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Altoids: The curiously weird role-playing game

Many companies have recently begun crafting little Flash games to advertise their products. Most are just simple, one-screen-sized renditions of classic old-school arcade titles. But the folks at Altoids have really gone the distance — they hired a cartoon artist and programmer to create an entire role-playing adventure.

You play the part of a zitty, sweaty shut-in who meets a girl on instant messaging and convinces her to go on a date. He has to make it to the club, cadge his way in, and impress her. Amazingly, it’s a pretty complex game, including many of the classic tropes of RPGS; there’s even an inventory of objects you carry around and manipulate to solve puzzles.

They get bonus points for the wittily self-referential dialogue. At one point early in the game, I’m trying to figure out how to get into the lineup for a nightclub — there’s a picture of it above — but the screen doesn’t scroll any further right. So I start talking to the woman on the far right:

Me: How did you get into the lineup?

Her: By walking to the end and standing behind the last person.

Me: But the screen won’t scroll that far.

Her: That’s because you’re a loser.

Okay, that’s cute enough that I want to buy some Altoids right now.

(Thanks to Laura for this one!)


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I'm Clive Thompson, a writer on science, technology, and culture. This blog collects bits of offbeat research I'm running into, and musings thereon.

Currently, I'm a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and a columnist for Wired magazine. I also write for Fast Company and Wired magazine's web site, among other places. Email or AOL IM me (pomeranian99) to say hi or send in something strange!

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The “Milky Way Transit Authority” map

Should automobile software be open-sourced?

My Bookforum review of Jaron Lanier’s “You Are Not A Gadget”

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Garry Kasparov, cyborg

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a bunch of stuff

January 31, 2010 » 07:29 PM
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A. To both.
M. It is a mis­ery, then, be­cause an evil?
A. Cer­tain­ly.
M. Then those who have al­ready died, and those who have still got to die, are both mis­er­able?
A. So it ap­pears to me.
M. Then all are mis­er­able?
A. Ev­ery one.

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BEYOND AWESOME. They are announcing a recall of the Plush Uterus “due to a potential choking hazard for children”. To apply for it, “Please send an email to the address below with the subject line, ‘UTERUS OPT OUT’”.

January 14, 2010 » 10:04 PM

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