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Weird Ideas Hidden Inside Casual (Online) Games

October 5th, 2016 by Irwin Fletcher Comments

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What makes a game exciting? Sometimes it’s the visuals, sometimes it’s the sounds, and often it’s the story combined the above two. But there are games that have neither, but still make it to the top spots of the players’ preferences. These games often come with a combination of charming and weird, ideas that could serve as an inspiration for many other forms of entertainment. Today, I’ll take a look at a few of these, hidden in places you wouldn’t expect.

Alaxe in Zombieland

If the title of this game sounds weirdly familiar, don’t be surprised: yes, it’s based on Lewis Carroll’s eternal tale of a little girl paying an insane parallel world a visit. But this game, that you can try free at https://www.vegaspalmscasino.com/, takes weirdness one step further by infesting this already strange world with the living dead.

Alaxe, a beautiful blonde with blue eyes, has a scythe she uses to harvest heads. The Mad Hatter has had the top of his skull removed, and tosses eyeballs with a fork. The Cheshire Cat has a grin that suggests an imminent attack to your neck. And the White Rabbit has red eyes, a clear sign of demonic possession.

Alaxe in Zombieland is not the only game at the Vegas Palms – actually, the Vegas Palms Casino has a library of more than 700 games – but it stands out with its unique visuals and ideas. Its nature makes it a bit less accessible for some (the Vegas Palms is a real money gaming venue reserved for players of legal age) but it should serve as an example for taking old ideas and turning them into something new, weird, and unique.

Hot as Hades

Hades was one of the three divine brothers ruling the ancient Greek world, and the one with the worst PR of the three. As a ruler of the Underworld, he is often considered the archetype of Satan (although he was responsible for the Greek equivalent of Heaven and Hell at the same time), and he is often depicted as an evil divinity in various video games, and even in Disney movies (think of the one about Hercules). But not in Hot as Hades, a game released last summer by Isle of Man based developer Microgaming.

In Hot as Hades, the Greek ruler of the Underworld is, overall, just a nice guy making the best of his eternity spent in the Underworld. He uses rings of fire as hula hoops, he dives head first into pools of molten lava, he juggles gems, flies around with his invisible jet pack, and plays with his faithful three-headed puppy – Cerberus, of course.

With Lucifer getting his own TV series, maybe it would be time for more divinities considered evil – Hades among them – to get a bit more attention. And Hot as Hades would serve as a perfect example for where to start.

I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.