Video embedded below.
Showing posts with label Game. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Game. Show all posts
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Playing Games to Fight HIV
Gamers were able to find come up with the answer faster than then computers. There is some real potential here.
http://boingboing.net/2011/09/20/playing-games-to-fight-hiv.html
"A couple of years ago, I told you about Foldit, a computer game that harnesses the power of human putzing to help scientists unravel the mysteries of protein structure. There's a new research paper out that uses results from Foldit as a basis for a new proposed structure of a key protein in a virus that is a relative of HIV.
As important as proteins are, we know relatively little about how and why these complex chains of amino acids fold and twist the way they do and how that structure relates to function. Foldit takes advantage of the fact that, given the right rules, people can come up with possible, plausible protein structures far faster than a computer program can factor out all the possible permutations. And that's why Foldit players—citizen scientists of a sort—were so useful in this case."
http://boingboing.net/2011/09/20/playing-games-to-fight-hiv.html
"A couple of years ago, I told you about Foldit, a computer game that harnesses the power of human putzing to help scientists unravel the mysteries of protein structure. There's a new research paper out that uses results from Foldit as a basis for a new proposed structure of a key protein in a virus that is a relative of HIV.
As important as proteins are, we know relatively little about how and why these complex chains of amino acids fold and twist the way they do and how that structure relates to function. Foldit takes advantage of the fact that, given the right rules, people can come up with possible, plausible protein structures far faster than a computer program can factor out all the possible permutations. And that's why Foldit players—citizen scientists of a sort—were so useful in this case."
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Video Game Allows Players to Slaughter "Tea Party Zombies", Republican Politicians, and Fox News Personnel
It is stupid, so very very stupid. Still, I can not help but wonder what the reaction would be if it was Obama and the Dems on the receiving end of Zombie masked slaughter. Somehow I doubt 'silly' and 'stupid' would be descriptive terms used, instead 'racist', 'uncivil' and proof of some elaborate Republican / Tea Party plot to invite someone to actually try something in real life.
Video embedded below.
Video embedded below.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
17-by-17-by-17 Tile Rubik’s Cube
If the standard size Rubik’s Cube no longer offers you the challenge you crave, you should try this unofficial record breaking 17-by-17-by-17 tile Rubik’s cube.
Picture embedded below.
"They said it couldn’t be done, but Oskar van Deventer—a longtime puzzle maker living in the Netherlands—created it anyhow: a 17-by-17-by-17 tile Rubik’s cube that, as far as we know, is an unofficial world record for the world’s largest and most complex Rubik’s puzzle.
Van Deventer, an electrical engineer by trade, didn’t carve out the 1,539 constituent pieces by hand, but rather tapped the increasing availability of 3-D printing technology to manufacture his high-tech puzzle. That’s not to say it was easy; the design itself took more than 60 hours (and three tries) before a successful prototype was printed at Shapeways, an online commercial provider of rapid prototyping technologies. Dyeing the individual pieces required another 10 hours.
The finished product, titled “Over the Top,” is 5.5 inches and 17 tiles long along each side when assembled, blowing the current record of 12-by-12-by-12 out of the water (though, as noted above, this world record is currently unofficial)."
Picture embedded below.
"They said it couldn’t be done, but Oskar van Deventer—a longtime puzzle maker living in the Netherlands—created it anyhow: a 17-by-17-by-17 tile Rubik’s cube that, as far as we know, is an unofficial world record for the world’s largest and most complex Rubik’s puzzle.
Van Deventer, an electrical engineer by trade, didn’t carve out the 1,539 constituent pieces by hand, but rather tapped the increasing availability of 3-D printing technology to manufacture his high-tech puzzle. That’s not to say it was easy; the design itself took more than 60 hours (and three tries) before a successful prototype was printed at Shapeways, an online commercial provider of rapid prototyping technologies. Dyeing the individual pieces required another 10 hours.
The finished product, titled “Over the Top,” is 5.5 inches and 17 tiles long along each side when assembled, blowing the current record of 12-by-12-by-12 out of the water (though, as noted above, this world record is currently unofficial)."
Monday, January 24, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Galactic Inbox (an HTML5 Game Inspired by Gmail)
Galactic Inbox is not on Google itself like Google Pacman was. You have to head over to http://www.monocubed.com/?p=549 to play. You will need an HTML5 supporting browser or it will not work.
http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/galactic-inbox-html5-game-inspired-by.html
"While I’m not on the Gmail team, I felt a little celebration of how far we’ve come was in order, so I wrote a little HTML5 game, in part as a "thank you" to the Gmail team for their ongoing work to improve the webmail galaxy. If you’re into games, or just like the idea of flying m-velopes that shoot bad guys,give it a try (make sure you’re using a modern browser that supports HTML5 first)."
http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/galactic-inbox-html5-game-inspired-by.html
"While I’m not on the Gmail team, I felt a little celebration of how far we’ve come was in order, so I wrote a little HTML5 game, in part as a "thank you" to the Gmail team for their ongoing work to improve the webmail galaxy. If you’re into games, or just like the idea of flying m-velopes that shoot bad guys,give it a try (make sure you’re using a modern browser that supports HTML5 first)."
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Google.com/Pacman
A few days back Google celebrated the 30th anniversary of Pac-Man with their first-ever playable Google doodle. It was so popular the Google decided to make the game permanently available at Google.com/Pacman. To activate two player mode click the "Insert Coin" button twice (the button is just below the search bar).
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/celebrating-pac-mans-30th-birthday.html
"on PAC-MAN’s 30th birthday, you can rediscover some of your 8-bit memories—or meet PAC-MAN for the first time—through our first-ever playable Google doodle. To play the game, go to google.com during the next 48 hours (because it’s too cool to keep for just one day) and either press the “Insert Coin” button or just wait for a few seconds.
Google doodler Ryan Germick and I made sure to include PAC-MAN’s original game logic, graphics and sounds, bring back ghosts’ individual personalities, and even recreate original bugs from this 1980’s masterpiece. We also added a little easter egg: if you throw in another coin, Ms. PAC-MAN joins the party and you can play together with someone else (PAC-MAN is controlled with arrow keys or by clicking on the maze, Ms. PAC-MAN using the WASD keys)."
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/celebrating-pac-mans-30th-birthday.html
"on PAC-MAN’s 30th birthday, you can rediscover some of your 8-bit memories—or meet PAC-MAN for the first time—through our first-ever playable Google doodle. To play the game, go to google.com during the next 48 hours (because it’s too cool to keep for just one day) and either press the “Insert Coin” button or just wait for a few seconds.
Google doodler Ryan Germick and I made sure to include PAC-MAN’s original game logic, graphics and sounds, bring back ghosts’ individual personalities, and even recreate original bugs from this 1980’s masterpiece. We also added a little easter egg: if you throw in another coin, Ms. PAC-MAN joins the party and you can play together with someone else (PAC-MAN is controlled with arrow keys or by clicking on the maze, Ms. PAC-MAN using the WASD keys)."
Friday, March 19, 2010
Creeper World Custom Maps
When I reviewed Creeper World by Knuckle Cracker (game website) I talked about the map editor. Combined with the ability to play other people's maps, it significantly increases the length of play for the game since it removes map repetition.
Here are my custom maps:
Bridge The Gap
Bridge The Gap Extended
Pyramid
Speed Bump
Flood Plain (1000th custom map)
Flat Bed
Waves
Tsunami
Jagged Edge
Creeper Ring
Creeper Pyramid
Artillery 1 (BermanPost)
Artillery 2 (BermanPost)
Artillery 3 (BermanPost)
Artillery 4 (BermanPost)
Elongated Pyramid
Tough Climb
Super Volcano
Hunker Down
Stuck
Creeper Swirl
Creeper Swirl Plus
Segmented Snake
Climbing Lines
Climbing Lines Squared
Running Lines
Any comments about the map are best made on the page devoted to it. You can comment with links to your maps or to maps you found particularly challenging/interesting.
Note: page updated with maps I subsequently make without adding time stamps (time stamps present on the map page itself).
Here are my custom maps:
Bridge The Gap
Bridge The Gap Extended
Pyramid
Speed Bump
Flood Plain (1000th custom map)
Flat Bed
Waves
Tsunami
Jagged Edge
Creeper Ring
Creeper Pyramid
Artillery 1 (BermanPost)
Artillery 2 (BermanPost)
Artillery 3 (BermanPost)
Artillery 4 (BermanPost)
Elongated Pyramid
Tough Climb
Super Volcano
Hunker Down
Stuck
Creeper Swirl
Creeper Swirl Plus
Segmented Snake
Climbing Lines
Climbing Lines Squared
Running Lines
Any comments about the map are best made on the page devoted to it. You can comment with links to your maps or to maps you found particularly challenging/interesting.
Note: page updated with maps I subsequently make without adding time stamps (time stamps present on the map page itself).
Monday, January 11, 2010
Creeper World - by Knuckle Cracker
Creeper World by Knuckle Cracker is a game with a really interesting concept. The enemy is called Creeper and literally flows from Emitters. The Emitters ooze the Creeper which then behaves as a liquid flowing down hill, pooling or filling up holes, and spreading across the map. You would not want to take a bath in the Creeper because it is toxic. If it makes contact with your buildings then your buildings will be destroyed. Most buildings are destroyed instantly when touched by the Creeper, while the Blaster and Mortar can survive for bit. Your duel goal on each level is to protect Odin City (your home base and humanity's last hope) from the Creeper, and to make a connection from Odin City to the Totems. Once all the Totems are connected and powered up a rift will open which Odin City flies through and you win.
The nature of the Emitters means that very early in the game you will get a very good idea of what you are dealing with. That is to say that there are not really many surprises from the enemy. There can be some surprises from Emitters set to start at different points in the game and from Spores. Spores are airborne Creepers that come in waves. You can shoot them down with SAMs or wait for them to hit the ground and deal with the Creeper that are released. Successful Spore impacts do not create Emitters, just release a one time burst of Creeper. Few surprises does not mean it is boring.
Each level you play generally has a three basic phases. The first is to move Odin City to higher ground or a better tactical position if one is available. This will give you extra time to prepare for the flood of Creepers. The second is to mount a defense to keep Odin City safe. The third phase is to push back against the Creeper and connect to the Totems.
When building your base it is important that everything be connected to Odin City. While your military units store some ammo, without a connection and consequently no resupply, they can quickly run out and be rendered useless until that resupply. Civilian buildings stop working if the connection is broken. The connections are formed with Collectors and Relays. Collectors also create energy which is the lifeblood of your base needed to build and to power weapons. Relays are useful to bridge larger gaps but only if connecting to other Relays.
Collectors are limited in their energy collecting by area. Overlapping Collectors will not generate any extra energy. The area is represented by turning the area around them green. Some levels will require more energy then you can produce with Collectors. Reactors are more expensive to build then Collectors, but they produce energy without being limited by area. Storage increases your maximum energy level and Speed increases the rate at which the energy packets move along your network. Those energy packets are how you build (gray), ammo for your weapons (red), and how you charge the Totems (green). They will automatically travel the shortest path to their destination.
To defeat the Creepers you have a few weapons in your arsenal. The Blaster is your best defense against against an advancing Creeper. It kills a single layer with each shot. This means that it is not optimal for dealing with pools of Creeper. Blasters can 'cap' Emitters. Capping means clearing away the Creeper surrounding the Emitter and then the Blaster will kill the Creeper as it is emitted. Blasters are unable to fire at higher terrains. Mortars are your best way of dealing with pools of Creeper. A Mortar shot kills all layers of Creeper within the blast. Their fire rate is much slower then the Blaster and require more energy for each shot. They are not limited by terrain height. SAMs are your only way of protecting yourself against Spores. That is their only function. If the Spore hits the ground it is up to your other weapons to deal with the Creeper they produce. Drones are the equivalent of long range Mortars. They are also the only weapon that needs to be targeted manually, and the only weapon that can be targeted at all. Once you build your Drone it will arm and then will be ready to go on a bombing run. Once it runs out of bombs it will fly home and rearm ready to be redeployed. Like Mortars the Drone's bombs kill all levels of Creeper meaning that they should generally be sent against pools that are out of range of your Mortars. Blasters, Mortars and SAMs can all be moved. There is one more weapon, but it is only available in the last level or on custom maps. It is Thor and it is a super weapon. There is no strategy required with it. Once built just send it at the Creeper and it will obliterate everything in its path.
The game may sound simple because it is easy to understand, but the strategy and tactics involved can get complex. You need to strike the perfect balance. If you try to overbuild early on then you will waist time without enough energy. If you expand to fast you risk insufficient defense and being over run by the Creeper. Expand to slow and you may not have enough energy to mount a successful defense. Stretch your network to far without Speed upgrades and your weapons may be overrun waiting for their ammo resupply.
Creeper World comes with 55 maps, each of which has replayability. If you beat all the levels in the game you get the 'Double Down' option which doubles the Creepers in the Level. There is also a map editor for you to make your own levels and a place were you can review and download other people's maps.
At less then $10 Creeper World is worth the money. If you are on the fence about buying the game you can play a few levels online or download a trial version both for free. You can also create your own map with the map editor without buying the game, but can not play them until you have a full version. You can look at other peoples maps but again need the full version to play them. You can buy the full version for $9.95 and then instantly download it.
Video embedded below.
Update (3/19/2010): My custom maps.
The nature of the Emitters means that very early in the game you will get a very good idea of what you are dealing with. That is to say that there are not really many surprises from the enemy. There can be some surprises from Emitters set to start at different points in the game and from Spores. Spores are airborne Creepers that come in waves. You can shoot them down with SAMs or wait for them to hit the ground and deal with the Creeper that are released. Successful Spore impacts do not create Emitters, just release a one time burst of Creeper. Few surprises does not mean it is boring.
Each level you play generally has a three basic phases. The first is to move Odin City to higher ground or a better tactical position if one is available. This will give you extra time to prepare for the flood of Creepers. The second is to mount a defense to keep Odin City safe. The third phase is to push back against the Creeper and connect to the Totems.
When building your base it is important that everything be connected to Odin City. While your military units store some ammo, without a connection and consequently no resupply, they can quickly run out and be rendered useless until that resupply. Civilian buildings stop working if the connection is broken. The connections are formed with Collectors and Relays. Collectors also create energy which is the lifeblood of your base needed to build and to power weapons. Relays are useful to bridge larger gaps but only if connecting to other Relays.
Collectors are limited in their energy collecting by area. Overlapping Collectors will not generate any extra energy. The area is represented by turning the area around them green. Some levels will require more energy then you can produce with Collectors. Reactors are more expensive to build then Collectors, but they produce energy without being limited by area. Storage increases your maximum energy level and Speed increases the rate at which the energy packets move along your network. Those energy packets are how you build (gray), ammo for your weapons (red), and how you charge the Totems (green). They will automatically travel the shortest path to their destination.
To defeat the Creepers you have a few weapons in your arsenal. The Blaster is your best defense against against an advancing Creeper. It kills a single layer with each shot. This means that it is not optimal for dealing with pools of Creeper. Blasters can 'cap' Emitters. Capping means clearing away the Creeper surrounding the Emitter and then the Blaster will kill the Creeper as it is emitted. Blasters are unable to fire at higher terrains. Mortars are your best way of dealing with pools of Creeper. A Mortar shot kills all layers of Creeper within the blast. Their fire rate is much slower then the Blaster and require more energy for each shot. They are not limited by terrain height. SAMs are your only way of protecting yourself against Spores. That is their only function. If the Spore hits the ground it is up to your other weapons to deal with the Creeper they produce. Drones are the equivalent of long range Mortars. They are also the only weapon that needs to be targeted manually, and the only weapon that can be targeted at all. Once you build your Drone it will arm and then will be ready to go on a bombing run. Once it runs out of bombs it will fly home and rearm ready to be redeployed. Like Mortars the Drone's bombs kill all levels of Creeper meaning that they should generally be sent against pools that are out of range of your Mortars. Blasters, Mortars and SAMs can all be moved. There is one more weapon, but it is only available in the last level or on custom maps. It is Thor and it is a super weapon. There is no strategy required with it. Once built just send it at the Creeper and it will obliterate everything in its path.
The game may sound simple because it is easy to understand, but the strategy and tactics involved can get complex. You need to strike the perfect balance. If you try to overbuild early on then you will waist time without enough energy. If you expand to fast you risk insufficient defense and being over run by the Creeper. Expand to slow and you may not have enough energy to mount a successful defense. Stretch your network to far without Speed upgrades and your weapons may be overrun waiting for their ammo resupply.
Creeper World comes with 55 maps, each of which has replayability. If you beat all the levels in the game you get the 'Double Down' option which doubles the Creepers in the Level. There is also a map editor for you to make your own levels and a place were you can review and download other people's maps.
At less then $10 Creeper World is worth the money. If you are on the fence about buying the game you can play a few levels online or download a trial version both for free. You can also create your own map with the map editor without buying the game, but can not play them until you have a full version. You can look at other peoples maps but again need the full version to play them. You can buy the full version for $9.95 and then instantly download it.
Video embedded below.
Update (3/19/2010): My custom maps.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Mind Control Now Literally Child's Play (Mind Flex [MindFlexGames.com])
Ok; 'Mind Control' might be a stretch, but not the 'Child's Play'. I have not played Mind Flex, but the description and reviews say the same thing. You need to focus to levitate the ball. Your level of focus effects the speed of a fan under the ball, and thus effects the height. Depending on the board set up, you need to get the ball to different heights at different points of the track to win. Head over to MindFlexGames.com to learn more.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Avalanche
In Avalanche you play a white rectangle scrambling to reach higher ground as a red liquid rises from below. If the liquid reaches you then you lose. To get higher you have to jump on two different size square blocks that are constantly falling from the sky. Do not let them land on you because they will crush you.
Use the arrow keys to move around. Pressing in the direction of a block while you are touching the side of it will result in a slow sliding decent instead of a quick fall. You can jump from the slide. You can not double jump in the air. In some situations you may have to climb up a side by slide jumping a few times before landing at the top. There is no side to the board, jumping through either side will result in you instantly coming out the other at the same height.
Play Avalanche at http://www.deadwhale.com/play.php?game=93.
Use the arrow keys to move around. Pressing in the direction of a block while you are touching the side of it will result in a slow sliding decent instead of a quick fall. You can jump from the slide. You can not double jump in the air. In some situations you may have to climb up a side by slide jumping a few times before landing at the top. There is no side to the board, jumping through either side will result in you instantly coming out the other at the same height.
Play Avalanche at http://www.deadwhale.com/play.php?game=93.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
99 Bricks
99 Bricks is a game made by Weird Beard (http://www.weirdbeard.nl/en/#/bricks). At first glance, it seems tetris in nature, but the game play is much different. As the name suggests, you get 99 tetris style pieces Each time you play. The brick fall slowly one by one. You have a solid 8 piece wide base to build on with a bottomless pit extending infinitely on either side. The goal of the game is to build a tower as high as you can using your 99 pieces.
The left key moves the current piece a half space to the left if you consider a space the length of an individual square. The right key moves the current piece a half space to the right. Up changes the orientation of the piece, just like standard tetris. Down moves you down slightly faster, but their is no instant drop in the game. Holding the "z" key zooms out so you can see your entire tower, and pressing "c" destroys the current piece. You do not get a replacement. Pressing "c" is the equivalent of moving way off the the side so it never touches your tower nor hits the base.
Sounds easy, but reaching skyward is not as simple as it sounds. Once your piece touches anything you lose control of it and you get a knew one. Gravity is in effect, so if you do not have a stable base your tower can wobble and topple. Holes or gaps in your tower to not deduct from your score as the only thing that matters is the maximum height you were able to achieve. To many of the wrong types of holes make for a weak tower that will collapse before reaching that far up. So you have to get the right balance. To solid a base and you will not have enough pieces to reach up high. To weak a base and your tower will collapse before reaching that high.
My high score thus far is 745.
To play head over to http://www.kongregate.com/games/weirdbeardgames/99-bricks.
The left key moves the current piece a half space to the left if you consider a space the length of an individual square. The right key moves the current piece a half space to the right. Up changes the orientation of the piece, just like standard tetris. Down moves you down slightly faster, but their is no instant drop in the game. Holding the "z" key zooms out so you can see your entire tower, and pressing "c" destroys the current piece. You do not get a replacement. Pressing "c" is the equivalent of moving way off the the side so it never touches your tower nor hits the base.
Sounds easy, but reaching skyward is not as simple as it sounds. Once your piece touches anything you lose control of it and you get a knew one. Gravity is in effect, so if you do not have a stable base your tower can wobble and topple. Holes or gaps in your tower to not deduct from your score as the only thing that matters is the maximum height you were able to achieve. To many of the wrong types of holes make for a weak tower that will collapse before reaching that far up. So you have to get the right balance. To solid a base and you will not have enough pieces to reach up high. To weak a base and your tower will collapse before reaching that high.
My high score thus far is 745.
To play head over to http://www.kongregate.com/games/weirdbeardgames/99-bricks.
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