The Art of Other Springfields

I have talked about The Simpsons Tapped Out numerous times, probably because it's a game I can actually excel at and because I still like it after playing for an extended amount of time. Of course it might have a bit of crack in it like Candy Crush, so who knows?

Anyway, there are folks who do get bored with the constant building and collecting aspect of the game, and need to change things up to keep their attention, defeat boredom, or just for kicks. These folks are making art. Yep, they're making art with the various building blocks in the game, using optical illusions to make them three-dimensional, and other such tricks.

Here are a few examples…

That's Really Trippin', Man

Thinking outside the box. That's where some of the cooler videogames of our age are coming from I think. Not so much fighting or blowing stuff up, or even trying to do puzzles, but more like dig the visuals, man. Much like coming down off a alcohol or drug-induced party high and watching "Teletubbies" on PBS at four in the morning, that's what some of these games are like.

One such game is called Flower, created by Thatgamecompany, not as a game per se, but more as a work of art. It shows. You are a flower petal floating in the wind, controlled by the movement of the game controller. Set to beautiful calming music, the petal floats across gorgeous landscapes through your direction. This is a fantastically visual game, what little game there is to it. I could watch for hours, as it is relaxing.

And then there's Eufloria from Valve Corporation, also known as Steam, the folks that brought you Portal. They call it a 'real-time strategy videogame,' whatever that means. With backing music that sounds like it was lifted from WXPN's "Star's End," you are a space seed in the future, and you have to make your way to another asteroid to grow into a tree, from which more seeds will come, just like nature, ya know? It's even more frustrating than Flower.

My days of post-party diversion are long over, so I guess these are not the games for me. But they sure are pretty, or at least Flower is, but I'm sure will put most folks to sleep…