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Playing Games on the Internet
We do a lot of regular research into online games. Here's what we've found interesting lately.
Captain Forever
Collect space debris, assemble an ad-hoc ship and get ready for battle. This reminds me a lot of the early stages of Spore, but it's in space, and much more fun. Nicely done.
Time Fcuk
2d puzzles solved by flipping colors. We liked the dark humor and music in this one.
Fatty Bum Bum
The illustrations & animations are crazy fun, but the gameplay is kind of frustrating.
The Space Game
Mine astroids, set up automated defense systems, manage energy grids and raw materials. This game of systems management and planning is a really addictive experience.
A brief note on the ecosystem of small online games. There is a ton of great games out there, unfortunately a lot of sites hosting these games are supported by a hodgepodge of distracting banner ads. I'm sure this will change over time as successful funding models emerge and audiences grow.
Patterns
I've been going back through my Delicious site lately, looking for patterns. Here are some favorites that I almost forgot about. Images link back to the sites for maximum viewing pleasure.
Subway Maps To Scale
As Matthew Yglesias points out, most subway maps people see are schematics, not actual maps. Compiled at the website fakeisthenewreal.org are subway systems from around the world, all to scale.
The map of the LA system (left) is just one cross bar from a yen: ¥. I was a little surprised NYC (right) was not relatively larger. London's is huge, and Moscow's looks like the eye of Sauron emanating evil.
