Temple of the Sun

Sun released an online game called "Temple of the Sun" today. It's a harmless marketing gimic for their Sun Studio 11, but it's actually fun to play. Your Indiana Jones-like character wanders through corridors, collecting coins, dodging spears, whipping glowing green "bugs" into a shower of 1's and 0's, and unlocking the secrets of the "Developer" tribe by answering C++ trivia questions. Downside: the game is incredibly short, and you have to download and register Sun Studio to complete it. Too bad, I would have found it more interesting and innovative as pure marketing without the hook, but then I can see the temptation in new media advertising to take advantage of the greater power these media give to verify results.

A good way to waste a bit of your Friday afternoon.