The Powder Game

My younger brother's friend showed him this awesome web game just last month. Called the "powder" or "dust" game, it is a simple Java thing with infinite fun and creative possibilities.

The main function consists of playing around with many "powdery" pixels of diverse natures, each having different simulated physical and chemical properties. Some fall faster than others, a few are "solid" and hang in mid-air, etc. A good number of them are flammable, so all you high-school chemistry students who just want to see things blow up should get hooked on this game pretty easily. = ) Almost every substance has a special quality when thrown together with another: for example, water solidifies magma; thunder electrifies metal; torch burns what hits it but is dissolved by water; and the infamous virus eats through and overruns all others, eventually turning back into the first material it came in contact with. Searching for all the unique reactions is part of the entertainment.

In addition to the dusts, you can conjure up boxes, spinning wheels, and edit the indestructible terrain, including the border. The sides of the screen can be set to loop, so that whatever goes off one side comes in on the other. Various visual effects can be selected, such as leaving blurs or showing the direction and pressure of the air. Ah, the air. You can blow stuff around and set up "fans" wherever you want. Combustion can really blast things around, as well.

With all of these features to toy with, you can go anywhere from blowing things up to making interactive works of art (like this soda machine). If that's not enough, there's also a little controllable stick-man who can walk, jump, and acquire abilities from the various dusts (okay, so the laser doesn't behave like a dust), so playable challenges become an option. Pit your friends against a puzzle, or against any number of crazy, kicking, not-too-bright enemy stick-men.

Only registered members can upload their work, but it's possible to save your levels offline. There is a text window above the main game screen that says "Save game" and has two buttons to the right. Click "Get" to have the window display the code for the game's current situation. Copy this and you can stick it back in and click "Set" to get that arrangement whenever you want.

The website itself seems to be a Japanese Java game site that has been mostly translated into English (I find it amusing that the sign-up terms and agreements are still in Japanese characters). The only other games I've tried are "Stick Ranger," a work-in-progress stick-figure RPG, and an orbital gravity simulator, which brings back memories of something we had on our old Mac 2CX (I remember throwing the moon off on a bad trajectory and watching it crash into Earth with a shattering noise...). It looks like everything, including the Powder Game, is always being improved, so I'm going to keep my eye on the place.