Productivity Purgatory - Broken Picture Telephone
Need a convenient scapegoat for the current economic crisis? Blame this highly addictive game that will manage to cripple the world's workforce for at least the rest of time.
Everyone remembers the ostensible classic game of "Telephone," or as we called it in our youth, "When Camp Counselors Give Up: The Game.
" Get a dozen or so youth in a circle, have them whisper things in one another's ears, and (in theory), humor spills forth like punches at a Metro City wedding.
This model sounds good and fun, but the stark reality of the situation comes clear when the horde of children realize that there is immediate gratification in just saying stupid crap out loud instead of waiting for a turn.
The potential for amusement is there, but it's ruined by execution.
Besides, who really wants to sit around in a big circle when we can all spout out Burroughsian nuggets of madness from the comfort of a computer? Enter Broken Picture Telephone, which solves all these problems through the power of sub-MS Paint art.
Or to have the creator Alishah Novan describe it: Just what is Broken Picture Telephone, you ask? Why is it the game of miscommunication? Broken Picture Telephone is a game similar to the childhood game of Broken Telephone - the game in which children sit in a circle, and whisper a sentence or phrase in a circle.
If you've ever played the game, you know that very quickly hilarity ensues.
Broken Picture Telephone is the web-incarnation of that old children's game, with a slight variation in how it's played.
Rather than whispering words to strangers around the internet, the game alternates between words and drawings.
That's it really.
Games begin and end with a short blurb written on a virtual Post-It note, and someone draws what they see on another Post-It.
Given how limited the player is artistically (Just six sizes of brushes and eleven colors to work with,) even the best artists can only render so much of the original idea.
A third person is picked randomly to write what they see, which (hopefully) diverges slightly from the first note, and a fourth person draws what they read, and so on until the preset amount of posts have been achieved.
Then the game is archived and available for the general populace to read, comment on, and rank.
This has lead to some hilarious games (a word of warning: Most games get at least slightly inappropriate, so it's best not to browse with a parent, boss, rabbi, or community leader over your shoulder.
) where an unassuming original post slowly unfolds into an epic tale of misanthropy and stick figures.
The only problem is it's hardly unique, as the same issue plagues any online game: people set up dummy accounts and draw wildly inappropriate things that completely ruin the flow of the game.
Thankfully, the community is generally good spirited enough to just ignore the troll in question and have fun with their response, setting up another surreal misadventure before long.
The game has a wonderful community, and the best games have tons of supportive comments pointing out the hilarity that lies within.
All of these factors come together in an absolutely astounding browser game that can (and will) consume your time, free or otherwise.
The game even features a "boss mode" so you can pretend to be productive if an authority figure happens to blunder by.
Have you found any hilarious games that need to be shared with the world? Set up an account and want to run an OLC-centric game? Let us know in the comments section.
Everyone remembers the ostensible classic game of "Telephone," or as we called it in our youth, "When Camp Counselors Give Up: The Game.
" Get a dozen or so youth in a circle, have them whisper things in one another's ears, and (in theory), humor spills forth like punches at a Metro City wedding.
This model sounds good and fun, but the stark reality of the situation comes clear when the horde of children realize that there is immediate gratification in just saying stupid crap out loud instead of waiting for a turn.
The potential for amusement is there, but it's ruined by execution.
Besides, who really wants to sit around in a big circle when we can all spout out Burroughsian nuggets of madness from the comfort of a computer? Enter Broken Picture Telephone, which solves all these problems through the power of sub-MS Paint art.
Or to have the creator Alishah Novan describe it: Just what is Broken Picture Telephone, you ask? Why is it the game of miscommunication? Broken Picture Telephone is a game similar to the childhood game of Broken Telephone - the game in which children sit in a circle, and whisper a sentence or phrase in a circle.
If you've ever played the game, you know that very quickly hilarity ensues.
Broken Picture Telephone is the web-incarnation of that old children's game, with a slight variation in how it's played.
Rather than whispering words to strangers around the internet, the game alternates between words and drawings.
That's it really.
Games begin and end with a short blurb written on a virtual Post-It note, and someone draws what they see on another Post-It.
Given how limited the player is artistically (Just six sizes of brushes and eleven colors to work with,) even the best artists can only render so much of the original idea.
A third person is picked randomly to write what they see, which (hopefully) diverges slightly from the first note, and a fourth person draws what they read, and so on until the preset amount of posts have been achieved.
Then the game is archived and available for the general populace to read, comment on, and rank.
This has lead to some hilarious games (a word of warning: Most games get at least slightly inappropriate, so it's best not to browse with a parent, boss, rabbi, or community leader over your shoulder.
) where an unassuming original post slowly unfolds into an epic tale of misanthropy and stick figures.
The only problem is it's hardly unique, as the same issue plagues any online game: people set up dummy accounts and draw wildly inappropriate things that completely ruin the flow of the game.
Thankfully, the community is generally good spirited enough to just ignore the troll in question and have fun with their response, setting up another surreal misadventure before long.
The game has a wonderful community, and the best games have tons of supportive comments pointing out the hilarity that lies within.
All of these factors come together in an absolutely astounding browser game that can (and will) consume your time, free or otherwise.
The game even features a "boss mode" so you can pretend to be productive if an authority figure happens to blunder by.
Have you found any hilarious games that need to be shared with the world? Set up an account and want to run an OLC-centric game? Let us know in the comments section.
