Site Exploration #1

This is a website I found quite interesting to look at, and it retaught me some physics as well.

http://www.msichicago.org/fileadmin/Activities/Games/simple_machines/

As soon as I clicked the link to the website, I was greeted with this little robot dude bumpin to it's music. I found that was an interesting use of a loop to keep the audience entertained while the flash site/game loaded. I saw examples of useful animations for the buttons when it loaded all the way, and liked the color scheme that the programmers used. I especially liked how the environment around the flash game was connected to it, how the blue guy outside watched little Twitch perform his tasks to reach his goal, and told the audience how to function with Twitch using the keyboard. I also noticed how the banner "Simple Machines" had it's own animations going on while you played, making it interesting and more lively. I also like that the level select was an etch-a-sketch pad and there was an animation that showed Twitch walking towards the next level "box".

While waiting for the section/level to load, I was very much amused with the preloader game you played with Twitch, turning your mouse into food that Twitch would chase after around the screen. I liked that I could torture poor Twitch by holding the lovely morsel of chocolate right out of his reach, and that he jumped up to try and grab it. I liked that part of the mouse stayed behind afterwards, but most of the food was savored by Twitch who gobbled it up. It was still interactive enough with Twitch to almost feel like you really were feeding him so he could have enough energy to accomplish the next goal.

Upon finishing the game, Twitch comes out from the middle of the screen and comes into the outer environment to return the items he collected on his quest.I found that quite creative because it really broke the boundary you held within the game quite well enough to notice the boundary again.

All in all, I found this little site quite amusing, and found myself playing it again and again to use as little force as possible to achieve the end result, seeing as a grade came up after the game was finished. I liked the style the designer went with, it was simple but the use of real objects in the background of levels made it seem quite believable.

(Also, use the Leaning Tower of Pisa on the first level. Even if Bad Twitch looks a little devilish.)