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Tag: puzzle

  • Road Not Taken Is One Of The More Interesting Games Coming To PS4

    Road Not Taken Is One Of The More Interesting Games Coming To PS4

    Earlier this year, Sony announced a number of indie titles heading to the PS4. One of them was an interesting roguelike puzzle game called Road Not Taken. At the time, we didn’t know much about it, but now we do.

    In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Spry Fox’ Daniel Cook updated players on just what Road Not Taken is exactly. While it would be easy to call it roguelike and be done with it, Cook says it’s a little more complicated than that.

    While the point of the game is to create rows of like objects to open a path through the forest, there are a number of obstacles in your way. Each of these obstacles sap your strength and your player character dies upon having all of his strength taken away. Like in all good roguelikes, your death is not the end, however, as you must learn from your mistakes and carry on to do better next time.

    Here’s a first look at what you can expect from the gameplay:

    Road Not Taken will launch sometime in 2014 for PS4 and PS Vita.

    [Image: PlayStation/YouTube]

  • This 3D Printed Wind-Powered Mechanism Can Be Yours For $136

    3D printers have the ability to create some complicated mechanisms. Objet has already shown off a few of its designs including a working Ferris Wheel. Now one designer is creating some truly remarkable 3D printed creations that look absolutely beautiful in motion.

    Theo Jansen, a Dutch kinetic artist, recently uploaded a video of a design that he calls Animaris Geneticus Parvus, or Strandbeest for short. It’s a walking mechanism that’s powered by a number of small joints that allow the Strandbeest to walk forward. When adding the Propeller Propulsion add-on, it comes to life and moves on its own.

    Jansen sells the Strandbeest itself for $96, and the propellor add-on is a little under $40. You can get both for $136 and have your very own autonomous wind powered ‘toy.’

    Speaking of toys, here’s some amazing puzzles from noted designer M. Oskar van Deventer who says these designs can’t be made without the aid of 3D printers.

  • Zynga Games About To Be Flooded With Foul-Mouthed 12-Year-Olds

    While I don’t play Zynga’s games, I praise them for their simplistic take on competition. Players enjoy a single-player experience and let others know through charming Facebook posts that it’s the opponent’s turn or that they beat a high score. It’s non-threatening and conducive to a wholesome family environment.

    In a move that will single-handedly destroy that wholesome environment, Zynga has decided to introduce live multiplayer into one of its titles. The first title to receive the update is Bubble Safari, a match three puzzle game. Now up to four players can play the game together competing for high scores.

    Zynga apparently isn’t putting any safe guards on this one either as players can enter into quick matches with random strangers. While I doubt the people who play Bubble Safari are on the level of those you find in a Call of Duty match on Xbox Live, there are probably some bad apples in the Zynga grove that could ruin the game for everybody.

    Thankfully, the only form of communication seems to be through regular text chat. That makes it easier for Zynga to block offensive comments that any particularly angry person can lobby at your mother or sexual orientation. Even then, it does nothing to stop the flow of immature jerks who make it their life goal to ruin your good time.

    Zynga’s new live multiplayer is fortunately only available in Bubble Safari for now. I would hate to see what kind of fights would break out in Zynga Poker, Mafia Wars, or Farmville. I’m sure they’re testing it out on a relatively harmless game first to see if Zynga attracts the same kind of people that you wish you could just mute on Xbox Live.

    With all that being said, I look forward to a future of hilarious griefing videos featuring Zynga’s games. If you want to get a head start, you can start playing Bubble Safari with its new multiplayers features right now for free.

  • Facebook Games Can Still Have Success Stories

    There’s been a lot of doom and gloom lately about Facebook games. Zynga’s stocks plummeted after a report saw that players were moving from Facebook to mobile. Facebook is having none of it, however, as they highlight a success story for a game that is completely immersed in Facebook.

    The game in question is Candy Crush Saga. As the name suggests, it’s a match-three puzzle game that has players progressing through stages that increase in challenge along the way. It uses basic Facebook functionality such as comparing scores with friends, but does it in a more personal way.

    The game utilizes a Facebook feature that allows the game to place friends’ faces onto each level. Players will be encouraged to beat that friend’s high score, but will keep on playing as each level has a friend’s face on it. It taps into our natural need to compete and Facebook helps attach a face to that instinct.

    After competing for the high score and showing that one guy who’s boss, you can gloat about your victory all you want. The game even has a giant candy bar shaped share button so you can tell your friend how bad they are match-three puzzlers.

    Of course, now you feel bad about gloating to your friend. You hurt their feelings in regards to their ineptitude at match-three puzzlers and want to make it up. The game has thought of this outcome as well and added in easy sharing options to send gifts to your friends. You then make up, but will inevitably start competing in the arena of Candy Crush Saga sooner rather than later.

    So how has the cycle of battle and reconciliation affected Candy Crush Saga? The game grew 100 percent in May to 2.7 million daily active users. If that’s not impressive enough, the game has been played over 800 million times since its debut. Now it just needs a mobile version with Open Graph to really take off.