Care Package.

Evening. I'm on holiday! Woo! For the next week I shall be camping in (hopefully) sunny Devon. As such, I will not be here providing you with internet entertainment.

But panic not! I will use this post to stockpile some games that should keep you going until my triumphant return.

First, the new Nitrome effort: Tiny Castle. As usual, it has a familiar gameplay mechanic with a quirky twist. In this instance, it is a platform jumpin', princess rescuin', fireball dodgin' platformer that all takes place in the same space. things are kept interesting, however, due to the constantly changing nature of the level. Platforms are destroyed and rebuilt, irate wizards pull the odd switcheroo, the lights go out and... well, expect the unexpected. It's not a long game but it should keep you interested until the boss battle. So go, swing your sword and battle the monsters.

Something a bit different now. This one is a text adventure. For the non-geeks, that means a sort of choose-your-own-adventure, like the books, but without the need to flip through the pages every time you make a choice. This one is about being a captain in the navy and is WAY more compelling than I just made it sound. Give it a shot, as it were. It's called Choice Of Broadsides.

Aaaand, what list of games on plinx would be complete without a couple of physics puzzlers, or phuzzlers as the experts call them. Me. I'm the experts. First is Mechanics which is NOT about fixing cars, but rather is about placing cogs in the correct positions to get them turning and illuminating the light, or simply stacking them up so that none are lost in the abyss. It's gentle fun.

Continuing on a phuzzle tip, here's the Cover Orange series. That link was to the original. There's also a Sequel and a Player's Pack for all your orange covering needs. In all the games, the idea is to protect your smiley ball(s) from the coming storm of spikey things that threaten their existence. Look, since when have online games had to make sense. Just play them, you'll figure it out.

Right-o. I'm off! Have fun, kids.

This Too Shall Pass Me By.

Umm. Bit embarrassing, this. There's something I should have plinked ages ago but never got round to. Now it has been plastered all over the place and there's a very good chance you've seen it already. It's an OK Go video. Specifically, one featuring a huge, elaborate Rube Goldberg device. Here it is:



Now, considering my usually propensity to post OK Go videos AND Rube Goldberg videos, to miss out on this one when it seems almost laser-targeted at me is terrible. I'm losing my touch, man. Getting old. Past it.

Except, no. Maybe not. Maybe I can turn this around.

Because, you see, after coming out with the video, they opened a contest for people to make their own. So this IS relevant after all. Hooray! I'm back in the game. Suck it, everyone.

There's an interesting Interactive Floor Plan of the music video one and the site for the competition is Here.

One winner has already been announced. A worthy entry, I feel. Check it out:



Phew, alright. Panic over.

Fools! I'll Destroy Them All.

So yeah, April Fools day was a couple of days ago. I thought about doing something to try and fool you guys but for one thing, I don't think enough people read this blog for anyone to notice on the day and also, I didn't think about it until the morning of the 1st of April so I would only have managed something a bit half arsed.

However! There is a grand tradition of Fools on the web. Every year, certain websites will do something to try and hornswoggle the general populace. I'm going to recap some of this year's good ones in case you missed 'em.

Unfortunately, I can't show you YouTube's 'videos as text' thing because they took it down as soon as AFD was over. Losers.

However, remember XKCD? Well, that looked a little different this year, converting the whole site into a command-line based interface. Check it: UniXKCD!

Sites like Firebox, IWOOT & ThinkGeek have a tendency to release fake products like IWOOT's Universal Bark Translator, their iPhone to iPad convertor, Firebox's Cavalcade of Whimsy, ThinkGeek's Canned Unicorn and (my personal favourite) Screaming Chef Knife!

There are more, a definitive list can be found HERE but those were my favourites!

It Means 'Cave Explorer'.

I like the word 'spelunker'. It's not exactly in common usage but it crops up sometimes and I usually get to tell this story.

See, a while back, I was watching 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' and the question for £125,000 came up thus:

"What does a 'Spelunker' do?". I don't recall the possible answers but one of them was 'explores caves' and I knew that was it. The reason why I knew this was correct is due to the South Park movie, in which one charaxter is referred to as an 'ass-spelunker' and, well the other options available didn't make sense in that context!

So yeah, South Park knowledge can be worth many thousands of pounds. They should show it in primary schools.

ANYWAY, the reason I bring it up is due to a game called Specter Spelunker Shrinks and (despite being more of a demonstration of a neat concept than a fully fledged game) it features a nifty growing and shrinking character dynamic and some awesome alliteration, also!

So go play it. Although there's a chance you'll need to download something called the 'Unity Web Plug-in' which is totally legit so don't worry!

Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, Heart!

Hello.
I'm here on eco-business today. It hasn't been very well advertised but tomorrow night at 8.30pm, it is Earth Hour. If you've not heard of it before, it is a global attempt to get 1 billion people to turn off all their lights at the same time for an hour. Admirable!

They had a decent amount of success Last Year. Naturally, however, they want to beat that this year. So get involved!

They are using a pretty neat method to inspire people to sign up this year. Namely, pitting the different parts of the UK against each other! Nothing wrong with a bit of well-intentioned jingosim, says I. Check it:



Right now, the English are getting their arses handed to them by our neighbours to the north. Clearly this will not stand. Also, my home county of Hampshire is in danger of being overtaken by Wrexham! So yeah, if you're a local boy or girl. Sign up now. We will NOT be overthrown by the Scotch or the Wretches (pretty sure that's what people in Wrexham call themselves, yeah?)

Anyway, it should go without saying that you shouldn't sign up if you don't intend to participate. So take part! Turn out the lights, set up some candles and enjoy the twilight. For the good of the planet. Your powers combined...

Citation Needed.

Hey, you're a busy man right? Or a busy woman. I'm not discriminating.

Point is, sometimes you need to know about something (frogs, bananas, helicopters, jazz, batman, electricity, beer) in a hurry. Firing up wikipedia is all well and good, but it's just not quick enough.

You haven't got time for history lessons or uses in popular culture. You just need the essence of your chosen subject.

Step up, 10 Word Wiki.

If it can't be explained in 10 words, you don't need to know about it.

Anticlimactastic!

So yeah, I've been putting off doing my 250th post until I had something worthy to show you, but it turns out it'll probably take a while. So I have made a few cosmetic changes and I will continue to do so. You may have noticed the 'pages' up top? Yeah don't click 'em, there's nothing to see. But one day... Oh, one day. You'll see.

So, yeah. That's about it.

Except no, there is a star of this show. Take a gander to the right of this jaunty text. That there is a shoutbox and it was coded for me by my good friend Mat who has said he requires no credit but I think should be shaken warmly by the hand. Essentially, it allows you to leave me a message without any of the tiresome 'comment' malarkey, so I urge you to do so! Enjoyed one of the links? Give me a shout! Want to direct my attention to something? Give me a shout! Want to tell me I have a stupid beard and girly hair? Er, give me a shout, I guess!

Woo!

Hmm, this seems wrong without some sort of link so I'll leave you a video. In case you've ever wondered why the URL for this place is 'kickpunchblock', well check THIS out...

Yeah, But Is It Art?

Cast your eye over the piece below. It is by a struggling young artist using an emergent technique called 'Bomomo'. It may look like nothing at first but if you really look, you will see the myriad intricacies. It is nothing short of a masterpiece.



Yeah, so it was me that made this monstrosity. It took about 2 minutes. I call it 'Fiddling With All The Buttons In This Cool Piece Of Online Image Creation Software I Just Found Called Bomomo'. Catchy, eh?

Try it yourself, it has surprising depth despite all being controlled using a set of floating balls. I'd like to see what someone with talent could do with it. Consider yourself challenged, dudes and ladies. Wow me.

Bomomo.

Plinx Quickie.

I'm not proud of myself here but I can't help giggling at this. I'm supposed to be a grown up for christ's sake.

Look, just click it and see for yourself.


Click!

Paul Is Games.

Hiya. I'm gonna make this quick because I'm supposed to be studying.

It's been a while since I showed you some games you didn't have to pay for. So today, I'm essentially letting you loose in an arcade with a never ending bag of 20p coins.

It's killing me that there isn't a way to combine 'plinx' and 'arcade' in a satisfactory manner that I could then use to describe posts like this from now until the end of time. Ideas on a postcard, kids.

Down to business. Earlier in the year, I linked you to a game called Blosics. Well now there's a sequel which improves on the original in every way, like a good sequel should but rarely does. There are more ball types, more block types, more of everything basically. So go play Blosics 2.

Onwards and upwards, quite literally. to a fast-paced platform game in the skies! It's called G-Switch and bears some resemblance to the previously plinked Canabalt but with a couple of important differences. It has a neat gravity-switching mechanic AND if you happen to be surrounded by enough people, you can play it in a frankly manic 6 player mode!

Finally, and to round out a trio of 'games that can be linked to other games previously featured in the blog' (now THAT is catchy) here's Mogo-Mogo. From the makers of Little Wheel, and if you remember that game, you should have all the reason you need to play this one. Stylistically fantastic and well thought out. it's a pointy clicky masterclass.

That's your lot. Have fun! I'm off to stick my nose in a book about computers. I think we know who got the better deal here.

Representin'.

Evening.
Tonight I am giving mad props to some friends and their projects!

Cast your eyes to the right, you should see an animated .gif. If you click it, you will be directed to a place where someone has managed to combine the wonderful worlds of dinosaurs and warm clothing! That someone is Charlotte, a friend of mine. She makes Dinohoodies. They're exactly what they sound like and that's why you should want one. But don't take my word for it, have a click, look in the Gallery!

Want one? Yeah, me too.

However, you may be one of those people who only buys something after watching a short cartoon that is loosely connected with said product. How do you get by like that? It must make life pretty difficult. Why bother? Weirdo.

ANYWAY, even your ridiculous life choice has been catered for. Because Edd, another friend, has prepared this comic vignette for the dinohoodie cause. So watch it:



Edd also makes lots of other animations, comics, sounds and smells. Check them all out HERE!

Indie Cred.

Hey.
Today I am setting up my travelling salesman booth again to let you know about an unmissable deal on some award-winning indie-designed games.

It's called the Indie Love Bundle and features 6 games for the low price of $20 (that's £12.80 to you, squire!). Bought seperately, these games would set you back $85. So however you slice it, that's a bargain. Plus, all profit goes to the game designers so you'd be helping to support the fledgling studios of tomorrow.

Included in the list are Machinarium (a full length game from the creators of beautiful point and click free online game Samorost and Its Sequel), And Yet It Moves (a puzzle platform game set in a hand-crafted paper world that won best indie game in an IGF awards ceremony) and Auditorium (an audio-visual feast of a puzzle game which you can play the scaled-down free online version of Here)
Also included are the games Aztaka, Eufloria & Osmos which I'm afraid I can't tell you much about because I had not heard of them until i purchased this bundle.

Anyway, I bought it. You should too. There's a preview video on the official site if you need more convincing. But hurry, this deal runs out on Friday!

The Indie Love Bundle.

Datablast.

How'd you like to learn something? How about many, many things? Reddit recently ran a thread called 'What is the craziest fact you know that most people won't know?'. Not the most elegant question ever constructed but we'll let it go. What followed was a landslide of 'facts', some of which proving to be urban legends. One of them was so compelling that MY GOOD FRIEND (he's replied to at least 3 emails!) Ryan North of Dinosaur Comics fame wrote a Comic about it.

Anyway, it's a bit like every series of QI condensed into a forum thread (with all the nerdy humour and dick-facts that implies) and there's no way you could read even a small section of it without learning something or several somethings. Like I say, not everything in there is factual but in those instances, the internet pedant brigade are on hand to sort things out.

So yeah, read it! HERE.

Oh. Also, if you know where the name of this post comes from, you're a great big geek and you should be ashamed.

Thwack!

Hi!
Since I started this blog, I'm hoping I have picked up a couple of regular readers at least.
But I'm sure some of you just don't spend enough time online to be able to afford a few minutes to peruse the stuff that I tirelessly winkle out of the overstuffed internet for you. That's fair enough, right?

Well now that I am approaching TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY posts, I have composed something that I hope will convince you to pop in more regularly.
Check it out!



Yeah, that oughta do it.

Made it HERE.

Having Some Barney.

Well, I can walk again, just about. Hooray! *does a feeble dance*

Anyways, normal service resumes and what could be more normal than linking to a Nitrome physics game. As plinx go, that is a standing order. This one is called Rubble Trouble and it involves knocking down buildings with some slightly suspect 'builder tools'. When the dynamite is the most standard thing on a list, you've got yourself a pretty special list.

So yeah. Detonate, mutilate, aggravate.

Cause some Rubble Trouble.