The Code Games News Report 05.25.07
Posted by Shawn Struck on 05.25.2007
A TON of FREE Zombie Games, NES Nostalgia, Nercore Game Hop, I Loves Bees AND OIL, and more.
This has been a very, very hectic week and half for me, 411Maniacs, so I'm going to jump right into the column this week. Everything will be totally back to normal next week. Honest Injun.
Gaaaaaaaaaammmmmeeesss! I mean Brrraaaiinnnssss! (via Something Awful, Little Fluffy Industries, Coti, et al)
So, like any good red-blodded 'netizen, you like zombies, you like killing things, and so it stands to reason you probably like killing zombies. But say you're online, using your web browser to read the latest in the greatest news and gaming columns at 411Mania, and you get a hankering to to splatter the effluvia of the walking dead at the same time. Well, now, YOU CAN!
Here are more zombie games than you could possibly shake a severed limb at:
And regarding the abandonware games, you really, REALLY need to play Typing of the Dead. Seriously, check this puppy out.
You May Love Bees, But How Much Do You Love Oil?
World Without Oil, the latest alternate reality game from Jane McGonigal of the halo2 promotion ilovebees, will wrap up next week. The idea behind the game is simple: "Play it before you live it.".
World Without Oil is a month-long collaborative alternate reality project funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and ITVS. It's the first alternate reality game to tackle a real-world problem: oil dependency.
World Without Oil imagines we are already living on the other side of the "peak oil" moment. The alternate reality game presents a "reality dashboard" that updates daily with gas prices, fuel shortages, and measures of chaos, suffering and economic impact for different parts of the country. Players are invited to document their own lives in this new reality, through blog posts, videos, photos, web comics, geocaches, audio messages, and any other means necessary!
The goal of the project is to harness the collective intelligence of bloggers and gamers to create a bottom-up map of what it would mean to live through a massive oil shortage in the U.S. The project's mantra: Play it, before you live it.
The game launched on Monday, and already there are hundreds of player created documents to browse—-not to mention the official "backstory" created by the game's puppet masters..
Examples of game feeds and updates include video footage of an underground car vandalism effort, instructions for how to throw fuel-free parties, and an eyebrow-raising transcript of the new secretary of state's address to the nation.
This Week's Now That's Cool:
Steampunk Mouse (via MakeMagazine Blog)
Looks neat, but how does is WORK? From the desc:
One holds the device in a manner similar to the way a wood-worker holds a sanding block. The palm rests upon the "ball" in the foreground, with the fingers extending forward. The middle digit is placed upon the spiked cog, while the pointing-finger and the ring-bearing finger sit on the studded levers on either side.
The thumb and small-finger rest comfortably on the side of the cylinder, helping to grip the contraption. The "Bug", as the Professor calls it, is slid about upon a table top–thusly controlling a mobile indicator upon the Telecalculograph's display.
Push the device away from one's self, and the arrow "moves" towards the top of the viewing window. When the arrow has been positioned appropriately so that it is pointing at the desired "item" on the glass, the user pushes down upon the various levers to elicit his desired effect. Turning the wheel in the center produces an action similar to turning a page in a book, or cranking a kinetoscope.
This Week's "All You Tube, All The Time":
Super Line Rider Bros, Mario Paints a Final Fantasy, and One more thing
Now for two great tastes that taste great together. The addictive Line Rider, and Super Mari Bros.
This is hella amazing, and not because I have a soft spot for mash-ups. This is pretty much a pixel-perfect recreation of level 1-1. At least, as close as you can get in Line Rider. Bravo!
You know what else was a great "game", one that pretty much has influenced my whole life and got me used to a) using a mouse and b)a career in digital graphic design? Mario Paint. One of the real awesome things about the game is that you could do more than just draw.. you could create music to. One guy created a TON of music in the game. My fave is his recreation of the Final Tantasy town theme:
Man that brings back memories. And finally we have...
And finally, a nother blast from the past. From the 6th Nightmare on Elm Street movie:
"Now you're playing with POWER!". Hah, I love it.
Here's a bonus: the underwhelming ending to the NES game on that same horror series:
Welcome To The Next Level: Nerdcore Hip-Hop & Video Games Collide
It's true, there are other nercore artists that have covered video games BESIDES the might ytcracker. Taking a gander at the Rhyme Torrents website (specifically the 4xCD Nerdcore Hip-Hop compilation albums) goves you a treasure trove of 'em.
So, in no particular oder, here are some of my favorites off the first 4 CDs: "1. The Posse Track . It has several game-related verses, including Ham-STAR's Final Fantasy run-down, and ZeroBitRate's verse dedicated to his FPS skills and how he's going to win at GenCom. Plus it's 16 minutes long with 13 MCs !
Next up: "The Last Fantasy" by Benjamin Bear. This is about his brother (or was it brother in law) dissolving his marriage due to his wife's deep involvement with Final Fantasy XI.
Lo-Fi AllStars" by MechP. It seems the NES is the game system of choice for many nerdcore hip-hop fans, which is alright by me. The beats in this track are TIGHT.
Some more game-related tracks: Disc 1: White Warrior, Interlude
Zombie Panic, Legendary Rhymes, The Last Fantasy, RPG, Emulation Station... Disc 2: Kung-Fu Is My Mom, Penny Arcade, Lo-Fi All-Stars... Disc 3: Black Market OC Remix, Joystickin'... Disc 4: WoW, Arkanoid, Saving Throw, Nerdcore For Life.
The Colors Of Nintendo (via Color Lover)
ColourLovers started off as a website where you could put colors together and share them with other people who love color combinations online. Now it's grown into a monster of a site with even a blog. In this week's posting, there's an interesting article about Nintendo and the history of their hues. Starting with the Color TV Game-6 and finishing up at the Wii, Ruecian shows examples of how Nintendo's color pallette evolved with time and technology. Even if you don't have patience to read a whole article concentrating on colors, just looking at the timeline of images shows the different attitudes Nintendo has had over the years - being strong and saturated in the N-64 days and now becoming friendly and demure with today's Wii. Fascinating read. Kim Phu
Looks neat, but how does is WORK? From the desc:
