One Year of Super Hexagon

It has been exactly one year (to my nearest calculation) that I first installed and played Super Hexagon on my Android powered device. I remember when I first watched the trailer, I had no idea what was going on or what it was about. All I saw was (heh heh, saw was was saw....Anyhoo) all I saw was lots of moving around and colorful shiny-ness accompanied by some cool tunes (all of which were made using sounds from Gameboy [I think, might as well check it out here ] ).

So, since I was into rhythm games at the time (I still am by the way) I decided to give it a try. That was definitely the best decision I have ever made that day.

So pretty, so fast, so cool, why can’t I make it past 15 seconds?! Better question yet, why can’t I stop playing? In the words of the esteemed Nerd Cubed “So this is what it’s like to take drugs kids, never take drugs cause you’ll just have to play really hard video games all the time.” “Who designed this game? Whoever he is he’s a bastard and I love him.” Ya, pretty much. I have played this game for nearly 40 hours and I could still be like: hmmmm what should I do now? Ah! I’ll play Super Hexagon!

40 hours?! You might say. That’s like completing the first level 2400 times! Aren’t you tired of playing the same level for 6,000 seconds? (an eternity in Super Hexagon time) hmmmmmmm, no.

There’s just nothing else I can say, it’s an excellent game.

“This is the nightmare of the spaceship from asteroids, this is how it dreams.” – Nerd Cubed

You might think: So you’ve played this game for hours and hours, do still play it to just keep getting better or something? You could say that, and there’s definitely an unconscious goal to get more seconds than the last time. But the real reason is that, well, it almost is like drugs. Every time I get somewhere past 45 seconds my heart is beating and my throat is in my chest. I have never seen a violent exciting intense movie, or first person shooter game, or even had a real life experience (not that games are not real life) that has made my heart beat harder, or my hands shake more, then when I got 256 seconds on the first level of Super Hexagon. How can a game be so beautiful and addicting, yes SO simple?!

I don’t know, I just hope there’s gonna be a Super Hexagon 2 in heaven.

If you want to watch Nerd Cubed’s video of Super Hexagon, the link is here

Disclaimer, he does say some bad words, but all in good humor.

Also the Super Hexagon website  

Government = Truth = Not True

The other day I was working at Fareway, and I was walking out with a lady

and making small talk (nasty weather we’re having. Etc.).

And then she said, “So. I guess you get the week off of school huh? ( because of spring

break).

In response I said:

“No actually I’m home schooled so we don’t take spring break.”

Then she said:

“O that’s nice, so I guess you get to pick your own hours then?”

I said:

“No actually I’m only aloud to work for 2 and a half hours a day, cause, ya know,

to much work is bad for young men! (ha ha)”

She slowly blinked and said “oh… (as if she couldn't process the fact that

restrictions aren’t always a good thing)…Well what about to much school?”

I almost did a face palm but stopped myself just in time.

I didn’t want to annoy her or be a “bad” representative of Fareway,

so I dropped the subject and moved on.

But in my head I was thinking:

“what about to much school”? seriously??

Most kids stay up till who knows when playing video games anyway.

they could easily swap out there video game time with work.

Also, Why should the government be able to tell us how much school we do?

Back then young men worked from dawn to dusk (sometimes more)

and the only school they did was in the winter time when there wasn’t as much work to do.

I have run into a lot of different people at work.

Sometimes we have a fun time laughing about how working to much is bad.

But most of the time, when I tell people that I can only work from 4 to 6:30

they are like: oh, well that’s to bad.

But then when I tell them the reason (because of child labor laws).

Then they automatically think: Oh, well it’s a law so it must be a good one right?

And our government put it there and government is god right?

It makes me sad when I see people that are dumbfounded by the idea that the

government might just be wrong.

I never really talked to the average person on the streets before.

But now that I have I job where I meet almost every type of person (because everybody needs food)

I have come to realize why our society is the way it is.

People don’t think for themselves, they have the government to do that right?

third order permutohedra, and apathy. (you might wanna google that)

Super hexagon.

…Super Hexagon is a minimal action game by Terry Cavanagh…

I remember watching the video and going: huh, that looks like a cool game (at the time I didn’t notice

the triangle spinning around and dodging the blocks).

All I saw was hexagons spinning around and I thought it looked cool.

When I first opened the game up on my Android there were three thoughts that

unconsciously popped into my head: This game was really well designed, this music is awesome,

and this game is fun!

Now when I say ‘really well designed” I don’t mean that there are tons of tiny HQ details that you could

only see if you had a tablet.

It also doesn’t mean that there are tons of cool options and menus and game modes and multiplayer

madness and upgrades and coins that you can buy.

No, that’s what all the other app makers are doing.

This was different.

This was super.

And by super I mean that the colors and fonts they used all worked together to make

A beautiful app.

The junk and clutter that are in most app menus do not exist in this app.

It’s hard to describe it in any other way than to say that it is refreshing.

Now on to my second point.

The music.

If you are one of those types of people that doesn’t like their music to have any kind of a beat

(meaning a thumping bass or drums and stuff of that sort)

Then I can safely say that you won’t like this music.

Although I think most of my friends once they heard it would probably say they liked it.

The music a classic mix between electronic and video game soundtrack.

Thus, Electronic + VG soundtrack = sweetness.

My third point kind of speaks for itself.

So I will elaborate on this point by telling what the game play is.

It is very simple.

In the center of the screen there is a hexagon (go figure).

On the outside edge of so said hexagon there is a little triangle that you move right and

left around the hexagon by pressing the right and left buttons.

Then once you have that down there are blocks that come at you and you have to dodge them.

It sounds easy but the average lasting time for people who haven’t played for very long,

Or don’t try very hard, is about 5 seconds.

Most people (I hypothesize) give up fairly quickly as they feel that they will never be any good at this game.

Most people aren’t good at the game, It’s just the hard truth.

That’s why I said to myself when I got this game: I am going to try my very hardest to

get good at this game so that I can get to the top 3%.

I am almost there (SQUEAL!).

I think this game is a great test of someone’s losing attitude.

I told my friends that I play this game every day in the attempt to get good at it.

They might have thought that that was a waste of time for me.

But what better to play hard at a game where you can challenge yourself to get good at it,

Rather than play a game that is enjoyable, but doesn’t challenge you?

Would you rather waste your time playing a game that challenges you,

or a game that doesn’t really do anything to better you?

I will end with the point that, apathy, even in games, is something that people need

to overcome.

If you would like to look at the game, here is the link to Super Hexagon

Why I constantly here a phrase of music on the radio and go, sigh, another feel good song

Lately I have been thinking of a song called "Drink from His cup"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKhs_ET5JsE Here is the youtube video with lyrics.
http://lyrics.wikia.com/PRo:Drink_From_His_Cup Here are the lyrics.

As I was listening to this song and contemplating on the lyrics,
it hit me that, these lyrics are the complete opposite of all the feel good lyrics( which basically
describes all the songs on the so call "christian" radio stations )
that you would find on the radio.

The whole point of songs on the radio these days, from what I have noticed.
Is to make sure that you know that: God loves you, He will never let you go,
you can get through this, think about how much he loves you.

I can think of one artist, who, has half of his songs centered around love.
In one song he even goes so far as to say, that: "the only thing that matters is Your love".

Although in this song ( Drink form His cup ) they do mention God's love,
and the do mention being in God's arms.
They speak about it in a different manner than that on the radio.
Here is an example: "the pain I bear can not compare to Your arms once I get there".

Pain in this world is something that is normal, we can't escape it.
So we shouldn't treat it like it is all a big deal.
Yes God does heal, Yes God does forgive.
But I don't think that someone living and suffering in Africa can just
listen to a feel good song and all his troubles will be over with.

Yes we can seek encouragement from music.
but if all we think about is making ourselves feel better,
how will that make us feel towards others?
What percentile of the Bible talks about feeling good?
What percentile of people who suffer come to have a closer relationship
with God, compared to those who have an easy life?
Paul was a very Godly man, do you think he had an easy life?
Do you want to have a close relationship with God?
Drink from His cup.

Burning you garbage CAN be dangerous(But it is still fun)

So it was an average Wednesday afternoon, I was burning the garbage as usual. 

I was just about to go inside when POP!one of these things shot a 100 feet in the air over the trees and almost hit our house.

Actually three did it.

Two of them landed side by side and the other was not to far away, so they must of been pointing in approximately the same direction.

If I had been hit by one of these it would have either killed me or hurt me really bad.

So now every time I hear a pop in the fire I am afraid something is going to shoot out and hit my face.

Is Macro Evolution The Same as Micro Evolution?

Sometimes micro and macro evolution get mixed up.

In fact here is an evolutionist who admits it, Dr. Niles Eldredge, curator of the American Museum of Natural History, and a believer in macro evolution, admits this:

-"I admit that an awful lot of that has gotten into the textbooks as though it were true. For instance, the most famous example still on exhibit downstairs [in his museum] is the exhibit on horse evolution prepared perhaps 50 years ago. That has been presented as literal truth in textbook after textbook. Now I think that that is lamentable..."

If you know from a reliable source (the people who wrote it and the professors who read it)

that textbooks are telling lies as if they were true......

How can you believe what you learn in government schools?

Music/Lecr.....

Rap is bad!....Its sinful!......Think of all the bad rappers out there!........What good has it ever done you?!.....
---
Can I talk now?
Thanks.
Okay here I go.

Some people say classical music helps the mind.
I have a friend who has seen some amazing results from playing an instrument.
And I agree, classical music can be good for the brain.
But when we are talking about music with lyrics, that is a whole different topic.
Really, it is a very different topic.
Seriously.
No joke.

Right now I am going to talk about music with lyrics.

If you are a Christian you will obviously like Christian music better, and since mostly everybody reading this blog is probably a Christian, than I will talk about Christian music.

I know a lot a believers who think rap is bad.
They say the heavy beat is bad for you, they see this picture of a screaming black guy wearing saggy pants and singing to a wild beat.(no joke). They think that all that stimulation and hard sound can't be good for you.(that is basically all they have said)
But I think they are just following a stereotype that says quote unquote- Gangsters
like and make rap, so rap must be bad. Period.
Many Christian rappers(like Lecrae) did hang out in the hood and made secular rap.
But then they became a Christian and said something like this- You know all those non-Christian
rappers out their need a witness, I think I'll make some Christian rap for them.
But some other Christians don't like it.
So they listen to music like the stuff on KGBI, and K-LOVE, and stuff like that.
Some of them listen to classical or soundtrack, some even listen to secular music.
Then there are some who listen to whatever they want.
Then there are some (like me) who listen to rap.

I would like to look at the differences between contemporary, and Christian rap.

Contemporary: Most of the lyrics I hear are talking about how God loves us, and how every thing is going to be OK, and It's all right God loves you, God is good, you can make it.
Yes God is good, and yes God loves you, but there is a point where we need to realize that God sends
pain and suffering to make us grow in our faith.
Besides that message gets a little old after a while.
Christian rappers are much more to the point, don't have there head in the clouds, and don't preach only what the world wants to here.
In rap you hear phrases like this "Here's my gifts and time cause I'm constantly trying to be used to praise the Christ"
Sure K-LOVE has God honoring songs on it but it is rare that you hear something like that.

I have never heard a song on KGBI or K-LOVE talk about how we are supposed to suffer(quite the opposite)
Here is another line from a "bad" rap song-
"Suffer, ya, do it for Christ, you make a lot a money hope you doin it right because the money is God's ya better steward it right"
Wow.
What other artists are afraid to admit, a rapper(of all people) comes out and says out loud and bluntly.
The point is we ARE supposed to suffer for Christ.
The church in China welcomes suffering and sees it as a way to grow.
In fact they even pray for us Americans to go through suffering!!

Don't you want the music you listen too to be God honoring?
The eleventh commandment is not "And thou shalt not have a heavy beat in thy music!"
In fact God tells us praise him with music and lots of instruments.
I don't think God frowns on all those people who play drums, I think he smiles at those who worship him freely in their music.


By the way, the song I quoted is Don't waste your life by Lecrae.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0_pzJfrqiU
You should listen to it.