Crayon Physics

Slate posted a great article today by Chris Baker about a new, relatively simple video game called Crayon Physics Deluxe. Baker describes the game this way:

Crayon Physics Deluxe lets you draw objects on the screen by clicking and dragging your mouse, or by drawing with the stylus of a tablet PC...The objects you scrawl become part of the game world. The goal is to create objects that propel a crudely drawn ball toward a crudely drawn star. There is no single correct way to scoot that ball around; the fun is in exploring the options. Within seconds of hitting start, you're furiously scribbling blocks and ramps and wedges and seesaws, whatever it takes to reach the goal.

It's hard to capture with words just how cool this game is to watch. This video will give you a better idea:

In his article, Baker uses Crayon Physics to illustrate how unique little games created quickly by independent programmers can be more fun and successful than the big-budget, high-graphic, often violent video games that get so much attention. In fact, Crayon Physics was the result of the Experimental Gameplay Project (EGP), which gives creators only seven days to produce a new game. Baker writes:

Most major games these days are fixated on building entire worlds. The developers kill themselves to make realistic-looking humans, a realistic-looking environment, realistic physics, etc. The constraints of EGP, however, liberate indie game makers to focus on making a single facet of their game as unique and original as possible.

Click here to read the full Slate article