Tags: Games


One of the websites I check out regularly is the Experimental Gameplay Project, run by Carnegie Mellon University. The challenge is to create games within one week that focus on gameplay ideas rather than graphics, sounds, story, and polish. There are so many fun and beautiful ideas demonstrated, I only hope that some of the big game development companies see these games.

My latest discovery is Crayon Physics, which is a 2D game that uses physics. You can draw shapes in crayon, and they are affected by gravity. The soothing music is a nice touch. It's a simple premise, but very fun!

Past favorites of mine:

Attack of the Killer Swarm!: Use a swarm of insects to launch people into the sky.
Tower of Goo: Another physics game, but this time the structures are somewhat elastic and bendy.
On A Rainy Day: This is a beautiful, abstract experience more than a game. A tree made of hands, newspaper boats, falling umbrellas. Experimental at its best!

In order to meet the one-week deadline, most games end up using clips of existing artwork, black and white newspaper clippings, and art sketched by hand. It feels like you are playing in collages and beautiful hand-made environments. It's often elegant and just as beautiful as photorealistic, 3D modeled, multi-million dollar games. Independent game developers can get thousands of ideas here. Who wants to make a Crayon RPG?