I managed to actually finish a Rubik’s cube for the first time yesterday. I would have to say however, that is was mainly a fluke.

It comes with instructions that are actually fairly easy to follow… but I must admit that I don’t do most of the first steps because it’s easier just to do it my own way. However, the sequences of moves to get the last few steps are quite useful as they show you how to manipulate small parts of the cube at a time without disturbing the rest of the pieces. The process is supposed to only take 7 steps. Not bad really. I can get to the seventh step in a matter of minuets without any problem. However, the 7th step has you doing the same sequence of moves either 2, 4, or 8 times. Each time I would do that sequence it would just mess it up more and more. It never made any sense.

I have come to the conclusion that the directions are junk. They get you to where all you have is 4 corner pieces to solve and then they tell you to mess it all up again. So I just fiddled with the thing over and over and over agian. Then, out of nowhere, and by no clear motive or direction by me, it was solved. Don’t ask me how I did it. I have no clue. It just happened.

My wife is a little upset… the cube was a gift for her after all. She has still yet to solve the thing. That being said, I don’t think it really counts as my solving it. Firstly, I used the instructions for the majority of it. Secondly, I wasn’t really trying to solve it when it seemed to solve itself.

Still… if anyone asks if I have ever solved a Rubik’s cube, I’ll say yes. :P

On that note, these things are like crack! They are extremely addictive. I would certainly suggest that anyone and everyone have one. You just can’t resist them. If I see one, I have to pick it up. It’s like a siren’s call sings out to me and I can’t help but move towards it, pick it up, and attempt to solve it. The fact that I can get so close without acutally solving the puzzle is amazingly frustrating but at the same time, you can’t give up when you’re so close! They make great gift ideas, especially for kids. But really, they’re for everyone. They are a ton of fun. If you don’t have one, go get one. They’re not even that expensive. Amazon.com is selling them for around $10!

The coolest thing is that even though there are those who can solve these things super quick. There are also tons of different kinds of Cubes:
The Sudokube
The professor’s Cube, it’s a 5×5. I can’t even imagine how hard that is.
There’s even a cube that you can put your own personalized photos on.

With so many different ways to feed my addiction, I don’t know if I’ll ever kick the Rubik’s habit. I don’t think I want to either. It’s just too much fun.

This amazing charity is devoted to providing games and consoles to children in hospitals. Games have been shown to not only make the kids happier but to make them healthier, increase their self esteem, and even increase their recovery rate. Games can give these kids the fun that they need without exposing them to situations that could worsen their conditions. In many cases, children are limited in their mobility and playing games makes them feel better about themselves, makes them feel more capable.

I don’t support any charities really. I just never have the money. But this one, I think I can spare a little bit. If you’re a gamer, or you just like kids, at least give it a look. If you aren’t able to make a donation, please, pass the word around and get this charity some much needed publicity.

Type to you later,
~Nathaniel

Personally, I think that many game development companies are too focused on how a game looks and not focused enough on how the game plays. As games become better and better looking, they seem to lend less to the realm of game play. Almost as if the player is forced to sit and watch the artists show off their work instead of playing a game.

I used to program games on my TI-83+ graphing calculator. These where ugly games, written in a very limited programming language. But I made them fun. Why? Because if they weren’t fun, no one would play them! I didn’t have the fancy graphics and options that modern games have because of the language limitations. However, that didn’t stop me from making very addictive versions of tic-tac-toe, slolum, FPS, maze, guessing, and memory games. I had a blast, and so did the students who I gave the games to. So much so, that the teachers tried to erase all the programs from every calculator in an effort to curb these distractions. Good thing we had them backed up on our computers… or they might have been lost forever. My point here is that even an ugly, option-low game can be very fun and addictive. Games don’t need to be pretty, they don’t need extensive storyline, THEY NEED TO BE FUN!

That being said, graphics and storyline are VERY important for the immersion of a game. Games like Halo 3, Bioshock, and Heavenly Sword are all examples of engaging graphics and storyline. They’re also extremely fun to play (I’ve only personally played Halo 3 and read very good reviews about the other two). Hopefully, as graphics becomes easier for us to utilize and making games pretty becomes super easy, we will be able to focus better on making games fun again. I’ve got good hopes for the game industry. Also… if I ever manage to break into the game industry, I can guarantee that my main focus will be on fun… unless I’m an artist. Nah, fun is king.

Let me just put it this way: People didn’t wait so long in line for Halo3 just so they can see how neat the graphics where. They waited that long so that they could buy the game and blow stuff up in cool new ways! End of story.

Rant to you later,
~Nathaniel