https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Synthetica 2026-04-10T23:40:35Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.30.0 https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=484:_Flash_Games&diff=52521 2013-11-11T21:30:56Z

<p>Synthetica: /* Explanation */</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 484<br /> | date = October 10, 2008<br /> | title = Flash Games<br /> | image = flash_games.png<br /> | titletext = Although...who else can't wait for them to incorporate that Wiimote head-tracking stuff into games? Man, the future's gonna be *awesome*.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete}}<br /> <br /> Dedicated hardcore gamers will often indulge in expensive, top-of-the-line equipment to get the most out of their video games. <br /> <br /> {{w|Adobe Flash}} is a software platform allowing multimedia applications in the browser. Flash became a popular choice for game developers, since playing Flash games only requires a browser and the free cross-platform Flash runtime environment. [[Randall]] is right that Flash games are quite addictive, and gamers may find them more engaging than anything that runs on expensive (dedicated) gaming systems. (Have lots of spare time? Try [http://armorgames.com/ ArmorGames].)<br /> <br /> Nowadays, five years after the making of this comic, Flash is starting to see a decline in favor of {{w|HTML5}} + {{w|JavaScript}}. The open-source movement especially prefers the latter, since no proprietary browser plugins are needed to run it.<br /> <br /> The comic may also be commenting that some modern games are too focused on graphics and not enough on gameplay.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :[On the left side of the panel, is a massive TV screen, large speakers, and similar devices, all connected to a &quot;Game Station 20,000&quot; console. Cueball, however, is over on the right side of the panel, on a modestly-sized computer.]<br /> :Cueball: Ooh, I think I've got it figured out! Okay, one more hour.<br /> :''Beep Plunk''<br /> :The most powerful gaming systems in the world still can't match the addictiveness of tiny in-browser Flash games.<br /> <br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br /> [[Category:Video games]]</div>

Synthetica https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=519:_11th_Grade&diff=52202 2013-11-07T12:48:37Z

<p>Synthetica: /* Transcript */</p> <hr /> <div>{{comic<br /> | number = 519<br /> | date = December 19, 2008<br /> | title = 11th Grade<br /> | image = 11th_grade.png<br /> | titletext = And the ten minutes striking up a conversation with that strange kid in homeroom sometimes matters more than every other part of high school combined.<br /> }}<br /> <br /> ==Explanation==<br /> {{incomplete|One-liner that glosses over the commentary on education.}}<br /> Idly messing around in {{w|Perl}} (a programming language) was a lot more helpful to Randall's career than his high school education.<br /> <br /> The title-text is a further exaggeration, claiming that the social skills and new perspectives practiced and gained by taking a risk and talking to the unpopular kid far more important than all four years of a high school education. While it may have felt this way for Randall, and while it was probably a healthy experience, it obviously cannot compare to the myriad of practical things he learned, nor (for sake of example) the trigonometry and calculus he learned that allowed him to begin his career in robotic engineering.<br /> <br /> ==Transcript==<br /> :11th-grade activities:<br /> :[Bar graph y axis: Usefulness to career success.]<br /> :900 hours of classes [small bar.]<br /> :400 hours of homework [smaller bar.]<br /> :One weekend messing with Perl [huge bar.]<br /> {{comic discussion}}<br /> [[Category:Charts]]</div>

Synthetica