Javanoid
http://www.javanoid.com
'It finally happened. I just flaked.
The crew of helper monkeys has been on vacation, leaving me fully in charge of doing my job. Seriously, did they accept that it would get done? That's what assistants and interns are for: to do the job someone else is getting paid for.
Determined to find the most interesting site on the web, I sat at my computer with a pot of coffee and a pack of cigarettes. Now seemed like a good time to pick up smoking.
I worked more diligently than I ever have in my entire life. Fifteen minutes later, I needed to get some dinner.
On my walk to BoLoDo (Boulder's Lower Downtown), I ran into a friend whom I have not seen since my move to Colorado. He told me that he was going to show me the secret of being a true Boulderite. He told me he was going to "smoke me out."
Unsure of exactly what he meant, and never wanting to be the outsider, I willingly obliged. Since then, I've been too distracted to work because I have been trying to convince the 7-11 guy to deliver - and playing Javanoid.
Javanoid is a free Java version of the video game classic, Arkanoid. It is Web-based and does not need to be downloaded. The Javanoid site also has Radial Pong, Tetris, and Javanoid 2. The original game has been too addictive to leave for long, though. So, the rest of the games have been barely tested. From the looks of it, though, Tetris was pretty standard but Radial Pong was also an addictive game.
For those of you who don't remember Arkanoid, the concept is simple. You control the tube-shaped paddle at the bottom of the screen by moving it left and right towards the ball. You hit the ball into the bricks. Once all the bricks have disappeared, you go to the next level. It must have taken years for the gaming industry to perfect that concept.
It's a simple game that is fun to play. There are no intense challenges to be expected, only fun games to play at work that are easy to hide when your boss comes up behind you. Javanoid is a good way to pass the time and use up those lazy hours of slow-moving summer days.
It's what I'm doing instead of work, anyway.