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Mozilla Teams Up With Humble Bundle To Offer Eight Plugin-Free Games

An anonymous reader writes Mozilla and Humble Bundle announced a new package that features award-winning indie best-sellers for which gamers can choose how much they want to pay. Naturally called the Humble Mozilla Bundle, the package consists of eight games that have been ported to the Web. The first five games (Super Hexagon, AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome, Osmos, Zen Bound 2, and Dustforce DX) can cost you whatever you want. The next two (Voxatron and FTL: Faster Than Light) can be had if you beat the average price for the bundle. You can pay $8 or more to receive all of the above, plus the last game, Democracy 3. Previously, all of these indie games were available only on PC or mobile. Now they all work in browsers on Windows, Mac, and Linux without having to install any plugins.

67 comments

  1. Re:Timmay!!! by B33rNinj4 · · Score: 0

    Thank you for sharing. My day has truly been enriched.

  2. of course by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They don't work at all if your Firefox falls behind the stupid Australis and no-js-disable and permanent download history versions.

    1. Re:of course by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good.

  3. Hits from the Name Generator... by geekmux · · Score: 3, Funny

    "...The first five games...AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome,.."

    How the hell did you come up with...wait, don't tell me. The bong fell over on the keyboard, right?

    1. Re: Hits from the Name Generator... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a small A getting larger rendered as text, the idea that you're hearing someone screaming "AAAAA" as they fall towards you.

      It's also a really shitty "game." You basically just fall and try and grab score thingies and that's it. Woo.

    2. Re:Hits from the Name Generator... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Tarzan not see problem with name...

    3. Re:Hits from the Name Generator... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Nope. 'twas intentional.
      Look at it... 1 capital A, 2 capital As, 3 capital As, 4 capital As, 5 capital As.
      In between are 4 lowecase a's, 3 lowercase a's, 2 lowercase a's, and a final lowecase a.
      In other words, there was no way that was done AAAAAccidentaaaally.

    4. Re:Hits from the Name Generator... by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      "...The first five games...AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome,.."

      How the hell did you come up with...wait, don't tell me. The bong fell over on the keyboard, right?

      It's the sound players make if you play the game with an Occulus rift headset.

    5. Re:Hits from the Name Generator... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      “Drunken Robot Pornography” is another one of their titles.

  4. Even more than that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    The Humble Bundle says "Another Game Coming Soon". The way Humble Bundle does things, they'll throw this game in for free to people who paid for the revevant threshold (which is the "beat the average" price, which is $5.30 at the time of this writing).

    Also, the games have trial versions. (At least Super Hexagon and Voxatron, which I've tried.) Unfortunately, Voxatron had no online instructions included in the game, so it was a while before I learned that in addition to X for shooting forward (and Z for jump, and arrow keys), there was directional shooting (with I, J, K, L, or multiple keys for diagonals).

    Awesome stuff. Gotta always love the Humble Bundle. However, why does *this* particular bundle show up on Slashdot?

    Now they all work in browsers on Windows, Mac, and Linux without having to install any plugins.

    The only reason I can guess, regarding why this particular release would be newsworthy, is that this Humble Bundle package was meant to highlight the capabilities of Asm.js (which just didn't seem to be focused on much in Slashdot's summary... there's a couple of mentions to not needing plugins, but the phrase Asm.js doesn't even show up in Slashdot's text.)

    1. Re:Even more than that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      However, why does *this* particular bundle show up on Slashdot?

      This isn't exactly the first time Humble Bundle has been on /..

      But as to why this particular bundle shows up, well, this is the first time they've done browser-based games. So that's news to me.

    2. Re:Even more than that... by Provocateur · · Score: 1

      why does *this* particular bundle show up on Slashdot?

      I guess because THIS one is now in firefox's start/home page.

      --
      WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
  5. Meanwhile, for people who need a browser by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Mozilla forces the Australis redesign on the users of the Firefox ESR (extended support release). Tabs on top are now mandatory and the URL bar and the search bar are no longer able to sit next to the menu. Thanks for breaking my browser. Fucking tablet UIs. Was Microsoft's Windows 8 flop not warning enough that desktop users don't want "touch optimized" interfaces?

    1. Re:Meanwhile, for people who need a browser by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeesh. Just stop using software entirely. You've have had *how* many years of warning about this? I mean, you couldn't have missed it between Mozilla talking about it since Chrome came out, and then a ton of people whining about it for at least half a year.

      In the meantime others have solved the bulk of the issues for you, including an addon that reverts almost all the changes for those of us who have too much of a stick up our asses to accept changes to our precious UIs. But apparently all you can contribute is holier-than-thou whining.

    2. Re:Meanwhile, for people who need a browser by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      He's not alone. I'm sick and tired of what Mozilla has done to Firefox and its users, too.

      I can't justify wasting my time installing all of these add-ons that just fix bugs that the Firefox developers have introduced under the guise of being new or reworked features. The UI is a very important piece of any software product, and breaking it like Mozilla has done is just plain bad for users.

      I know we aren't alone in being angry about these changes. Recent browser usage stats show that Firefox accounts for only about 11% of the desktop market, and a whopping 0.14% of the mobile market. People just aren't used it any longer.

      Mozilla needs to realize that without our support, and without our usage of Firefox, they are nothing.

    3. Re:Meanwhile, for people who need a browser by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Tabs on top are now mandatory

      You have an interesting definition of mandatory, considering TreeStyle Tab still exists along with other addons that change tab behaviour. Seriously, try it. Gets rid of the goofy curved tabs too.

      Everyone should be using TST or something similar; if you're using a widescreen display and have the tabs anywhere but the side you're just wasting valuable vertical space while making your tabs harder to manage.

    4. Re:Meanwhile, for people who need a browser by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

      There aren't that many options for browsers, in particular major non crashy ones. Without Mozilla I would probably have to run Windows NT 6.x and Internet Explorer.

    5. Re:Meanwhile, for people who need a browser by Luckyo · · Score: 1

      Pale Moon sits on top of ESR, and they had to switch to a different identifier for the browser because they aren't going with australis insanity.

      So far, they appear to be fine. You may want to check them out if you want to keep most of your plugins working, and your interface PC-centric rather than tablet-centric that mozilla is gunning for.

    6. Re:Meanwhile, for people who need a browser by Luckyo · · Score: 1

      It's going to go down even further now that one of the most popular Firefox forks for those that dropped Firefox for UI reasons, Pale Moon will now start to carry its own identifier by default.

    7. Re:Meanwhile, for people who need a browser by Luckyo · · Score: 1

      There are plenty, including Chrome, IE, Safari, Opera.

      And if you are into Firefox functionality such as add-ons, there are fully functional forks that keep most of the functionality such as Pale Moon.

    8. Re:Meanwhile, for people who need a browser by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not going with Australis is really the more insane thing, frankly. It's like holding yourself back from the future just because you can't live with installing an addon or two. It'll be amusing when Firefox gets all those features like a multi-process system, and Pale Moon can't adopt them because it's using the crappy old UI kit just for a few laggards who think they're not the crazy ones.

    9. Re:Meanwhile, for people who need a browser by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, you people need to realize that Firefox is the only browser that lets you customize it to that degree, and if the price of customization is too damn high for you then you should just stop customizing it entirely and settle for Chrome or something. It's not like Pale Moon will work well indefinitely, since it's basically a slightly customized version of the Firefox ESRs. It is already doing silly things in the latest version to break compatibility, and things will only get worse as they find themselves incapable of keeping up with the features being added to Firefox that everyone wants; multiprocess capabilities, better support for OS/window manager integration, etc. For all your inane insistence that YOU are the ones that are causing Firefox's market share to dwindle (which is face-palmingly childish, and utterly incorrect) you're only hurting yourselves in the long run (and even if you WERE right, you're hurting yourselves even more). Realize that without Mozilla, you wouldn't have a Pale Moon. Realize that they were forced into doing things that a small minority dislikes in order to do what people are asking them to do. Or just wag your fingers and continue to pretend you're fighting some righteous battle, when all you're doing is complaining about changes that you don't like that have mostly already been "fixed" for you by less whiny people.

    10. Re:Meanwhile, for people who need a browser by Luckyo · · Score: 1

      Emperor is still not wearing any clothes, and no matter how much you herald ACs are trumpeting about it, he's still out there, still naked, still ugly as fuck.

      And hence, people are still leaving FF for any options available when they're not using FF on tablets. Because as of typing this, FF is no longer a desktop browser and hasn't been one for a while. Yes it can be installed on a desktop, but it's in no way, shape or form designed or optimized for desktop usage scenario any more.

  6. Re:Timmay!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Won't you run out of room after a few days?

  7. Re:People pay for games? by aliquis · · Score: 1

    Yes.

    I don't since the prices are so reasonable (and for the small risk I guess.)

    I'd argue the other way around. This is 2014. The market has caught up and offer decent services. It's ok to pay now.

  8. FTL by Charliemopps · · Score: 3, Informative

    FTL is pretty fun. Imagine Rouge with graphics and spaceships. It's pretty well done. You'll probably beat it in a few days though.

    1. Re:FTL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You'll probably beat it in a few days though.

      I could never unlock the crystal race ship. It was the only one I couldn't unlock, so I never actually beat the game. Sure, I defeated the last boss plenty of times, but until all features have been unlocked through normal gameplay, it hasn't been beaten. In all, I think I spent about 50 hours playing it.

    2. Re: FTL by cronot · · Score: 2

      +1 for FTL awesomeness.

      However, I'm disappointed they have yet to port it to Android, and instead chose to focus on porting to a browser platform, which to me counts as a useless gimmick since it's only really playable on browsers on a desktop platforms, for which they have ports for all platforms anyway.

    3. Re:FTL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Imagine Rouge with graphics and spaceships.

      Why would I imagine makeup rather than a video game?

    4. Re:FTL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Need the following events:

      [SPOILER WARNING!]

      Encounter a choice between taking weapons specs or some broken stasis pod.
      Choose the pod.
      Jump to a Zoltan sector.
      Encounter a Zoltan research center conducting research for extended FTL flight.
      Choose to give the pod to them to fix. You will gain a crystalline crew.
      Jump to a Rock Homeworld before reaching the 8th sector. (If it is 8th sector, you do not get a blue choice from the following encounter.)
      Encounter a mysterious artifact in space.
      Choose to open a portal (crystalline crew member only).
      Visit the quest marker in the crystalline world.

      Due to the randomness, the amount of coincidences needed, and the pending doom from the approaching Rebel fleet (ie you can't just go and visit every beacon), it is extremely rare to actually unlock this ship.

    5. Re:FTL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...or in the advanced edition:
      Play rock ship until you get the variant with a crystal crewman
      Fly that ship to Rock Homeworld
      Encounter a mysterious artifact in space.
      Choose to open a portal (crystalline crew member only).
      Visit the quest marker in the crystalline world.

    6. Re:FTL by Luckyo · · Score: 1

      Because as WoW has shown us, nothing is hated as much as makeup coming from stealth and killing you in stun.

    7. Re: FTL by Charliemopps · · Score: 1

      You know... Android does have browsers...

    8. Re:FTL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unless it's the last person to link Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker.

    9. Re:FTL by Luckyo · · Score: 1

      They are all last ones. Since it's anal.

  9. Re:People pay for games? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I just steal them from The Pirate Bay.

    So the Pirate Bay doesn't have them anymore?

  10. Re:People pay for games? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes. They have to wait until I share a new copy.

  11. Democarcy by codeButcher · · Score: 2

    Now I know why politics is in the shape it is in. People think Democracy is a game.

    --
    Free, as in your money being freed from the confines of your account.
    1. Re:Democarcy by jma05 · · Score: 2

      Jokes aside, Democracy game series is critically acclaimed and regarded as even educational.

  12. Nothing on the underlying technology? by MetalliQaZ · · Score: 5, Informative

    asm.js is the underlying technology they used to port the games to the web. According to Wikipedia, "asm.js is an intermediate programming language consisting of a strict subset of the JavaScript language. It enables significant performance improvements for web applications that are written in statically-typed languages with manual memory management (such as C) and then translated to JavaScript by a source-to-source compiler."

    --
    "Here Lies Philip J. Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit"
    1. Re:Nothing on the underlying technology? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whoopdeedoo. It's just an ugly subset of JavaScript.

    2. Re:Nothing on the underlying technology? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Now, wait a moment, JavaScript is already pretty ugly. Formulating an even uglier subset is actually a non-trivial accomplishment.

    3. Re:Nothing on the underlying technology? by OhPlz · · Score: 0, Troll

      It's interesting given that Mozilla fired their CEO that invented JavaScript. Is there a social justice warrior game in this bundle?

    4. Re:Nothing on the underlying technology? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hopefully there is one where there are routes where he actually is a demonic bigot, or was fired by a malicious board of evil directors, or all the other misinformation people spout is true, so they can just play that instead of bringing it up all the bloody time. Especially if its "true route" is what actually happened, so they can educate themselves while they play it.

    5. Re:Nothing on the underlying technology? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      AFAIK, it's just using emscripten, a backend for LLVM that compiles to js. The tutorial for compiling a C hello world to js looks fairly clear. Anyone tried this?

    6. Re:Nothing on the underlying technology? by matthias.loeffel · · Score: 1

      I use it extensively to port games to the web. It works quite well! It has some limitations, which are given by the browser, but one can work around them quite easy.
      Unfortunately, I cannot show off my own work, but others have been using it for some time as well
      http://www.quakejs.com/
      http://crypt-webgl.unigine.com...
      and many more can be found here: https://github.com/kripken/ems...

    7. Re:Nothing on the underlying technology? by Daniel+Hoffmann · · Score: 1

      It is more of an assembly language written in javascript, you are not supposed to write it by hand, you compile your C/C++ code into it.

    8. Re:Nothing on the underlying technology? by OhPlz · · Score: 1

      He made a small donation to a popular cause. He's not demonic.

      The truth hurts sometimes, deal with it.

  13. Re:People pay for games? by Lilith's+Heart-shape · · Score: 1

    Does that mean I should steal food, shelter, clothing, water, power, and internet access? After all, who are those people who think they should get paid for providing this shit?

  14. Re:Timmay!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nope. My anus makes Goatse's look like a pinhole.

  15. FTL only on "PC or mobile"? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's not right. It's had a working Linux install with or without Steam from the start.

  16. Re:People pay for games? by aliquis · · Score: 1

    Or well, if one got one wish more it would be to actually OWN the games and not the LICENSE and to know you'd have access "FOREVER" and even better "FOR ALL PLATFORMS." .. ok, more than one wish. But yeah. Actually have the game, always, everywhere, no matter what!

  17. Re:More mind numbing web based games? by MetalliQaZ · · Score: 3, Informative

    These aren't flash games. Granted, some of the games on offer actually ARE mind-numbing, but FTL definitely isn't

    --
    "Here Lies Philip J. Fry, named for his uncle, to carry on his spirit"
  18. Re:FTL only on "PC or mobile"? by ProzacPatient · · Score: 1

    Years of marketing seems to have equated the idea of a personal computer as some sort of quasi Microsoft exclusive brand but really Linux desktops are usually P-ersonal C-omputers as well (as opposed to non-personal computers like time sharing mainframes), likewise can be said for Macintosh.

  19. Search for text when i start typing by Badooleoo · · Score: 1

    On the FireFox start page the game can't be controlled if you have "Search for text when I start typing" enabled in options.

  20. I just found 4,000 DOS games on a HDD by ihtoit · · Score: 1

    ...this gives me ideas for monetising them... anyone fancy helping with runtesting them in a DOS sandbox?

    --
    Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
  21. Re:FTL only on "PC or mobile"? by ihtoit · · Score: 1

    yeah that's always bugged me as well, at least since the market steered away from the reference to "XT compatible" or whatever it was and genericised it to "PC" or "Mac". My last Mac ran Linux, what category does that fall under?? Hell, for that matter, this laptop runs Mac OS, Linux, FreeBSD, DOS and xp sandboxed on a Win7 host. Hey, Computer Darwin - this one's got fur and a beak!

    --
    Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
  22. Re:Stupid flash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What Flash? This is all written in asm.js

    Which means that it will be prone to all kinds of browser clock slowdowns, jerky frame rates and lame effects.

    Now if it actually had been in Flash... Oh wait... This is Slashdot: Flash suckz. Yarrrr!

  23. No need for new games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I don't need new games. I still haven't found the last rooms in the mud I play.

  24. Broken WebGL by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

    Sadly on a particular computer all WebGL looks like this, even though OpenGL works in other apps.

    http://i.imgur.com/Aoj38Ra.png

    Maybe running the proprietary graphics driver would make it work, but it has or had just one particular little bug meaning graphics card or monitor would have to be changed. Well, no. The graphics card is only 8 year old but with lots of gigaflops and few watts, and monitor only 10 year old.

  25. Re:People pay for games? by Luckyo · · Score: 1

    Pirate Bay doesn't own the games, nor does it host them. Therefore you can't steal them from Pirate Bay no matter how much you would like to try.

  26. Re:More mind numbing web based games? by Luckyo · · Score: 1

    To be fair, it would not be too hard to implement a game like FTL in flash. It's a text based adventure + static small scale RTS combat. All of these are done on much more complex level in flash today.

    Probably easier than implementing it in bastardized version of javascript as was done here.

  27. wow by BoomBeach · · Score: 1

    Excellent trick!

    --
    Get best latest cheats for boom beach