This Week's Waste of Time

I call this creation, Untitled #1. Made using Propamnesia.

After a week's vacation I'm back with part 3 of what just might turn into a five-part series covering all the playable browser video games submitted to the Independent Games Festival. Get ready for letters 'M' through 'P.' See part 2 for more games and part 1 for even more games and a description of the parameters of what is included here.

Meum-Trail:
This cute time management game tasks you with keeping little blobs (Meums) alive and on the path to safety. The Meums must be fed along the way and kept out of harms way. Who would want to hurt these precious little dollops of goo? Stonebiters, of course. Luckily, you have General Flea on your side who can be commanded to pick up seeds and more. Despite the fact that the Meums are largely lumbering and slow creatures, things get hectic quickly forcing you to prioritize and react on the fly. There are slight control problems, but otherwise the game is solid.

My First Quantum Transporter:
Cellar Door Games, creator of the inspired text-adventure game Don't Shit Your Pants, does a 180 with this minimalist take on Portal. The mechanics involve creating a shadow of yourself that you can transport to with the tap of the spacebar. Use a combination of momentum and transportation to attain otherwise unreachable goals. The controls take time to master, but respond relatively well with practice.

pOnd:
Is it an art game or a game with a message or both. I don't know, but I've covered this one in a previous blog.

Propamnesia:
Is it an art game or is my browser broken. I don't know, but I've covered this one, too. Check out my blog about several of Alejandro Grilli J.'s games.

Puma Punku:
A two-player matching game (like Memory) that ruins what should be a fast-paced race against the clock with bandwidth-taxing and unnecessary animations. Stay away.

And this week's winner: Propamnesia. Experimental art games usually keep my interest for a minute at best, but Propamnesia hypnotizes with its blend of ambient audio and slowly shifting imagery that you control (kind of).

Part 4, and possibly the last installment of the series, to come next week.