Adobe AIR 4.0: Why do you need to upgrade?

Recently, the Adobe AIR has a major update to 4.0. It was supposed to be a very exciting news along with its useful new features. However, since the latest update of my games (and apps), i noticed that there is a significant increase in the stats of uninstall rates. This affects all my games such as Minipoly Deal, Running Man Quiz, Guess Car Brands, Quoridor, etc. Then, i was bombarded with a number of emails acknowledging me about the worry of 'installing another Adobe AIR 4.0'. It is mistaken as an intrusive plug-in that might damage the smartphones...

Hence, i think there is a dire need to raise the concern by writing this post, in order to comfort all the users and the would-be players of my games - Adobe AIR is a runtime system that enables the packaging of the codes into native applications. It is a requirement for the mobile platforms to play the games developed through Adobe Flash. And the Adobe AIR 4.0 has made the games/apps compatible with the latest iOS 7 and the Android 4.4 (KitKat). The details of the change log is here.

The thing that intrigues the users is that, unlike the previous updates, the Adobe AIR 4.0 has been made compulsory to be installed as an another app separately. This 'additional' action keeps the users away, as they fear that it might be harmful.

In order to further convince that Adobe AIR 4.0 isn't a detrimental app, I would like to emphasize that, it is only a one-time installation. With it, you would be able to play other games made by Adobe Flash. Furthermore, the Adobe AIR 4.0 has made the game package size much smaller compared with the previous versions. It is in fact a great advance after the updates.

Then you might be asking - Why other games don't require this? It is simply a matter of Games tools selection. As mentioned in my previous post, Adobe AIR AS3 comes with powerful framework which enables the game creation in a very productive way. That's it.

I hope you would at least feel relieved after reading this.

Is Facebook still a popular social network platform?

I admit that this post has little to do about creating Android games. Rather, it is more on the Social Network - Facebook, one of the crucial elements in the Games Development Ecosystem.

 Recently, Facebook celebrates his 10th anniversary. Undoubtedly, it is one of the major Social Network platform at which people are sharing daily information. However, there are predictions from a number of commentators that Facebook would lose ground and disappear in 5 or 10 years, being on the moribund journey.

Whether the Facebook would be doomed, or would reach another pinnacle in the future, there is one thing to point out, from my personal experience.

As a Facebook user of around 7 years, I would admit that, the way that i am using Facebook, is much different from what i have been used to over the last few years. In short, I am getting much more passive nowadays.

7 years ago, when i signed into Facebook, i was easily hooked on the mini games, although they are just animation-less text-based one. It is exciting to see your friends joining the game as the more networks you have, the more advantages you will obtain (that's the typical design of the game). Moreover, i could update my status daily, or like and reply others' status on the pretty much trivial things, such as "Happy Holiday", "Screw the exam", etc. The feeling that you are 'connected' is indeed a fresh and exciting experience...

However, today, yes i am still surfing Facebook daily, or once in 2 days. But the thing is, i am turning on Facebook JUST to view the photos/pictures and the latest news (celebrities, sports, etc). The news from the FB, though sometimes are not from the mainstreams media (and not fully authenticated), are most of the time raw (1st hand), unfiltered and more transparent. Furthermore, i really favors some of the pages containing and updating the pictures of my idols and the celebrities.

BUT, when coming to my own social network, i am not that active anymore. Wishing every single friend 'Birthday wish'? Replying to the random friends saying "Yes! I am so happy today!"? Responding to every single game request spam from your friends? Please, it is killing me. Gradually i start to unfollow or even unfriend a number of 'friends' on FB. Be honest, the last upload of my personal photo was months ago...

One more thing that discouraged me from using FB is that, i observe that not many people are sharing the 'genuine' information of their own. While Mark Zuckerberg claimed that people want to 'stay connected' with the world, he doesn't know people has LOTS more to be hidden from the world. When you realize that FB isn't that real (or am i actually expecting too much?), it isn't that fun anymore.

I am not another anti-Facebook user. Just that I am using Facebook in a much different way than i have been used to. I am sure that i am not the only one.

Now back to the main question - Would such a 'behavioral change' affects the Facebook dominating status as a social network platform? If yes, then to what extent would the impact reach?

Monopoly Deal Card Game - VS 2 Computers Mode

In my last update of the Monopoly Deal Mini Card Game (Minipoly Deal), i have added a new mode: VS 2 Computers.

Undoubtedly, the original Monopoly Deal Card Game is meant for 2-5 players. So, basically, the more merrier, as it adds more variations into the game play. For example, there are some Action cards designed to request money from all the other opponents (eg: Birthday card, dual-color Rent cards). It is more effective to use those cards when playing with multiple players.

However, as mentioned last time, it is challenging to accommodate too much players within the small mobile devices. Here, i only added 2 computer bots in the latest Minipoly Deal, which i think it can be considered 'multi-player mode' to some extent.

From the picture shown, the P2 and P3 are the computers. The game play is still the same as the 'VS 1 computer' mode. One thing to note is that, the attack-single-player Action cards, such as Debt Collector, Sly Deal, Deal Breaker, Rainbow Rent Card are ONLY VALID if they are dragged on the computers' region.

Overall, the game play is slightly tougher compared to the VS 1 computer mode. The thing is, the computers are 'NOT' conspiring to attack the player. They follow some 'trends' when using the Action Cards. :)

Kindly drop some feedback to improve the game. Your suggestions are highly appreciated.

Running Man Quiz solution - Medal (Year 2013)

Compared to the Relationship and the Music section, when coming to Running Man Quiz - Medal category part, i admit it is a bit challenging, in terms of challenging your memory. It is really tough to dig deeper into your memory to remember the winner of each episode in the Running Man Variety Show, based merely on the textual hints...

Running Man Quiz - Medal

So, let's rewind some of the great moments in this post, particularly the episodes in the year 2013 (Episode 127th - 178th). Here, only the 'winner' is emphasized. The details of the storyline would be in another post.

Episode 178 - RM VS Staffs: RM members' final teamwork in the 2013.
Here, this is one of the most memorable episodes (is it most of them are memorable?). The Running Members have been 'tortured' by the various programs designed by the staffs all the while. In this episode, in the hope that the staffs would design more 'merciful' programs in the future, the Running Man members challenge the staffs in 3 major games: Huge Jenga Tower, cardboard boat across river Han, and gymnastics. To the Running Man members' delight, they have overcome all the difficulties with great result, earning much more 'R' balls than the crews. However, in the end, due to the  'technical error', although the ball selected by the Announcer Kim Hwan showed that the winner should be the staffs, it is the staffs that get soaked in the end. Poor luck to them... but Hooray to the RM members! lol

Episode 177 - The Christmas nightmare: Gil Seong Joon+etc joined RM.
In this episode, Gary pretends to be the victim of the kidnapper - Gil, while in reality they both conspire with each other. In the final hide and seek, the Running Man Members did not discover their evil plan, and the Gary and Gil became the final winners.

Episode 176 - Running Man Popularity Contest.
This episode reveals who is the most popular person which most women want to date if they have the chance. Undoubtedly, as the main host of the Running Man Show, Yoo Jae Seok is the honored.

Episode 175 - The voted suspect: Park Hee Soon and Gong yoo joined RM.
Here, in the final game, the order of the nametag ripping depends on the votes by the Running Man Members (and the guests). Due to the fact that Haha managed to find out the critical whistle to re-shuffle his order, he became the winner in the final battle with the Park Hee Soon.

Episode 174 - The magic number game: Lee Seung Gi,Bora and Han Hye Jin joined RM.
Every group is given a mysterious number '14357' at the beginning. Throughout the missions, the Running Members have to figure out what is the magic number to unlock the final door. Surprisingly (lol), our giraffe Lee Kwang Soo and Lee Seung Gi managed to solve the puzzle and won the big prizes.


Episode 173 - Baseball Tournament: Ryu Hyun Jin and Suzy joined RM part 2
The Baseball legends are invited into the final Baseball Tournament. With the various funny magic spells cast, the match is won the by the Ryu Hyun Jin's team.

Episode 172 - Water gun mission: Ryu Hyun Jin and Suzy joined RM part 1
The Ryu Hyun Jin is given the task to shoot down the Running Man members' nametag, secretly. And he managed to perform it successfully.

Episode 171 - RM members VS Ryu Hyun Jin: The baseball star joined RM.
The Running Man members are to guess whether the Ryu Hyun Jin is able to perform some of the tasks, eg: hula hoop for more than 30 seconds, winning a game with another baseball pitcher Yoon Suk Min, and the deciding between jjampong or jjajangmyun, etc. It ends up, the Running Man members manage to guess 2 correct, and 2 wrong.

Episode 170 - The evil wizard: Kim Yoo jung,TOP and Yoon jae moon joined RM.
In this episode, the evil wizard - Ji Seok Jin is supposed to be the main cast here. However, no offense to say that, he is too lame even to tackle the lady Kim Yoo Jung in the end. And Kim Yoo Jung saved herself.

Episode 169 - Helmet Race: Joo Sang wook and Yang Dong Geun joined RM.
In this episode, everyone is going to find out the key to unlock the unbearable helmet. In the end, those wearing helmets are hunting those helmet-free. The hiders (Yoo Jae Seok + etc) managed to escape and become the winner.

Episode 168 - Wolf VS Sheep: Musicians IU and Park Myung Soo joined RM.
Every member is going to decide the ratio of the 'Wolf' card and 'Sheep' card selected by the participants. After every mission, the winner has the chance to re-select the card. In the end, the Monday Couple managed to guess it correctly.

Episode 167 - The Kwang-ja's and the Police Officer's mission: Chun Jung Myung and Kim Min Jung joined RM.
Lee Kwang Soo and Kim Min Jung are tasked to obtain the bag of the school hooligans, secretly, and through nametag ripping. Finally, Kim Min Jung managed to become the winner.

Episode 166 - Who's the real heir? The Heirs castmates Choi Jin-hyuk,Kim Woo-bin,and Park Shin-hye joined RM.
In this episode, after every mission, the winner would get a saving book containing a certain amount of money. The winner Choi Jin Hyuk has the most money in his saving account.

Episode 165 - The mysterious fan girl.
The Running Man members are looking for a fan girl crazily in the high school. Finally, it is Ji Seok Jin who managed to complete the mission of capturing the photo with the fan girl and paste it on the scrapebook.

Episode 164 - Who inherits the wealth? Yoo Ah In and Kim Hae Sook joined RM.
The one who is able to master the ultimate recipe would win. Finally, the guest Yoo Ah In managed to come out with some good stuffs (food), and finally earned the majority votes.

Episode 163 - Steal the Princess Mong Ji's heart: Daesung,G-dragon,Seung-ri joined RM.
This episode is actually a game of Ji Hyo VS everyone. In the final game, every member has a chance to exchange the card with the Princess Ji Hyo. The one/group with the highest ranked card would win. And Ji Hyo is the winner.

Episode 162 - The most idols guests ever. 14 idols joined RM.
Every group would be rewarded a time bonus for winning each mission. Finally, with the time bonus, they have to escape from the cage and solve the puzzle. And the BEAST + Sung Ji Hyo are the winner group.

Episode 161 - RM Versus Shinhwa.
The RM is going to take on Shinhwa to recover the golds on the ship. However, they have no luck. Finally, the Shinhwa won the game.

Episode 160 - Fight for a luxurious life
This episode takes place in an icy building where the RM members are challenging one another to become the winner on the top floor. Finally, Haha managed to defeat Jong Kook in the last game.

Episode 159 - 1% of Friendship: Kim Kwang Kyu, Sayuri, Park Sang Myun, John Park, Kim ye rim, Jo Jung chi, Jung in joined RM.
In this episode, the Monday Couple chose each other instead of 'gold' in the final game, doubling the amount of golds obtained and becoming the winners.

Episode 158 - Hide and seek: Sohn Hyun Joo, Moon Jung Hee and Jeon Mi Seon joined the RM.
Each member has to guess the order of the participants based on the hints provided after each mission. For those who fail, they will fall in the water. The guest Sohn Hyun Joo has finally won.

Episode 157 - Criminal on the trials: Actors Jung Woong in,Kim Hee won and Ahn Gil Kang joined the RM.
The prosecutor team is accusing the defending team of 'slapping' the Ji Seok Jin when there is a power cut. However, after all the missions, the defending team has more advantageous evidence of 'not being guilty'. And the case closed with the defending team as the winners.

Episode 156 - The Aliens: 2NE1 joined RM.
The participants are going through each mission to earn more water to reach the amount of 21 litres.
Finally, the Pink team Minzy + etc appeared to be the winner.

Episode 155 - Horror story in the school: Suzy joined the RM.
Suzy and Sung Ji Hyo (the female) are the hunters in this episode. They managed to eliminate the male students and become the winners in the end.

Episode 154 - Shanghai Dream Cup: Park Ji Sung, Sulli and the MU soccer player Patrice Evra joined RM.
The Running Man members participate in the Shanghai Dream Cup. They end up scoring 2:0 against the opponents.

Episode 153 - Save the Queen: Park Ji Sung, Koo Ja Cheol and Sulli joined RM.
The ladies are to be saved and protected. Both team have a tough battle in the final nametag tearing game and the Yellow team (Park Ji Sung + etc) has become the winners.

Episode 152 - The Vacance Race: Jung Woo Sung, Lee Junho and Han Hyo Joo joined RM.
A normal nametag tearing game in the end. The Blue team (Jung Woo Sung + etc) is the winner.

Episode 151 - The Hunter: Jung Woo Sung,Lee Junho and Han Hyo Joo joined RM.
The hunter Jung Woo Sung is going to eliminate the participants one by one according to the order arranged by the Lee Kwang Soo and Haha. In the end, Yoo Jae Seok and Han Hyo Joo are able to strike back to become the final winners.

Episode 150 - Running Man Avenger: 2PM Twins, Chu Seong Hoon, Jung Doo Hong and Kim Dong Hyun joined RM.
In this episode, the RM members are supposed to cooperate and coordinate with one another to defeat the enemies. However, the cooperation is a complete mess. Finally, the fighter Chu Seong Hoon has become the winner.

Episode 146 - The Betrayal Trio: Kim Sang Kyung and Uhm Jung Hwa joined RM.
The Betrayal Trio - Lee Kwang Soo, Haha, Ji Seok Jin have the chance to become the main characters here. However, still, finally they were caught on time. And the Blue team (Kim Sang Kyung + etc) become the winners.

Episode 145 - RM VS Law of the Jungle: Kim Byung Man, Jeon Hye Bin, Jung Jin Woon, Noh Woo Jin, Park Jung Chul joined RM.
The Law of the Jungle defeated the RM members in the final nametag tearing game.

Episode 144 - Children's Day Special: Chan In Pyo, Ricky Kim and Seo Jang Hoon joined RM.
The winner of the ddakji game (Blue team: Yoo Jae Seok and Chan In Pyo) has the chance to do the charity of donating the sport shoes to the needed.

Episode 143 - The joining of a variety Veteran: Lee Kyung Kyu, Kim In Kwon and Ryu Hyun Kyung joined RM.
The Orange team (Lee Kyung Kyu + etc) managed to gain the highest score in the final singing section.

Episode 142 - The Couple Hell: Lee Bo Young and Lee Sang Yoon joined RM.
Haha became the hunter and managed to tear all the wristbands of all the other couples.

Episode 141 - The RM Animal Kingdom: Jessica and Eun Ji Won joined RM.
This episode takes place in the zoo. In the final nametag tearing, Lee Kwang Soo (giraffe mask) managed to defeat Kim Jong Kook (Tiger mask) and become the final winner.

Episode 140 - The deadly Anger Virus: RM members save the mankind with the vaccine.
The Sung Ji Hyo has a secret evil plan of framing the Yoomes Bond while spreading the anger virus. However, finally, Yoo Jae Seok is able to fight back and become the winner.

Episode 139 - Who are the long-lost siblings? Go Ara and Lee Yeon Hee joined RM.
In the final nametag tearing game, it is getting a bit complicated. Lee Yeon Hee mistakenly eliminated his own 'brother'. Kim Jong Kook and Go Ara are the winners.

Missing some episodes?
Just in case you need, please leave a message below :)

Running Man Quiz solution - Relationship

It has been some time since the Running Man Quiz has been published. So far how is it going? Do you find these quizzes fun? :)

This post will be the solution of the Quiz - the Relationship category. Personally i believe that as the Running Man Variety Shows maniacs, you won't hesitate to guess who the Giraffe is, who the Tiger is, who the grasshopper is, would you?

Specifically, the solutions here are about those with whom you might be unfamiliar, as they are relatively off-screen most of the time compared to the active Running Man members. However, they are playing important roles too, in designing the shows, editing and capturing the funny and interesting moments of our favorite RM casts and guests. So, let's remember them (crew and staffs) as well (and the faces).

Note***: I do not own these pictures. I am just organizing them to make you remember better :)
If you want to claim your credits, kindly drop a message below~
Some of the images and the Facebook links credits attribute to:
a) Link 1
b) Link 2 
c) Link 3

Also, kindly correct me if there is any typo.

Below shows the VJ (Video Journalists) of each member:

Ryu Kwon Ryeol (Left), Yoo Jae Seok (Right)

1. Ryu Kwon Ryeol - Yoo Jae Seok's primary VJ

Kim Yoo Seok (Left), Ji Seok Jin (Right)

2. Kim Yoo Seok - Ji Seok Jin’s primary VJ

Choi Yoon Sang (Left), Lee Kwang Soo (Right)

3. Choi Yoon Sang - Lee Kwang Soo’s primary VJ)

Yoon Sung Yong (Left), Haha (Right)

4. Yoon Sung Yong - Haha’s primary VJ

Sung Ji Hyo (Left), Sung Gyu (Right)

5. Sung Gyu - Song Ji Hyo’s primary VJ
* Be honest, there is little image of Sung Gyu from the internet...

Ham Jung Hwa (Left), Gary (Right)

6. Ham Jung Hwa - Gary’s primary VJ

Kim Ki Jin (Left), Kim Jong Kook (Right)

7. Kim Ki Jin - Kim Jong Kook’s primary VJ

Seriously, they Running Man staffs seldom appear on screen. Even if they do, most of the time they are not in great posture. Luckily, in the last episode (179) in 2013, we have the chance to see some of the PDs (Production Director) in one picture here (remember the staffs get soaked in the end?):

1. Jo Hyo Jin - relatively more visible than the others
2. Im Hyung Taek
3. Kim Joo Hyung
4. Lee Hwang Jin