Yesterday, Daniel Benmergui released Today I Die. Today, I spent a few minutes (okay, maybe a few hours) swimming around in his simple yet beautiful little world, trying to find all of the hidden secrets.

At first glance, it’s a rather depressing scene, marked by an equally depressing poem. But much like the real world, Benmergui’s little ocean in Today I Die is changeable, and capable of finding beauty.

The game’s biggest strength is its simplistic design and curiosity-provoking interface. There isn’t too much going on at any given moment, but that’s a good thing, because you can play around with what’s in front of you, and learn how the funny little world works.

Today I Die also wins points for being beautiful, in that artsy, abstract sort of way. The game art is so simple that it’s undistracting (and, let’s be honest, I have a weak spot for pixelated art), and the piano soundtrack is just plain lovely.

It’s worth multiple playthroughs just to see how the ending changes, and once you’ve got the hang of things, the game only takes a few minutes to complete. Without spoiling too much, I’ll say that both endings (that I’ve found, at least…is there a third?) are very satisfying, albeit in completely different ways. The story is very dreamlike and fanciful, and watching how it evolves is a treat — especially because it’s up to the player to determine the progression of the poem.

Seems pretty fabulous, right? It is, but there’s one major feature that poses a gigantic roadblock for players with limited patience: there aren’t any directions. If you’re curious by nature, that’s not a problem, but a design like this has the potential to be incredibly frustrating. Frankly, if I weren’t so stubborn, I might have closed the window without getting past the first iteration of the poem, and that would have been sad.

There are also some definite timesinks, perhaps intentionally placed, that do not contribute at all to the story’s progression. I spent quite a lot of time feeding jellyfish to the piranhas before I realized that they would just keep spawning, and that I was focused on the wrong thing.

I haven’t decided whether this is truly a negative point, but it’s something that sticks out to me: I have not yet figured out how to “lose” the game. Despite the title, it appears that the girl does not ever actually die, and that lovely piano soundtrack will just keep looping until one figures out how to complete the game or gives up in frustration.

Moral of the story: art is sometimes confusing, and the world doesn’t always come with directions, but despite all of this, it’s an interesting ride.

Play Today I Die here. At the moment, it’s hosted ad-free, thanks to a generous donor (unusual individual, as the site claims).

Kloonigames released the PC version of their creative (and cute!) Crayon Physics Deluxe yesterday.

There’s definitely a reason this game won the 2008 IGF Grand Prize. It’s innovative, easy to play, and fun. I mean, come on…it’s crayons!

I’ve been playing non-stop since I downloaded the demo. Usually, I’m well enough satisfied with the demo levels, but this game absolutely warranted a full download.

It’s cute. There’s just something about paper and crayons that’s positively smile-inducing. I like sniping enemies and sacking quarterbacks just as much as anyone, but I found the childlike simplicity of this game to be charming.

Crayon Physics Deluxe is damn clever, too. Don’t be fooled by the crayons — the whimsical little levels actually make you think. Every line and shape scribbled into the game follows the laws of physics. Draw a ramp, and the ball will roll down it. If your ramp is too short, it will fall into an abyss. Draw a pendulum and it will swing. If it’s not balanced well, it’ll swing in a funky way. Draw a box, and it will drop. If you drop it onto a lever, it’ll catapult something into the air (if it’s big enough, that is).

The folks at Kloonigames also included my favorite feature ever: a custom level editor. You can bet your face that I’ll be making all of the Rube Goldberg machines I’ve ever dreamed up…in crayon.

Go to their website (http://www.crayonphysics.com/) to download a demo…or the full game!

A while back I made a post about an online animation service called GoAnimate. Recently one of my mates on xbox, AlmightySeraph, told me that he entered a contest on their site and came in first place. So I’d like to share the good news and the clip that won it for him.