> anything that gratifies one's intellectual curiosity
I'd say this gratifies one's intellectual curiosity on programming and game development. I can see you not having the same opinion and I guess we can only agree to disagree.
He was pretty prophetic, apart from it is not being played by monks.
edit - the interesting game that is developing is the iterating of simple games as turns in a game on the playing field of github.
Humour seems to have value inside this game, which is not surprising given the form.
It also has a fair amount of value outside it as well, which you might want to keep in mind.
Sure, it has no play value (nor replay value). And the 17th mashed up iteration of Groupon for local pet food delivery is doomed as well. But there are lessons in the failure:
--The mechanics may set the stage for a follow on game that returns the mathematical/pattern-matching element of 2048 back into the mix
--It highlights the difference between the mass market FlappyBird and the more niche appeal of 2048, both demographically and intellectually.
--It expands the mind to consider mashups of other games or game mechanics that might be interesting.
But more than this: memes of any kind are pure, intellectual riffing. It's completely refreshing to see these riffs occur in the medium of code rather than Photoshop.
I'm not saying there's a coders' equivalent of Cheezburger Network out there, but there's an opportunity far beyond what you're seeing if meme culture and coding intersect.