The Code Games News Report 04.13.07
Posted by Shawn Struck on 04.13.2007
The Most Insane Super Mario Bros. Hack Ever, The Coolest Financial Demostration Ever, and The Classiest Lead Story In The History Of The Code! Go on, ca-click it. You know you wanna!
First came the stomach cramps. Then the coughing fits. Then watery eyes, almost no energy, and then high fever.
This means I'm fighting ... The Cold.
But I'll power through it to get you all.. The Code.
Nothing Says "Classy" Like A Lead Story In A Column Relating To Fart Jokes!
Just click the game-image to start-- while the game text is all in the same moon-man language as that Flash cartoon about the bunny and the cat falling in love, it's pretty easy to figure out the controls through trail and error.
According to a knowledgable source, The space bar literally says "tongpangu" - a wet one, in other words. Save that for when you really need it!
Wha-a-a-a-at? Look, I missed April Fool's last week, so I'm making up for it now.
NO, wait, don't be like that, baby! Listen, I'll make it up to you. Have a double... no, wait, a TRIPLE shot! On the house.
A Triple Shot of This Week's "Now That's Cool":
1) US housing prices graph as a rollercoaster (Thanks, Jason Kottke!)
Did you know that before Google swallowed YouTube whole, you could find some pretty interesting videos on Google Video itself? It's true.
Want cold, hard proofroof?
No? Uh, how about prrof that's fun to look at? In video game form?
Well, artists SpeculativeBubble have taken a line graph of American housing prices from 1890 to the present day, then rebuilt the slopes, peakes and valleys of that graph into a rollercoaster design using the create-a-coaster feature of RollerCoaster Tycoon.
My interest was piqued thanks to my wife's love of nearly all things Tycoon; however, watching the video with its ups and downs just made me feel a little broke and mildy motion-sick.
"But IronheadShawn, I don't get it!" you cry. "It's some kinda art reference! And I don't understand that crazy moon-man language is or what it says! I think 'Wiimote' is a cute, fresh and original neogolism!"
3) Show Off Your Video Game Cred With Badges Of Honor (via Joystiq)
Sure, you could use this super-cool line of gaming-themed buttons from Prickie to spruce up a favorite knapsack or family pet. But there are enough oddball items on here that you may want to use them to show off your (literal) videogame ownage. Are you tired of having to tell people about your QuickShot II Turbo to earn street nerd cred?
Man, I could get a bunch of these pins, and, like pin 'em to my denim jacket. And then go have some New Coke.
And I'll Form The Head: Riced-Out Otaku Cars (via BoingBoing)
If I had a "Now That's Sad" section, I might be tempted to post the following. From a recent BoingBoing post:
The cars [below] are the subject of a new Japanese mook called Itasha Road 2007.
From Pink Tentacle:
Itasha are cars decorated with decals and paint jobs depicting anime, game and manga characters. The word itasha, which literally means "painful car," is derived from the kanji for itai ("painful") and sha ("car"). The word also appears to be a reference to the Italian sportscar, also known as itasha (although the ita for Italian is spelled with katakana instead of kanji), a conventional sort of chick magnet driven by a different sort of guy.
"The Sands of Crime"23 Minutes Of Thinking "This Is Funny Because It's Not Me!"
Seriously, the dude who put together this mod must be the interior design for, like, hell or something
.
"Please, I Have No Time For Those Who Are Educated Stupid!" (via Grand Text Auto)
Hybrid: the roleplaying game. A Timecube style "role playing game." Now, technically, this is for one o'them pen-and-paper style RPGS. But it's so batshit-insane that geeks of any stripe will have to just sit and gape at the trainwreck. Watch, here's a random example:
Rule # 550: There are 5 parts to this rule. Based on my Rule # 3 & Rule # 6, this: {(0,0) END} is a human, usually a male human, at least in this rpg HYBRID, since women are too complicated to make in my rpg, since creating women in my rpg requires politically incorrect math...
Swear to Dog, you can't make this stuff up. Unless you're, uh, "special".
Online game out to incubate generosity in teens (via Colleen Brinkman)
This one was sent by, of all people, a co-worker of mine at the non-proft I work for (the North Texas Food Bank), comes word of a New York-based
nonprofit hoping to strike a philanthropic spark with Karma Tycoon, a new online game that aims to entertain teens while also giving them an
appreciation for the business side of charitable works Pretty fascinating stuff; you can find out more here!
Welcome To A Dungeon...
"Illidan is an arrogant fool! I will crush him and reclaim Outland as my own." This ominous threat is familiar to anyone who has ventured into the Blood Furnace, one of the first new instances in Outland. Magtheridon, the former lord of this shattered world, has been imprisoned and his blood is being siphoned to create an army of fel orcs. Magtheridon's rage is directed at his jailor - Illidan the Betrayer - and his furious shouts are issuing from somewhere in Hellfire Citadel. The Insider recently took a tour of one of the fearsome new raid encounters in The Burning Crusade - Magtheridon's Lair - and came back to tell the tale..."
Andrew Mellick's THE SIXAXIS covers phone calls on the PSP, plus romored price drops. After reading this report, y'know what also dropped? My jaw.
Fact or Fiction:, with Greg Bruno and Damian Sarcuni in a cage match versus The No-Longer Big Show and Hulk Hogan, sure to... oh, wait, I'm sorry. That's been cancelled. They'll just talk about the freshest video game opinions instead.
Cory Moore's The Fun Factor covers Animal Crossing: Wild World on the DS! If I hadn't accidentally let my DS go through the spin cycle in the washing machine I'd be playing it right now. Even though that bastard Tom Nook owns my firstborn children. SAD FACE.
Damian Sarcuni, our very own Angry Gamer, brings you another edition of Angry Gaming. This week, he shows you the varied ways you can game and be healthy, instead of cramming more Twinkies down your gullet. That reminds me, where the hell did I put my Twinkies?
Joshua Richey presents The Digital Pulse, which takes the pulse of the Xbox 360 Elite!
And meet the latest mortal to ascend to the divine ranks of 411 Mania Games Writer, James McGee! I think he's American. Anyhow, the Notorious J.McG. brings us The Game Plan! and examines what he calls the "Purpose Driven Gamer", and what they might need to fully enjoy and appreciate a game.
Did you know that before Google swallowed YouTube whole, you could find some pretty interesting videos on Google Video itself? It's true.
