Super Hexagon is quite possibly the hardest game I have ever played in my life. Designed by Terry Cavenaugh of VVVVVV fame, It's harder than VVVVVV. It's harder than the hoverbikes level on Battletoads. It's harder than TMNT.
But I think I figured out what to do. A little background; The game has three initial difficulty settings: Hexagon, Hexagoner, and Hexagonest. Also called 'hard, harder and hardest' difficulty settings. So, the programmer knew that this game was hard. So hard, he didn't bother to make an 'easy' or 'normal' setting. And it is hard.
As far as I can tell, the goal is to last for 60 seconds on a given level. Achievements are granted at 5 seconds, 10, 20 and so on. Until recently, my record was 15 seconds on the easy level. On a very rare occasion, I'd get about that far, but never any further. But then I figured out a trick.
Oh, it's not a trick. Not really. That is to say, the trick is that I decided to play the game on harder difficulty. I figured if it's nigh impossible on easy setting, what could the harder settings be like? Well, they're harder. But not... so much harder. Almost equal difficulty, really. Hexagoner has more complex moves and Hexagonest has a faster pace. And that is where the secret is. After playing for a few minutes on Hexagonest, the easier setting seemed pretty slow in comparison. My reaction time had adapted to the more difficult setting and I was able to get up to 25 seconds within a few rounds of play.
And then I turned the game off. It was pretty satisfying to break through that wall. But I just knew what would be behind it: Another goddamn wall. So I turned the game off. Live to fight another day.
-D
So, after playing 'I wish I were the moon' on Kongregate, I got linked to a couple of other interesting games. One of which I had played a couple years ago, and thought was pretty cool. That was back before this blog, and really, just when I was getting back into games. I hadn't really heard of indie games yet, most of my gaming was done over at my friend Zor The Red's house, where we would pair up to play games like Pixel Junk Monsters or God of War II.
Somewhere, during that time, I got into flash games. I noticed that some of these games had a definite 'artistic' bent, which worked well for the short-form of flash games. I played some very interesting games on Kongregate, including Looming, The Majesty of Colors, I can Hold my Breath Forever. When I started using Steam a lot more, and purchasing the Humble Bundles, I left Kongregate behind.
Well, I'm glad I went back to Kongregate, because now I found a game called 'hero story' by Terry Cavanagh, of VVVVVV and Hexagon fame. This game is short - very short, but does not disappoint. In fact, this game addresses a gaming convention that I've been wanting to see challenged for a long time. There's really something to be said for these short-run games and the ability to do one small thing effectively. I still nurture ambitions of making games of my own, and I find these Flash games inspiring to that goal.
I should also mention that all the games on Kongregate are Free. I've linked below to some of my favorites; I haven't posted any descriptions, but recommend you have a look at them. Each of these games presents a strong atmosphere, despite being short-run and simple.
-D
by Terry Cavenaugh
Heroes Adventure
http://www.kongregate.com/games/TerryCavanagh_B/heros-adventure
Hexagon
http://www.kongregate.com/games/TerryCavanagh_B/hexagon
by Gregory Weir
The Majesty of Colors
http://www.kongregate.com/games/GregoryWeir/the-majesty-of-colors
Looming
http://www.kongregate.com/games/GregoryWeir/looming
by Racter
I can hold my breath forever
http://www.kongregate.com/games/racter/i-can-hold-my-breath-forever
by Daniel Ben
Today I die
I wish I were the Moon
http://www.kongregate.com/games/danielben/i-wish-i-were-the-moon
Storyteller
http://www.kongregate.com/games/danielben/storyteller
As of this writing, there are 5 days left on the Humble Bundle for Android 5. Typically, I just ignore the Android Humble Bundles because I don't have a high-powered smart phone. However, this one caught my eye for a couple of different reasons. One is that Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP has been added to the list. I like that game, though I play it on my PC through steam, and not on a tablet or phone. However, if I had the appropriate machinery, I am sure I would want a copy of that game for Android, if for no other reason than it is pretty and the music is good. Which brings me to my other point of interest: my cell phone won't last forever, so at some point I probably will be upgrading. At such time, I imagine high powered phones that can play many of these games will be available for used or for cheap, just like my current phone was. I've actually really been wanting to talk about cellphone games, because I do spend a bit of time with them, and I am regularly searching for new games.
For me, the most important test for any cell-phone game is the toilet test. That is the first place I usually try out a new game I've downloaded. If the game holds my attention during a round of #2, then I will keep it, and probably play while I'm riding the train or waiting in line. For me, cell phone games are as casual as they come. That said, I have really torn through Angry Birds- by far my favorite smart phone game.
Other games I've been working on is Battleship (in Space), Math Workout, Wiki Trivia, Free Rice and a Puzzle Bobble clone. I also enjoy the Word of the Day function on my Miriam-Webster dictionary app, but at this point I'm slipping out of the game zone.
Math Workout is kind of like a free demo version of Brain Age for the Nintendo DS. It isn't as clever, it's more buggy, and there aren't as many options. But it does have a fun graph of all of your scores in each mode! I like making the graph go. Basically this game is a series of timed math problems, for those of us that find that enjoyable.
Battleship (in Space) is fun, but there are issues. For some reason they interpret the rules that you can't place your ships directly adjacent to each other. Lame. And I didn't think that battleship was like pool, where you get a free turn after a successful hit. And of course, the classic 'cheating AI' rules apply. For example, the computer will be blowing up the aircraft carrier, starting in the middle, in a steady sequence, about to miss the final shot and give you one more chance. Suddenly, the computer has a burst of inspiration and decides to backtrack and start blowing up the opposite direction, destroying the carrier with no chance for me to strike back before its gone. It happens often successfully, and never happens in error. Cheating.
Free Rice is a trivia game that is not formatted to fit my screen. Which sucks. I love the online version. I am particularly fond of the Geography "Countries of the World" series, even if it does have a tendency to repeat itself.
WikiTrivia's formatting is better than Free Rice. But it has the poor design choice of having a "Select" button next to a "Next Question" button. Each answer has a radio button to its left. So what I end up doing is selecting the answer I like by highlighting the radio button, then clicking "Next Question." The result is the question is skipped, my answer is not logged, and I don't get to find out if I'm right. There is no 'back' button. D'oh!
Bubble Shot (Puzzle Bobble Clone) is cool. But I've never really gotten into it. Idunno, my aim using the touch screen seems off. It's a shame my cell phone doesn't have a stylus. That would solve some of it.
What I've really been looking for is a good online chess app. I wish gameknot just had its own app, but there's nothing in the google play store by that name. I've just downloaded "Chess Friends" but haven't played it yet. Here's hoping.
All of the above games are free from the Google Play store. Many or most of them have pay versions, but I just ignore those. I am a cheapskate. Another thing that may be noteworthy is that I play all of these games with the sound off. I am usually playing in public, and I don't really like headphones for gaming except in special circumstances (Dear Esther, Proteus).
-D
P.S. Super Hexagon is also included in the Humble Android Bundle 5.
