Internet immortalises news events as games

As Mel Croucher points out in Rants & Raves in the current issue of Shopper, EM Forster’s The Machine Stops is an incredible prediction of our globally networked society, despite the book being written a century ago.

The internet has certainly been one of the most significant inventions of the last 100 years, and has radically altered many aspects of our lives. There’s no longer any need to visit a library, as the internet provides free access to more information you could ever hope to find in your high-street library. You can now keep in touch with far-flung friends and family thanks to webcams, and there’s no need to fight the Christmas crowds on Oxford Street as you can simply make your purchases online.

However, it’s the immediacy of information on the internet which is often staggering. Take Sunday’s incident at a press conference in Baghdad, where an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at President Bush. Naturally, news stories appeared instantly, but just a few hours later, you could visit websites like Sock & Awe! and play a Flash game re-enacting the event.





A ton of amusing animations appeared at the same time, including a superb parody of The Matrix by b3ta.com user printmeister, where Keanu Reeves dodging bullets on a rooftop has been replaced by Bush dodging flying shoes.

It isn’t just Presidents that get the Flash treatment. Back in March, Heather Mills threw a glass of water over Paul McCartney’s lawyer during the pair’s divorce, which resulted in the Mucca Chucka game, which is included below for your enjoyment.



Whatever the next week’s news brings, you can be sure there will be a rash of games so you can enjoy them again and again.