30 ms·
Snakisms
- lemez9 10y agoThis is a lovely tech equivalent of the immortal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercises_in_Style https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercises_in_Style
- mk89 10y agooptimism! LOL!
- brilliantcode 10y agoExistentialism performed exactly like I imagined. Endless banality of reality symbolized by continuing borders. I had to switch it off because I started to project myself to this small square pixel that elongates in the backdrop of pitch dark oblivion staring back into my empty soul.
- weinzierl 10y agoYou must be a true Existentialist then. I quickly committed suicide out of curiosity. "Il n'y a qu'un problème philosophique vraiment sérieux: c'est le suicide" I guess.
- brilliantcode 10y agoA true Existentialist marvels at the thought of having the option of choosing the time, place and method of erasing oneself. But the instance suicide is committed, he is no longer an existentialist. It's better to be an existentialist as long as possible. Even if it becomes absurd. To maintain life is to maintain my philosophy. Suicide is forfeiture of the very thing existentialists cling on to-their ego created as a defence mechanism against all man created banalities. p.s. I am talking out of my ass.
- phamilton 10y agoI wanted to stop, but suicide didn't even cross my mind... fascinating
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- jashkenas 10y agoThis is delightful. I only wish that someone would put it into a nondescript arcade cabinet in a hallway somewhere, so that people could stumble across it unprepared. Edit: Naturally, it turns out that Mr. Barr has a PhD in this sort of thing, and that his thesis has to do with how we demonstrate our values during the course of playing video games. http://www.pippinbarr.com/academic/Pippin_Barr_PhD_Thesis.pdf http://www.pippinbarr.com/academic/Pippin_Barr_PhD_Thesis.pd...
- problems 10y agoIt's not so much focused on demonstrating your own values so much as it's about UI and the conduct that the UI is able to generate through cause and effect. Like in GTA, do you try to talk our your problems or do you shoot first and ask questions later? The UI will repeatedly encourage you to shoot first and players will learn that, because if you won't, your enemies will. This is the definition of value they're using, which I guess applies in this case: "A value is an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct is preferable to other potential modes of conduct". Seems like a weird use of the word "values" to me as it's essentially about being able to figure out how it's best to progress rather than moral beliefs as the term may imply for many people. EDIT: Yet they try to mix these interchangeably in the paper, with examples like "a value of PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT means that we will choose to put out the recycling on Tuesday evening, rather than put all our plastic in with the regular trash." - the reason you believe that is probably not because you stopped progressing and there was nothing else to do. I suppose this is the distinction between "video game values" and real world values. But I think it's important to note the lack of overlap and reasoning, which I'm not sure this paper does. Though maybe it does say something about our real world values changing to get the job done.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- komali2 10y agoBut maybe after learning there would be subtle difference in play between different players, based on their values. Just like after you learn the rules of the world and are an adult, you act differently. So for example I really just cannot bring myself to play a "dick" character in games like Fallout 4, Skyrim, Mass Effect, etc, but I know plenty of people who delight in it.
- pashariger 10y agoThis is fantastic. Thank you! Really enjoyed the Stoicism & Narcissism versions.
- nsxwolf 10y agoUtilitarianism made me laugh.
- rhardih 10y agoNihilism made me chuckle.
- lai 10y agoWow! This is such a fun way to remember these concepts.
- saurik 10y agoThe "swipes control snake" interface for this is extremely difficult to control... it seems like the swipes only register if you swipe while on the snake, which means to do fast movements you have to keep your finger hovering in front of the very thing you need to see constantly, and even then it isn't like a swipe is remotely a fast action you can perform (particularly as it seems to only register moderately long and deliberate swipes).
- comex 10y agoYou don't have to swipe on the snake. (I agree it's somewhat annoying to control, though.)
- mikeash 10y agoI started out by randomly clicking on Idealism and couldn't figure out what the joke was supposed to be. Trying another one made it click, though!
- ctoth 10y agoI have no idea what this is, as the entire page just shows up as completely blank to my screen reader. Guessing some sort of game.
- wlesieutre 10y agoIt's little games based on Snake for various "isms": For a couple of examples, the dualism version says "Arrows control snake body. Mind controls snake mind." and utilitarianism gives you two dead-end paths, one with 1 food and one with 5 food. Stoicism lets you run into walls and just sit there without losing.
- scribu 10y agoIn stoicism, you can carry on after hitting the wall by making a turn.
- fao_ 10y agoThere's a thread with reasonably detailed explanations of each game and how it changes from regular snake, here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13806228 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13806228
- valine 10y agoI love how the optimisitic snake never gets any bigger.
- thomk 10y agoHahah! I didn't notice that!
- diegorbaquero 10y agoThe games awesome. Capitalism: "You can't afford the apple". Excellent. I didn't like the auto mail.
- ehsankia 10y agoFinishing with Utilitarianism's trolley level was just the perfect ending.
- clay_to_n 10y agoLol at narcissism - when you die it sends an email to the creator about how much you love his work.
- brilliantcode 10y agoBrutally honest - snowflake is not a snowflake if it doesn't announce itself.
- striking 10y agoDid it actually automatically email for you? For me it just popped up a window to compose an email, with some content filled in. And personally, I thought it was brilliant. I played that level for a solid few minutes trying to figure out what the twist was.
- kalleboo 10y agoSafari popped up a dialog that said "This page has been blocked from automatically composing an email." with an option to allow it anyway
- ronilan 10y agoGame URL from author's site: https://www.pippinbarr.com/2017/01/25/snakisms/ https://www.pippinbarr.com/2017/01/25/snakisms/ Life is meaningless!
- goldesel 10y agoGreat game, but why does it consume soooo much CPU?
- TazeTSchnitzel 10y agoJavaScript, probably. More serious answer: it's using HTML5 canvas, which is quite inefficient as rendering APIs go. For example, if you use n colours when rendering a frame, and your game runs at m frames per second, you are invoking the browser's CSS parser n×m times a second, because CSS colour strings are the only way to express colours, and it is an exclusively immediate-mode API. The engine in use might be layering on top additional inefficiencies. (I love how easy to use HTML5 canvas is, but its CPU usage, performance and power consumption properties make me want to cry.)
- Scaevolus 10y agoThat's only if you switch colors frequently. Canvas can be quite efficient. It's irrelevant here-- the game is using Phaser, which can render as either Canvas or WebGL (WebGL in my case), but it's spending most of it's time in engine code updating expensive transforms every frame.
- TazeTSchnitzel 10y agoAh, I see. I did check the source to see if it was using canvas 2D, but I failed to check if it wasn't using WebGL.
- kmill 10y agoIf you're willing to forgo the built-in drawing primitives, you can get access to the underlying buffer and draw directly to that. That way you avoid the CSS parser. Edit: in particular, getImageData and putImageData.
- TazeTSchnitzel 10y agoYep, but then you forego hardware acceleration, so this is only reasonable at low resolutions. If you want to do anything serious, WebGL's your only option.
- simplehuman 10y agoIs there an online gorilla.bas :-) ?
- makmanalp 10y agoAsk and ye shall receive, thanks to the archive.org retro gaming folks (seriously, that whole archive is amazing): https://archive.org/details/GorillasQbasic https://archive.org/details/GorillasQbasic
- kmill 10y agoFunny you should ask. I translated it to Javascript a few months ago, fixing a couple of bugs in the original game in the process[1]: http://www.kylem.net/stuff/gorilla/gorilla.html http://www.kylem.net/stuff/gorilla/gorilla.html [1] and surely introducing a couple bugs of my own. I almost got it pixel-perfect, but I couldn't figure out QBasic's arc-drawing algorithm! (And the "slow rendering" is artificial delays. Because whole frames are drawn at a time with HTML5, you have to do something on purpose to get the slow city drawing effect.)
- speeder 10y agoI think I found a bug the original game didn't had (or my dad fixed on my version...), but suiciding results in you getting the score. (example: I suicided as "player 2", the "player 1" made his victory dance, but the score counted 1 point for player 2)
- kmill 10y agoThanks! Scorekeeping was always a part of the code I was unsure about, and I thought I saw some scoring inaccuracies while playing the game, but somehow never identified what they were. If you're curious, the HITSELF constant in the original game is 1, but I was testing a boolean against HITSELF using strict equality (===). Thus, you were just scored based on how many gorillas you hit with a banana. (fixed)
- kmill 10y agoActually, it turned out I just reversed who received each point! The bug was more subtle and came down to the fact that arguments are passed by reference in QBasic, so the DoShot function modifies the caller's PlayerNum variable when a gorilla is hit. This means there's just dead code in the scoring function.
- simondedalus 10y agovery good. dualism and pessimism particularly funny. like the overall design too.
- jstrassburg 10y agoExcellent. Now I want to make one illustrating different logical fallacies.
- Cofike 10y agoThis reminds me a lot of these neat little socratic games. http://gregkarber.com/philo/ http://gregkarber.com/philo/
- twic 10y agoBarr has also done a bit of ancient Greece: http://www.pippinbarr.com/games/letsplayancientgreekpunishment/LetsPlayAncientGreekPunishment.html http://www.pippinbarr.com/games/letsplayancientgreekpunishme... Updated, touch-oriented version: http://www.pippinbarr.com/games/letsplayancientgreekpunishmentlimitededition/ http://www.pippinbarr.com/games/letsplayancientgreekpunishme...
- twic 10y agoMolleindustria is also worth a look, although they're coming from a slightly different direction. The gospel in eight bits and ten seconds: http://www.molleindustria.org/runjesusrun/run_jesus_run.html http://www.molleindustria.org/runjesusrun/run_jesus_run.html And "Kosmosis: a communist space shooter is an arcade game from an alternate present where non-degenerated socialist values are hegemonic", and which is more fun than that sounds: http://www.molleindustria.org/kosmosis/kosmosis.html http://www.molleindustria.org/kosmosis/kosmosis.html
- TazeTSchnitzel 10y agoThis person's other work is great too. I'm currently deriving much amusement from Game Studies.
- soheil 10y agoStoicism, you could never do anything to lose.
- octohedron 10y agoYes you can trap yourself making an inward spiral and then you can't do anything so it's game over.
- zardo 10y agoIt's only game over if you give up.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- wnoise 10y agoYou can lock yourself in a place where you can't move though.
- RyanMcGreal 10y agoPositivism is particularly clever.
- metaphorm 10y agoand particularly difficult as well. amazing how ragged and dysfunctional the universe becomes if we don't allow ourselves to make certain assumptions.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- hex13 10y agosome options like Apocalypticism seem normal, without any special effects.
- gregorymichael 10y agoNarcissism is particularly well done.
- gpawl 10y agoIs Conservatism the same as the classic Snake game? That makes sense, but it would be interesting to see it contrasted against a Progressivism or Liberalism version.
- jerf 10y agoIt's philosophical conservatism, not political conservatism. The Snake game works as it is, why change it? Of course the rest of the work is itself a rather potent rebuttal to that idea. In the context of the Snake game, at least.
- mos_basik 10y ago>The Snake game works as it is, why change it? Ahhh, thank you. I was having some trouble figuring that one out but you summarized things nicely.
- beaconstudios 10y agoI can see the progressive one being hilarious.
- marknutter 10y agoThe snake would start eating itself..
- kderbe 10y agoHe's made a few other "variations on a classic" games: http://www.pippinbarr.com/games/breaksout/ http://www.pippinbarr.com/games/breaksout/ http://www.pippinbarr.com/games/pongs/Pongs.html http://www.pippinbarr.com/games/pongs/Pongs.html
- cust0m 10y agono comunism/anarchism?
- beaconstudios 10y agocommunism wouldn't really make sense with a single agent, and I guess anarchism would just have an apple shoot you for violating NAP (and/or for fun).
- cust0m 10y agolol, ancaps aren't anarchists although they claim to be
- beaconstudios 10y agoI think it's fair to say they are, although I included the "(and/or for fun)" to cover the usual kind of anarchy.
- kkajanaku 10y agoMonism is great.
- behnamoh 10y agoUndoubtedly the best set of games I've played in so long! Really great stuff and mind-tinkling :) Kudos
- dahart 10y agoSo good, abstract concept art in such a cute video game package. I can't play it for that long, but getting through the list feels more meaningful than if I'd spent two weeks mastering an amazing high score. I think romanticism had me laughing the hardest.
- scardine 10y agoI guess I don't know enough philosophy to understand some of the jokes. Anthropomorphism: the apple moves like the snake, man was made to the image of god and so on. Apocalypticism: the game just ends after a few moves without notice. Asceticism: the game ends if you eat the apple, you are supposed to be like a faquir. Capitalism: you start the game with 50, spend 10 each apple you eat - when you are broke you can't afford the apple. Casualism: I had to Google this one, the screen just flashes with random squares. Conservatism: just the plain old snakes game. Determinism: the snake just moves by itself and you are unable to control the game - your destiny was set in stone the moment you were born. Dualism: you can control the snake body with the regular controls, and you can move the snake mind with your mind. My mind is too weak so I was unable to move the snake mind. Existentialism: you move the snake in a dark screen - after reading the wikipedia I guess the joke has to do with freedom in a meaningless world. Holism: the whole screen moves with the snake (makes it very hard to get the apples in the corners) Idealism: imagine you are playing a game of snakes Monism: your play is not restrained by the walls - after reading it I guess the joke is about you being made of the same substance of god or something like that Narcissism: when you finish the game it sends an email to the creator about how much you love his work. Nihilism: just a black screen, no snake, no apples - nothing in the world really exists. Optimism: you see apples everywhere but looks like they are not nourishing because the snake doesn't grow. Pessimism: the play field is smaller and the apples appear outside of the walls where you are unable to reach. Positivism: you see only a narrow part of the play field, I guess the joke is that you are unable to know the universe because our senses are limited. Post-apocalypticism: no apples, you just move through a scrambled play field. Romanticism: every time you eat an apple you see a cheeky statement like "food tastes like ashes when I'm not sharing it with you". Stoicism: like a plain old snake game but you don't die when you hit the walls or yourself - after reading the wikipedia article I guess the joke is that virtue is sufficient for happiness, so the sage is immune to misfortune. Utilitarianism: you have only two very narrow paths, one with 5 apples and other with one apple. If you take the one with more apples you win, otherwise you loose.
- tsukikage 10y agoI take issue with their representation of determinism: since chains of cause and effect are what connects your actions to your will, it should in fact be the only version of the game where the player gets to control the snake :)
- dsego 10y agoHow to get out of nihilism?
- ursus_bonum 10y agoIndeed.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- lovemenot 10y agoIf I told you, I'd have to kill you.
- Wizek 10y agoIn game or IRL? In the latter construct some meaning in your life.
- ndh2 10y agoOnce you get in, you never get out.
- jug 10y agoI wish Pessimism would have let the snake move outside the constrained bounds. That would have told the player that pessimism may be painting a darker "reality" than what it really is.
- platz 10y agoPessimists consistently assign more accurate estimates on outcomes than optimists.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- imsofuture 10y agoThe game represents pessimism, the concept, not pessimism, the philosophy, unfortunately.
- vkreso 10y agoSame wih nihilism.
- AJRF 10y agoHere is what they all mean, saves you opening a bunch of tabs: https://airtable.com/shrfy8qWla6qIviin https://airtable.com/shrfy8qWla6qIviin
- necessity 10y agoSite doesn't load without javascript.
- d33 10y agoYou're welcome to create a CSS-only version, since CSS is Turing complete ;)
- justaguyonline 10y agoBeautiful, I loved the "value" aspect of it, but I found the simple, but good game design the best part. A lot of people know to have a chime play when you pick up an "apple" in games for pavlovian reasons, but fewer would add that nice hum that movement created in general. It makes moving through space both a visual and auditory experience.
- Fiahil 10y agoI wonder how many "narcissistic" email did he received..
- overcast 10y agoPretty rad existential, abstract art. Only missing the really abstract "kidism" in my opinion :) https://kidisms.com https://kidisms.com
- thomk 10y agoSuddenly I regret all of my lifes choices that led me to doing anything but becoming Pippin Barr.
- r0m4n0 10y agoReminds me of the underlying themes behind Binding of Isaac. Also a brilliantly simple yet addictive game
- revskill 10y agoHow to win ?
- trop 10y agoThen there is Ze Frank's classic trilogy: http://www.zefrank.com/christian/ http://www.zefrank.com/christian/ http://www.zefrank.com/buddhist/ http://www.zefrank.com/buddhist/ http://www.zefrank.com/atheist/ http://www.zefrank.com/atheist/
- pippinbarr 10y agoHoly crap. So many comments. I'm going to read all of these!
- Beltiras 10y agoHow many narcissistic emails have you received?
- pippinbarr 10y agoHoly crap so many comments. I'm going to read them all.
- alexmlamb2 10y ago#im14andthisisdeep
- noisy_boy 10y agoHolism: some goals are just unattainable. Optimism: as your progress in your life, it just fills up with music no matter whereever you go. Stoicism: I think the snake should have kept the same size whether it ate an Apple or not.
- Lapsa 10y agostarted with 'Nihilism' and thought 'what da hell?!!'
- kevindication 10y agoSomething I don't get to say every day: Nihilism made me smile.
- hnal943 10y agoI just found out this week that my wife has never played snake, and is unfamiliar with the concept.
- nojvek 10y agoOn a mobile phone. Using the swipe gesture was incredibly difficult. I missed a lot and quickly gave up. My be just track motion of fingers for movement? It would provide a more time accurate interface. Otherwise it looked really cool. I love arcades.
- thraway2016 10y agoThis is a blank white page in Chromium. No JS errors in the console. When switching from this tab to another tab and back again, the contents of the prior tab are partially clipped into a top-centered rectangle. No functionality or other behavior can be observed.
- seba_dos1 10y agoCheck the WebGL support in your browser.
- msluyter 10y agoSome other possibilities: Socialism: there are two snakes, and the 10 points for eating an apple gets split between them. Communism: the game starts as Capitalism with two snakes, but then the game switches to Socialism, and the 50$ (or remainder) gets expropriated and split between the two snakes. Late Communism: Starts like Communism, but more and more points for apples get allocated to the AI snake (and fewer to you) because it's a member of the communist party. Late Late Communism: Like Late Communism, but eventually no more apples appear. Game implodes and turns back into Capitalism, but the party member snake has all the money. Platonism: another game runs in parallel alongside this one, but the snake is perfect and the highest possible score is obtained.
- oon 10y agoI've never really thought that snake could be used as an art form before. I have been truly enlightened