For my previous posts in this series, see this link:

15 Addictive Online Games

I actually have accumulated WAY more than 15 good flash games, but I’ll pick the cream of the crop for this post.

Robokill: Man I blew so much time on this game. I actually played it with a 360 controller using xpadder to map the controls to the keys used in the game. There are loads of weapons and levels in the free version, but if you want to play more you’ll have to pay for level 5 onwards. The screenshot doesn’t do it justice, this really is a great browser game.

Frantic 2: In my original 15 games post, I recommended the original Frantic flash game. They’ve now released its sequel. It’s pretty much been improved in nearly every way.

Ice Breaker: Really, really good game. I’ve seen this type of game before, but never produced with such a high quality. I have a soft spot for good pixel art, which this game has. It also has excellent music. The gameplay requires you to make cuts in the ice to free the trapped Vikings and get them back to their ship. Easy at first, but you will scratch your head in some of the later levels.

Okami Flash Game: Just keep getting the items to progress. The more items you get in a row the greater the multiplier. Simple enough graphics but effective.

Don’t Look Back: Very simple and old-school looking game but damn is it good. This one pretty much distracted the entire office where I work for about half an hour until we’d all completed it. It isn’t that difficult, but some of the puzzles will have you scratching your head in confusion.

Retroshoot: Very addictive game. It’s a throw back to the old arcade side/up scrolling shmups. On a few gos, I managed to get to lvl 11 before having to use a continue.

Koi2: Words can’t describe this game. I’ve played it quite a few times and I still can’t work out “why?”. I think the aim of the game is to shoot your hand at the woman on the other side of the table and poke her in the eye… just play it and see for yourself.

Domo-kun’s Angry Smashfest!: Domo-kun and the powerpuff girls. KEELLL THEM!!! I love the artwork in this. If this game had been released on the Genesis when I was a kid I would of bought (and probably paid £60 for it also, man how things have changed)

Amberial: Get a bouncing ball to the finish line. A lot more difficult than it sounds.

Giraffe Attack: Short but hilarious game. A basic upscrolling shmup. Music and graphics are excellent.

Canabalt: Great game, and what’s even better about is that the level is randomly generated so no 2 games of it will be the same. Just keep running to the right, the more you survive without hitting anything the faster you’ll go.

Cat Cat Watermelon: Simple (to begin with) physics based game. Just stack the cats and watermelons (as well as some other objects). The music is also retro-awesome.

SAS Zombie Assault 2: Similar to Left4KDead, it’s a top down shooter. Hold the house and fend off the incoming Zombie horde.

The Unfair Platformer: This game wants you to lose. It’s really a trial of attrition, how much failure can you handle before you quit, lol

Queens: I love the simple Pixel Art in this. Like the previous game this ones aim is to make you lose. You’ll pass it by correctly remembering the areas and timing your jumps.

At a recent expo, unrelated to engineering, I needed to use the facilities and found they had removed the old hot air hand driers and drag down towel dispensers with a Dyson Airblade. The name sounds pretentious and overly markety (Bill Hicks would have a field day), but it’s function more than makes up for this.

You simply place your hands in the unit and 2 opposing and angled down waves of cold air blow the water off your hands. I mean we’ve got so used to the only options being to dry off the water with paper towel of have the water dried off with heat that I’d never thought of the idea of room temperature air being used, not to dry the water, but to blow the water off your hands.

The Airblade works perfectly. You place your hands in it, the air starts, you pull them out and your hands are dry. Initially I thought my hands hadn’t been dried but upon inspection they where. I guess this is because human touch is pretty simple, it basically only detects pressure and temperature. There are large temperature and pressure changes with the old methods of drying your hands, but this one uses room temperature air to blow the water off your skin, so your skin experiences very low fluctuations of pressure and temperature.

I know its something simple and easily overlooked, but to me that is what makes the perfect invention. Something that effortlessly makes your life simpler, without causing any disruption to it. Also, it exists in a function where, upon using it, you wonder how you ever lived without it. On a plus, it’s also a lot more hygienic and energy efficient than the old hot air driers

Unfortunately, aside from that expo, I haven’t seen them installed anywhere else.

PS: I don’t work for Dyson AT ALL, I just like good design

Note: the picture at the beginning of this post is one I took of the actual, still working, hand dryer in the toilets at the base of the “Rock of Cashel”

Homepage: http://www.dysonairblade.ie/

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

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