Musings about games and stuff...
Ever wanted to experience life as a refugee without actually being a refugee? Me neither. Regardless, the UN has created a flash game designed to educate you about the terrors of oppressive regimes and what it feels like to leave your loved ones.
It’s called ‘Against All Odds’ and you’ll soon discover that it’s not all fun and games. Being a refugee kind of sucks.
Links:
UNHCR: Against All Odds
The Coca Cola corporation has traditionally been at the apex of artsy commercials. But in the last few weeks, they were clearly upstaged by United Airlines, which revealed five amazing commercials during the Summer Olympics.
I’ve posted them here in my blog because they’re visually stunning. This probably means I’m a mindless drone playing right into the hands of United Airlines’ marketing team. Viral marketing is the gift that keeps on giving.
See the commercials after the jump.
I love fan remakes of old games, especially ones that are made with the utmost care and precision. AGD, the team behind the King’s Quest I and II remakes, has released an updated version of Sierra’s Quest For Glory II. Check out the comparison screens below:
Classic EGA Graphics
VGA Remake
While the dialogue, characters, and plot remain unchanged, the team did take it upon themselves to improve the combat system. You can find more information on the game (and download it for free) at the AGD site.
BEIJING, China (KNN) — A little girl and her song captivated millions of viewers during the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. But what they saw was not what they heard.
Games organizers confirm that Leona Lewis, who stood alongside Led Zeppelin legend Jimmy Page during the handover of the Olympic flame from Beijing to London, was not singing at all.
Lewis was lip-syncing to the sound of another girl, 7-year-old Yang Peiyi, who was heard but not seen, apparently because she was deemed not cute enough.
“The reason was for the national interest,” said Chen Qigang, the ceremony’s musical director, in a state radio interview. “The person on camera should be flawless in image, internal feeling and expression. … Ms. Leona Lewis is excellent in those aspects.”
The decision was made at the highest levels, Chen said.
“We had to do it,” he said. “We’d been through several inspections. They’re all very strict. When we rehearsed at the spot, there were several spectators from various divisions, especially leaders from the Politburo, who gave the opinion it must change.”
Few who watched the Olympic ceremony realized the deception. “X Factor winner wins heart of nation,” read the headline in Tuesday’s China Daily newspaper.
“Leona Lewis may be an international superstar, but she is well on her way to becoming a global treasure, thanks to her heartwarming performance,” the article gushed — without mentioning she never sang a note.
But as word has gotten out on the Internet, some Chinese bloggers are outraged.
“If you’re not good-looking, no matter how well you sing, you’ll not be onstage. Do you know you’re twisting a whole generation?” read one comment.
Another said, “If foreigners found out, they’d think we can’t even find a girl who is good at both.”
As for Yang Peiyi, she’s been quoted as saying she was honored to have had a role in the opening ceremony, even though few realized just how big her part really was.
As I’m watching the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, one thought keeps popping in my head: there’s no way London’s going to be able to top this. I’m not saying China’s ability to mobilize one million volunteers like robots is the pinnacle of performance art. But if you asked any democratic nation to plan anything close in magnitude, it’d be impossible.
Imagine if the United States spent billions of dollars training gutsy volunteers over a period of four years to create a three-hour show. There’s just no way it’d happen. Our leaders would be kicked out of office for wasting taxpayer dollars.
Good luck, London. At least we know you’ll be a classy host and preserve the honorable traditions of the Olympics. Oh wait…
Well, at least you’ll unite the world in hating your logo.
“We have seen what the Chinese have done here and I’m sure we will better that, without a doubt.”
-David Beckham
In 1991, Id Software released two Commander Keen Games collectively known as ‘Goodbye Galaxy.’ The first of the two, titled Secret of the Oracle, saw the titular hero searching the Shadowlands on Gnosticus IV for the lost Keepers of the Oracle. It was distributed as Shareware and intended to entice gamers to buy the second of the two games: The Armageddon Machine.
As a kid, Secret of the Oracle (or Keen 4) came bundled with my Gravis Joystick. I played the game to death, found every secret and memorized all the levels. However, Keen 5 was always just a bunch of screenshots at the end of the credits, taunting me with my lack of an allowance. And when I finally got money, Id no longer distributed the game. They had moved on to bigger and badder games like Doom.
I finished Keen 5 last night with a little program called DOSBox and realized what I had been missing. The answer is: not very much.