Smiley's Tropical Escape

For the past couple of months my default, “let’s kill 20 minutes” game has been 2D Boy’s World of Goo.

WoG, for the uninitiated, is a physics based puzzle game involving little blobs of goo.  The object is to get as many goo balls as possible into a feeder pipe that takes them all away.  Of course, getting the goo balls to these pipes is something of a challenge.  The player must use the goo balls to build bridges, towers, chains, etc. all while trying to get a minimum number of goo balls to the pipe in order to complete a level.

Along the way, new forms of goo balls are introduced including red, explosive ones, clear, water-like ones that always hang down in drips, and green, “connector” goo balls that can be re-used several times.  Many of the puzzles and challenges involve using a specific type of goo ball to reach the pipe.

There is a story too, but it is secondary to the main action of playing the game.  It mainly unfolds in the cut scenes at the end of a level or between stages, although there are signs left by “The Signpainter” in all the worlds that offer bits of philosophy, warnings, or just observations.

World of Goo is a beautiful game.  The design of the goo balls and the worlds they inhabit is just spectacular.  The artists and designers found the sweet spot between cartoonish and childish that brings back reminiscences of Saturday mornings and sugary cereal.  Further, the soundtrack is equally beautiful.  The designers at 2D Boy created several loops that blend together and play back in almost transcendent harmonies and pieces that are so good, the soundtrack by itself is almost as much fun as the game.

WoG is available for Mac, PC, Linux, and Wii and costs 15 to 20 bucks.  It's worth every penny.

Other reviews:

Kotaku

IGN

GameSpot

Rock Paper Shotgun

1 Up

The previous, rather anemic, very tardy post was the last post in my attempt at NaBloPoMo for February, 2009.  I don't think I'll be participating in the March edition.  I think I'll be saving up my words for my attempt at Script Frenzy 2009 next month.

ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union is another favorite organization.  They are dedicated to protecting and defending an individual's civil rights.  If you are American, they are an organization well worth belonging to.

EFF

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned the Electronic Frontier Foundation many, many times on this blog. They're one of my favorite causes / organizations to support.  They provide legal representation and counsel in cases where freedom of speech, especially online, is being threatened.  Please check them out.

Best Orgs

I'm a big believer in giving to charities.  Maybe because I was raised in a church that placed a strong emphasis on tithing, maybe it's just because it has always upset me that the world is not fair.  At any rate, this is an older post but still has a lot of valuable info about which charities and non-profits are using the web to their best advantage.

Robots Monsters

Robots and Monsters is exactly the sort of charity I like to donate to.  From their website:

RobotsAndMonsters.org is a charitable art project that matches goodwill and charitable giving with custom-made commissioned cartoon and pop art.

I love this movie.  I love the books.  I want more movies.  That is all.

The line between art and prank can sometimes be a really fine one, but when the outcome is as cool as this, who cares?

Hulu

Yesterday, I wrote about Pandora, and how they got screwed by the RIAA.  Today, I'm writing about t.v. and how the networks are screwing themselves.

Pandora

A couple of years ago I discovered a fantastic music service called "Pandora."  Pandora is an internet radio station, but with a twist.  It uses proprietary algorithms and a simple voting system to determine what songs to play next.  For example, I made a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers station.  By marking some tracks as well liked and others as not so loved, Pandora gave me songs by Wilco, The Flaming Lips, and Johnny Cash among others.