Some things that are not obvious about Disney Infinity

[mmcirvin]

Somehow this blog has become all about Disney products. Oh, right, I have a 7-year-old daughter.

My kid got Disney Infinity for Christmas, a game that is both charming and brilliantly evil in its business model: like Activision's Skylanders, it's a game with huge wads of on-disc unlockable content that you access by buying collectible tchotchkes,

Comments

[mmcirvin]

Another note, about age-appropriateness/content: The game is rated 10 and up, and that actually seems somewhat reasonable. A 7-year-old can get a lot out of it, but in the campaigns, there will be many moments when they hand the controller over to beat That One Boss or finish the jumping puzzle. A few bits (particularly one jumping puzzle in the Pirates world) were frustratingly difficult even for me, though I'm sure they would very much not be for a seasoned 13-year-old gamer

[ext_2391137]

Matt, while I love Disney products as much as the next red blooded American I'm writing to ask your permission to republish this article on Black Holes to Thoughtcatalog.com

http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/BlackHoles/fall_in.html

I think our readers would enjoy a fun but challenging explanation and the article would obviously not be for sale. I'd give full credit, likely with a bit of discussion about usenet and the advent of the internet (I was 18 in 1996). I'd love to republish it and possibly others if you're amenable.

thanks!

James Barnes
james@thoughtcatalog.com

[mmcirvin]

Sure, go ahead. It's old and in some ways out of date (the "firewall" controversy has recently and surprisingly revived some issues I treated there as essentially settled), but it's interesting as a historical document at the very least.

[mmcirvin]

We're having more fun with the Cars world now. The key character is Luigi (no relation to Mario's brother, except in that they are similar embarrassing stereotypes of Italians: the Cars world is populated with these one-note stereotypes in place of actual characters). You have to talk to him to open up and visit the main racing hub, then go do some of the missions there to open up the main racetracks and a huge stunt-driving zone. Lightning McQueen does a lot better on the big dirt tracks than he does in the little town races, where his mass and power put him at a disadvantage (in Mario Kart terms he'd be a Large-class vehicle).