Quitters Arcade
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010I’ve just been checking out Serious Quitters’ Arcade which is a website containing three free arcade games designed around the theme of quitting smoking.
Before I continue, I want to be upfront that I was approached by Buzzparadise and asked to write an article about Serious Quitters’ Arcade for money. I don’t have to say nice things about it, just write about it, which seems fair to me. Well I’m a non-smoker and my dad is extremely ill from smoking and so I can wholeheartedly support the message of this site without compromising myself. I’ll also report back later if Buzzparadise actually keep their end of the deal and pay me, because if they do, and you have a blog, you might want to look into it.
One thing that Serious Quitters’ Arcade has got right is the apostrophe in its name. That’s a good start in my book of pedantry. There are three 80s-style arcade game cabinets and each one has a different arcade game as follows:
Blast N Quit
This is basically a side scrolling shooter with simple controls. It’s got a nice style of retro/mono graphics but only held my attention for a short while. It’s quite tough from the start and you have to hammer on the Ctrl key which isn’t so hot. Basically it’s just a minigame, but it has a few different powerups and different cigarette-themed enemy types. See you what you think:
Bin ‘Um
I felt this was the weakest game, it’s not even a mini-game, more like a micro-game. Basically a hand carrying a pack of fags (fags are cigarettes to you non-UK readers, not homosexuals) moves left to right and you have to stop the hand on a column that contains a bin. Then you have to hold down a button to get the correct power to throw the fags in the bin, and that appears to be it. Didn’t play for long. Check it out:
Escape From Planet Smokey
This is a vertically scrolling platformer where you have to collect coins as you leap from platform to platform whilst avoiding smoking related enemies. I actually found it quite funny because it has these women puffing out smoke in your direction and when the smoke hits you, you fall off and die. Sometimes I feel like that walking around Yaletown. You see a nice looking young lady and then she goes and ruins it by lighting up and puffing stink in your direction … sweet. Probably this is my favourite game on the site.
Apparently if you play these games that I’ve embedded on my site, a total score will be recorded for this site and it should be visible in each game’s high scores. Neat. So please help this site get into the top 10 by giving them a go. Better still, help yourself by giving up smoking.
Disclaimer:
Quittersarcade.com is built to leverage awareness about seeking help and support from your doctor to quit smoking. If you wish to quit smoking, please seek professional medical advice.