Rusty Lake. There are a total of nine games where you play a protagonist trying to, well, escape. The cube part comes from the fact that you’re generally confined to one or two rooms and you have to solve puzzles and put clues together in order to proceed. However small it sounds, it’s really bigger than you think. For example, in Seasons (arguably the best one) you’re only in one room, but through a sort of time-travel, you’re really exploring four different places.

For the most part, I’d say you’d be able to play through them with no problem, but I used a walkthrough to get through three of them (The Mill, Harvey’s Box, and Case 23) as they were a bit…dense, you could say, with the puzzles, occasionally even requiring passwords from previous games. But they are really fun, creepy, and hey, they’re free, so it’s not like it will cost you anything.

The second series I found is only two games, and it’s actually text based. In Playing With Letters and its sequel, A Sweet Typing Thrill, you have to figure out what word to type in in order to move on. The title of each “level” gives you a hint for a code you need to crack. Sometimes it’s an anagram, sometimes it’s a riddle, and in the second one, you have to use a lot of the Rotate 13 cipher (do yourself a favor and google it right away to make things easier). Both also have a secret ending you get by cracking a code from the song used (it’s mentioned right below the author’s name) and in the second, the title itsef. Well, if you need help with that, thankfully there are walkthroughs.

But be warned, the storyline is very dark, full of death and murder. Even if it’s only text, if that’s not you’re thing then you should give it a pass.

Colors

Okay, this totally isn’t the color partition post. The title is a bit of a tease. Sorry, but I’ve been too busy doing the actual editing to write a post about it. Maybe next week. Oh, wait. That’s Christmas. Then there’s New Year’s. Hm. I guess you’re going to have to wait until 2015. I think you’ll survive.

So why is this post so titled? Well, it’s because I stumbled across a fun, addictive, as-complex-as-it-is-simple, game.

The object of this Chinese-born game is to find the one square that is colored differently from the others. For the first ten levels, it’s pretty easy to do. Then the grids get large and the colors vary so slightly that it’s nearly impossible. There are no penalties if you click the wrong square, but the entire thing is timed so you try to get through as many levels as possible in under sixty seconds. I’ve only been able to get up to level 27, and that was a lucky shot : ). Be careful. This is one of those things you do that you say to yourself, “Well, I’ll just do it one more time.” and then it’s 3 a.m. and you’ve given up pretending you’re not trying to find the end of an endless game.

The game is absolute genius. What level did you reach?

More Zombies

It’s been a while since I’ve done an apocalypse post. And although I said I’ve done enough with zombies…there’s just so much material to go on. So here’s the best free zombie games I’ve come across.

The Sagittarian 1, 2, 3, 4a, 4b

I really like the author’s (Hyptosis) other works, the fairy tale reimaginings Hood and Aliceis Dead, so I was glad to give his zombie games a try. They’re choose-your-own adventure-like in style, making it more like a story than a game. He also just came out with another story set in the zombie wasteland called Riverside. You’ll have fun trying to pick an option that won’t end with you dead : ).

i saw her standing there

The I isn’t capitalized on purpose. That’s how it’s written. Anyway, this is a platformer with stick figures, where a guy is in love with a girl, but she’s a zombie now, so he has to keep luring her into a cage. Hey, it’s not trying to be a healthy relationship. There’s also a sequel. With lasers.

Shadow Tag

Okay, these aren’t really zombies, but creepy children trying to kill you. And really, is there that much of a difference between children and zombies? No. No there isn’t. Anyway, the point in this game is to find everything you need to escape a creepy cabin (keys, gas, etc.) and not get nabbed by the children. And you better not let your flashlight run out of batteries.

Zombie Survival Quiz

No listing of free zombie games would be complete without a zombie survival quiz. It’s different from the last quiz I shared with you, with a lot more questions, and it gives you a Physical, Mental, Experience, and Emotional Rating. My physical was a B and my mental was a C, which I really think should be the other way around. My experience was a C (probably because I don’t know much about guns) and emotional was an F (oh, come on!!). You can also look at the answers when you’re done to see which ones are the best.

Distractions from Writing

More specifically, distractions from editing, because man, that isn’t fun. I’ve mentioned more than one of these before, but

My favorite distraction du jour is called Pixelo. The game is a version of what’s known as Nonograms, where you have a grid and you use the numbers above and along the side to determine which squares should be colored and which should be left blank. If you do decide to try this, I recommend ignoring the tutorial, which is needlessly confusing (the developer doesn’t seem to speak English, which means the translations aren’t great). It’s perfect if you like logic puzzles similar to Sudoku.

The Impossible Quiz. It’s not totally impossible, but I haven’t beaten it yet. It’s crass and weird at times, but funny and constantly making you think outside the box (sometimes literally) in order to answer a question. Some of the questions are easy (running the mouse over a cat to “pet” it), some are frustrating (having 0.5 seconds to click on something so you don’t lose the game), and others just require you to do as instructed (click “the answer” to continue). Oh, and there was a sequel.

The Company of Myself. Okay, this is a game for people who like simple platform games but also a deep story (all twelve of you?). The gameplay is easy and the puzzles challenging enough to keep your attention.

Doodle God. Like the Impossible Quiz, there’s a lot of random chance in it as you match different elemental representations (fire, water, earth, etc.) together in order to make something new. There’s over a hundred things to make, so it will take a lot of guessing to get one hundred percent completion. If you really haven’t had enough after the first game, you can try the sequel.

Say goodbye to productivity.

I swear, this isn’t part of an evil scheme to distract all the other writers.

Heh heh.

Spaced Out

I like space. Outer space. I think it’s cool. I’m absolutely terrified of the thought of actually going there, though. I prefer to observe it on my nice, atmosphere-covered planet. Luckily there are braver people than me to do that.

First we have a game, Cosmic Crush and its sequel are a lot of fun. You play as a rock and smash into smaller stuff to grow, becoming a planet, a yellow star, a red giant, and even a galaxy. I like the control in the first one better because you can use the arrow keys, but the second one, where you have to use the mouse to move, is longer and otherwise has better gameplay.

Scale of the Universe isn’t a game, really, but it’s interactive so that’s what it’s called on Newgrounds. I’ve mentioned it before—it’s filled with information on various things that you look at by moving a scale along the bottom. You can go as small as quantum foam, the theoretical foundation of the universe, but what I really like is the right end of the scale, when it talks about various planets, stars, nebulae, and galaxies. You can see the distance from the sun to Pluto, which happens to be greater than the largest known star.

Science Daily has tons of articles on planets outside the solar system, black holes, and astrophysics. There’s also the Hubble telescope’s website, which might as well be called “Cool Space Photos Daily”. Cracked also has some good space articles from time to time, that are pretty well-researched and full of cool pictures, which include things like the planet made of diamond and the space cloud of raspberry rum. I’m not making that up. It’s totally a thing.

Anyway, I like space. I only regret not having any good ideas for stories that take place there.

Later! 

Winter Break

Thanksgiving is coming, which means I have to prepare for dealing with (shudder) my family, so fair warning: my posts this week are going to be very lazy. No thinking things through, proofreading or fact checking at all. I’m not even going to try to be interesting. I mean, it’s not like my blog stats can get that much worse.

You know what? I’m not even going to post anything else. Instead, I’m going to send you to Newgrounds again to play a puzzle game about sheep. It also has several sequels, which I also advise playing, including one in space. You better go play the games because I’ll be expecting a report on my desk by Monday.

Wait…where the hell did that come from?

All right, no more making posts at midnight.

Random Thoughts

---Dolphins might have better memories than elephants. I think this means we have to change that old saying.

---Hawaii is moving towards Japan at a rate of about four inches a year. Those thieves!

---Quint: to deliberately insult someone who is fishing for a compliment. And my new favorite thing.

---An animal control officer was found with 850 snakes in his apartment. I’m thinking he doesn’t understand the purpose of his job.

---Wait…pasty is a food? I only knew it as…something else.

---I’m surprised there aren’t more sci-fi works with titles that start with a Q. The letter just naturally lends itself to sci-fi, like X and Z.

---“Man fails trying to cross Atlantic via balloon cluster”. No! Really?

---Whenever I get to hoping for humanity, I remember that there are still people out there who think Onion stories are real.

---“For each person, there is a sentence—a series of words—which has the power to destroy them.” Screw quint. THIS is my new favorite thing.

---“Scientists run dinosaur wind-tunnel tests”. They had dinosaurs and didn’t tell us?!!

---“Jon Gosslin threatens photog with gun”. Oh no! I scrolled down too far in my news feed and accidentally got into Entertainment “news”.

---I read a game review that claimed GTA V was ruined by “stubborn violence and sexism”. While the violence and sexism part is completely true, what did this guy expect the game to be about? If you’re going to protest the violence and sexism in GTA, go ahead and do it, but don’t act like that’s not what every GTA game ever has been full of.

---James Blunt was a captain in the British Army. Yes, that James Blunt.

---A guy actually computed what the difference is between a geek and a nerd. Apparently, a geek is someone who likes movies, television shows, and comics while a nerd is someone with interests in science and mathematics. I’m assuming this means the guy who made said computation is a total nerd.

Stick Figure Appreciation Day

Is this a real day or am I just making it up? If it’s not real, it definitely should be.

One thing I like about stick figures is that you don’t have to be good at drawing to make them (as I’ve plainly illustrated more than once and am going to do again in the future). What’s really amazing is how creative people can be with the most simple of tools. You don’t need illustratively detailed characters to entertain as long as you make up for it in other ways. Sometimes the simple figures even make it better.

Best Stick Figure Comics I’ve Come Across:

Explosm.net is home to Cyanide & Happiness (the name? from this), a comic by four guys trying to outdo each other in I-can’t-believe-you-just-said-that. Fair warning: none of this it is safe for work. I probably should have mentioned that before the links, huh?

Then of course there’s XKCD. At times it’s also NSFW, but then there’s also the home of Etymology Man. Also, a lifehack for writers (especially of fantasy) who need to remember that books don’t need words made up by the author.

Best Stick Figure Games I’ve Come Across:

The best is probably Stealing the Diamond, from the people who brought you Breaking the Bankand Escaping the Prison. They’re kind of less games and more choose your own adventure stories in flash format. They’re also totally worth your time. A more game-like game is Continuity, a puzzle game that requires literal outside-the-box thinking. Finally, if none of those are morbid enough for you, there’s Causality!, a game where the point is to find a way to kill all the stick figures in the fewest amount of clicks. It must be popular, as there have been five sequels.

Simple isn’t always better, but it sure is in these. Have fun!

Distractions, Distractions

Yay! Online games! Since my television is being fixed and the down button on my Gameboy broke, this is the only thing I have to keep stop me from jumping in front of a bus. Oh, and my family or whatever.

How I miss TV.

Um, anyway! The holidays are fast approaching and I’m sure you’ve been looking for more ways to goof off. I know I have.

If you like puzzle games, you might enjoy Stream Master Unlimited. The purpose of the game is to connect the two matching colors on a grid. It’s really easy when the grid is small and there’s only six colors. Then you get to a twelve by twelve grid with eleven colors and you start to marvel at the complexity of the game.

Because I spend way too much time on Newgrounds, I’m also a huge fan of the RedRemover games. They’re super fun. Like the title says, you try to remove the red blocks using as few clicks as possible, something that may sound simple but is complicated by the physics the game throws at you. It’s also available on your iPhone if you’re interested.

Finally, I really enjoyed the game Huebrix. It’s another that starts out simple (you have a color and a certain amount of squares to paint). But then you have multiple colors, squares you must hit with a particular shade, one way squares, squares that can’t be colored at all. Trust me, it’s more logical than it sounds. Fun, too.

Seriously, I’m two steps from finding my book turned into pages and pages of ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKE JACK A DULL BOY. You might think it doesn’t make sense since I’m a woman and my name isn’t Jack but when you get to this point, you see what he had in mind. See? No, of course you don’t.

I should probably go before I start raving. Goof off for a while. It’s the weekend. You shouldn’t even be reading this!