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!

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?

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! 

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

As usual, most of the time I’m supposed to be writing is taken up by video games. But lately, my writing’s been going swimmingly and as such, I feel I need to remember what the internet is really about: distractions.

First of all, there’s a cute game by Chris Hughes called Spin Spin, where you move the character (appropriately named “Spin”) with the A and D keys and rotate the room with the arrow keys. There’s both an Episode 1and Episode 2 if you’re interested.

If you’re interested in games but feel they don’t have enough logic and reasoning in them, then good news! ir/rational Redux is all about that. It’s extremely clever, forcing you to use logical arguments to advance the story.

Finally, if you’re obsessive (check) and have to unlock every achievement to consider a game “won” (check), then check out Doodle God and its sequel. I guarantee* you’ll never leave your computer again.

Bye-sie daisies!

*guarantee is not a guarantee.

Distractions, Distractions

I like playing video games. I also like the internet because it’s full of people who make great games. They’re innovators who can see past the recycled concepts of the industry and make something actually unique.

One of my favorite things is being able to exploit a concept to create something new. What’s one of the reasons everyone plays video games? To earn achievements and feel validated for 8.2 seconds. Achievement Unlockedexploits the hell out of that. The only purpose is to do things. Walk? Achievement. Die? Achievement. Do nothing? Achievement. It’s a bit of a puzzle in that you have to figure out what to do to obtain that glorious Achievement Unlocked, and you “win” by collecting them all. The sequelis twice as full of meaningless validation. Plus coins to collect, the other reason people play video games.

This Is The Only Levelis made by the same guy, and is a different experience. As the title implies, it’s the same level over and over, but you must beat it another way each time. Some are straightforward (hit the button to open the exit). Some you have to rack your brain (nope, no spoilers; the only clue is in the stage’s title). There is also twosequels if you want more adventures in singularity.

Go! Play meaningless games and rejoice!

Distractions, Distractions

I felt like doing something fun today. Just ‘cause. And also, my contest is still going on. So go leave a comment here before you read on, and then scroll to the bottom of the webpage to enter. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

…

Entered? Good.

First of all, I'm going to be tweaking my posting schedule after today. It's going to be Tuesday (writing), Thursday (etymology) and Saturday (fun). Of course, being me, it's not going to be one hundred percent. This Thursday, for example, is not going to be etymology.

I can sense your dismay through the internet.

Because I love you all so much, I’m sharing another web game with you. You know you want to click on the link. You can minimize what you’re working on for just a few minutes. Just a few.

This game is called Snailiad (a play on the word Iliad, although it’s not about the Trojan War). It stars a cute snail named (wait for it) Snaily Snail, who sets out to learn why some of the other snails have been disappearing. It’s structured like an old-school NES game with saves, health, and of course, precious upgrades.

It’s really a lot of fun. You can spend time exploring every corner or blast through to try to beat the 30 minute speed-run time. It’s not terribly difficult, although it may drive you nuts trying to get 100% map and items. There’s also an optional extra hard mode where you play as Sluggy Slug, without Snaily’s protective shell.

I really love the names.

Enjoy! The game is great. The realization that you’ve spent four hours trying to find that one room that will give you a 100% map…not so much. But still fun.