Posts Tagged ‘online’

A brief history of Tetris

Tetris was the first computer game that involved falling tetromino pieces that the game player must align in order to create an unbroken line which subsequently disappears in order to free up more game play space. If the player is unable to make an unbroken line, the game play space quickly gets crowded until the point where no more space is available and the game is over.

The game of Tetris was first programmed in 1985 in the former Soviet Union by Alexey Pazhitnov. It ran on a machine called an Electronica 60 but was quickly ported to run on an IBM PC in the same month of its initial release. One month later and the game had been ported for use on the Apple II and the Commodore 64 by a programming team in Hungary.
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A better understanding of the arcade and flash games

A short overview of the history of arcade games and flash games will show that there is a huge connection between these two types of games. Arcade games have a long history and, even though the arcade games were not in the past what we know them to be today, the same concept is the main ingredient for the new ones as well. The arcade games are usually simple, have iconic characters, a certain number of levels with increasing difficulty and they do not require high skills or much learning time. In addition, they do not have deep storylines as most console games have in our days. Today’s PC or console games with the same qualities can be considered arcade games.

Starting from the early 1920’s with the use of old ‘arcade games’ in the amusement parks (such as ball toss games, coin-operated machines or pinball) this whole ‘industry’ has evolved immensely. This passion for arcade games motivated their producers to always search for something better and more entertaining. They have outdone themselves every time something new appeared on the market. From wood made machines and mechanical or electronic scoring readouts to the playing of games online, all games have conquered the hearts of the ageless children. Because people enjoy these arcade games so much they want to play them all the time. This is why they have not even completely left aside the coin-operated arcade games. They resort to them in restaurants, shopping malls, bars or pubs. However, they are only a substitute to the computer versions because playing games online is much better.

When speaking of flash games, we must take into consideration the fact that they are a more complex, more modern, even if their ancestors are definitely arcade games. Flash games take their name from the platform used for their building – ‘Flash’, a program made by Macromedia. This modern interactive platform named ‘Flash’ has three major components: the player, the file format and the authoring tool. The main advantage of this program is that of being very easy to use. Because of this fact, the games built with the help of the platform have more options than others do. For example, a house the player destroys will burn down with different effects. In order to be more convinced of the high importance that this platform has for us when playing a flash game we should know that it is usually necessary to download a free version of Macromedia Flash Player each time one feels like playing free games online. Generally, you can download the latest version of ‘Flash’ from Macromedia. That is if your browser gets errors relating to Flash.

If you simply like to play good games online without knowing the whole technique that stands behind graphics, too many details about the designing of flash games are unnecessary. Flash games are all the games you play at home on your computer and have the ending ‘.exe’ (meaning ‘executable’). As long as they make you enjoy the spare time spent at home, the flash games will be your best friend. A favorite application can turn into a real sport because playing flash games stimulates competition and trains reflexes. Web sites that host these kinds of activities and offer you free games give you the opportunity of joining teams of players and of participating to mass championships online.
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10 reasons why online betting beats going down to the betting shop

Most people assumed that the internet would revolutionise the way we bet, just like the way it has revolutionised many other things in life. However, recent prevalence studies have proved that the number of people betting online is still not as popular as other forms of betting such as phone betting, going down the bookmaker and being at the track. So for those who haven’t quite worked out the benefits of wagering online instead of these alternatives, here 10 good reasons why you should be:

1) Free bets: Due to the amount of competition online, betting companies like to encourage you to join their service in the hope you form some sort of brand loyalty. To entice you they will regularly offer a free bet. This is normally in the form of a matched bet (You put in a certain amount and they will match that amount.) and will allow you to double your money, if not more. Around big betting events like the World Series and the Kentucky Derby these free bets usually quadruple, making them a very attractive incentive. When was the last time you walked into the betting shop and the lady behind the counter said; “Here, have $10 on us”. Most likely never!

2) Compare odds: There are many websites online that allow you compare odds on all sorts of bets from all manor of betting events. You will be amazed at how much odds can very from one bookmaker to another, and by using online odds comparison tools you can seek out the best odds. This kind of information is only available online, but is free to use. If you are sat in the bookmakers all day you will only get the odds available from that specific shop, which may be much shorter than they are elsewhere.

3) Special offers: Something that seems to becoming more and more popular online is special offers such as “money back specials”. This is something an online betting site will offer in advance of a sporting event to gain interest from bettors. This could be something like, if your horse falls or if your team loses on penalties you will get your stake back. This is something you will rarely see offered in a bookmaker on the high street or over a telephone bet.

4) Other betting options: If you know anything about betting then you will have heard of betting exchanges and spread betting companies. These new betting sectors have largely formed due to the popularity of the internet, allowing all sorts of betting variables, with the final result being just one of them. Although these fairly recent betting options have caused controversy in the industry and in certain sports, there is no denying that they are extremely popular and are here to stay.
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