Kerbal Space Program

I was waiting for Birk to be available to help me with this one, because it looks entertaining, but only if you know what you're doing. After failing utterly at Beseige, I knew this game would not be fun if I attempted it on my own.

Hey look, I made a rocket! I sent Jebediah to space and back down, and had him evac once he hit the ground so he could walk around for no reason. That was pretty cool but then I found out they could go to the Moon... I mean, the Mun.

So (with a lot of help from Birk) I built a new rocket with a lunar lander, sent Jebediah, Bill, and Bob into space, learned (again, with a LOT of help from Birk) how the navigation works, then... well, Birk joked that I could evac a crew member before they hit the Mun, and how tragic that would be. So I did it, because I'm a terrible person.

I had taken a shining to Bob (he was my scientist, after all, and I was very insistent that there be science elements on my rockets) and Jebediah was my pilot so I felt like maybe he was necessary to the process of landing, so Bill jumped out of the pod a few hundred thousand meters above the surface of the Mun. He was never recovered.

But there's Jebediah and Bob on the Mun, getting ready to do the highly complex science experiment of "observe the mystery goo." (Turns out, it's less dense on the Mun. Who knew?)

I Don't Even Know

I realize that the title of this post makes it sound like I gave up on this challenge, but it's actually the name of the game I played today. It's a very silly flash game from Addicting Games made with drawings like the one you see above. Each level has its own logic, but they're definitely all very silly.

I got so wrapped up in it, I forgot to take photos during the game, but for example, there's a drawing of a clown surrounded by kids and holding balloons, and it says something like "defeat the clown!" and you're supposed to pop his balloons in order, and you move on to the next level.

I win!

It's VERY popular on Addicting Games, and I can see why. It's funny and quick and entertaining but also has a tiny bit of challenge to it to make it "hard" enough to keep my attention. Fun!

Empathy Simulator

Ok, this one is silly and fun. Birk sent it to me today because he thought I would enjoy it, and I did, very much.

This is a joke game (but really well made for a joke game) that plays on the idea of how med students are taught how to express empathy with their patients.

The concept of the game is really simple: you use the arrow keys to move your "doctor" head around the room, and you need to get within range of your patient (or patients) and hit the space bar to empathize. (When you do, it uses a robot voice to say randomized phrases like "that must be difficult for you" and "how does that make you feel.")

Each room is a little bit harder. The second one is actually very difficult. It's a mom and a small child who runs around the room like a lunatic, and you have to empathize with both of them in ten seconds.

I finally gave up on the round with the patient who has a 7+ murmur... he has a giant heart animation that pulses every two seconds, and when it does, it throws you back in the opposite direction, so you have to time your approach and your empathy very carefully to make sure you don't go flying. (Also you need to get between him and the nearer wall so the return to him doesn't waste valuable seconds.)