Loco adventure about a silent hero and the struggle against corruption and power in the Neverhood.

The Neverhood is old, climbing on 13 years now. But the claymation graphics, its paper and pencil puzzles, and understated hero; Clayman have got me wondering if I can track it down for my Mac.

A cute and quiet adventure.

Get your hands on Crossover for Mac and a copy of the game, to try it for yourself.

Japanese artist Kazuki Takamastsu is a master of graphic design, animation and modeling, mashing all three skills together to create his works. Using 3D and 2D computer rendering and acrylic gouache painting to bring it all into reality. Or at least the reality that hangs on a wall in a gallery.

These ominous, faceless, colour-less & context-less girls are more then a little creepy.
The images are similar to the “answers” to those old Magic Eye 3D illusion books, but with a splash of Japanese animation influence.

Fu^*ing brilliant!

If you happen to be hanging out in Omotesando , Tokyo – you can check out his work at Spiral Gallery from 28th Oct-3rd Nov 2009. If not only for a look at the fantastic Spiral Gallery itself!

Hit more to check out more of Takamastu’s work.

Special thanks to Kazuki Takamatsu getting in contact for info on his methods of creation.
情報をありがとう！

One of the most recognizable games ever made looks semi play-able rendered as a measly 15 pixels.
I guess this would be the way to play if you wanted to be top of the arcades. Put that blast visor down and feel the force!

The work was commissioned by The U.K. games festival Gamecity.

Check out Noby Noby Boy rendered in the same way after the jump.

via Kotaku.

Machinarium will humble you in the way that Where the Wild Things Are did as a kid (and still does now). Visuals to kill and brain twisters to intrigue, go grab a taste of the demo and then download the full flavour.

Read the full review below.

Point and click games usually remind me of crosswords – slow, semi-interactive, filled with trial and error and usually used as a time-waster on your nana’s stuttering fossil of a PC. OK, a little harsh – but no p’n'c-er has come close to capturing my time and attention the way that Machinarium has.

A gem to look at, Machinarium feels more like an interactive installation, then a game. The illustrations that make up the game are packed with details to make you smile in surprise. There is more then a touch of curious children’s storytelling, sneaking out of the seams. It’s a perfect story to work through with someone watching and scratching their head alongside you.

The pause-filled pace is actually something you’ll appreciate. The game is not hand-eye coordination based, and you don’t need to know your way around a keyboard or gamepad to work your way through the 30-odd predicaments you’ll find yourself in. Each time you move your curiously-clumsy hero from one side of a room to the other, its a smile-inducing sight to watch. The carefully subtle detail of every rung he climbs on a ladder or the way he slurps up a roll of twine like spaghetti – saving it for later, inside his belly.

The way the story is told will throw you right back to the way you fumbled your way to understanding as a kid. Not with the knowlage of language or mastery of senses, but through curious investigation. Through the discovery that comes from genuinely wanting to soak up everything each screen has to offer.

Value for money on Machinarium is exceptional. Not only do you get the game for both Windows and Mac, but the soundtrack – which is undeniably good in its own right – all in the one US$20 package.

Machinarium will humble you in the way that Where the Wild Things Are did to you as a kid (and still does now). Visuals to kill, soundtrack that will make the rest of the world float away and brain twisters to intrigue your socks off, go grab a taste of the demo and then download the full flavour. You won’t regret a minute of it!

Available Now.
$20 – Window-Mac-Soundtrack

The problem with Mac widgets is their varying quality.
To help you wade through the thousands of widgets out there, I have picked out a handful of widgets that are useful and really pretty to decorate your dashboard with…

1. TV Show Tracker

Top of the list because it keeps my addiction to HBO in order! I use this to know EXACTLY when the next episode of Hung, Entourage or, even the odd ep of the hills, is coming up. Type in any TV show and it will tell you the last ep that played on TV and when the next episode is up. This is handy for finding out when you need to start downloading the new season of LOST. It also tells you if a series has had its final finale and finished for good. Very useful!

2. Screenshot Plus

Screenshot plus is the ultimate in quickly grabbing an image that is displayed on your screen. Screenshot plus will snap a png/jpg/gif/tiff of any window, website or selection, quickly let you review it and then save it to your desktop. Perfect for grabbing a reference image or still from a flash website, and it is so much quicker and easier then using apple screen-grab.

3. Oxford English Dictionary ~

The perfect quick look up tool. If you find yourself lost in a conversation and lacking linguistic prowess, this can fill you in on the definition of any word in the english language. It’s only one button away and saves you googling the definition of Merkin. It also has a built in Thesaurus and Apple dictionary which will define any Apple-created words.

4. Dashalytics

Anyone who owns a website or blog and gets high on finding out exactly who is visiting their site, where from, what browser their using and anything else about their visit that interests you; needs this widget.
Giving you up-to-the-minute data on everyone who passes through your pearly URL. Of course, A Google account is needed to get the info.

5. Colour Schemer Galleria

Anyone who is partial to design will love this. It is a colour scheme suggestion tool which presents you with inspiration for the pallet for your next design. The widget is a great guide for getting you started and provides you with each colour’s hex value which you can use in photoshop or on the web. It is a clean and crisply designed widget and is a nice addition, even if you don’t need to use it daily.

6. Text Translator

This is a fairly standard tool, found easily on the web thanks to Google. However, having it a single click away at all times is really useful. This will translate almost any language into another. Handy if you want to chat to someone in their own alphabet! – 私は非常に参考になったよ！

7. Minuets

Minutes is a cute countdown timer that has a lot of class at the expense of some features. The timer will count down up to 16 hours, so if your looking for something to measure your long term goals – try Countdown. Minutes will count down and play a sweet tune to let you know your waiting is over. Marginally useful. Quite fun.

8. iStat nano

This widget is good for those trying to take care of their new mac. It will let you know all the tech-y details of how it is performing. How much ram is being used, how many cycles you battery has gone through and how hard the fans inside the computer are working. Giving you in depth info on everything from CPU to network usage, iStat nano is perfect for anyone who wants to get the rough, hard stats.

9. Organizer

Organizer is a slick, quick, streamlined version of ical and notes which is useful for anyone trying to keep to a schedule. This is the best looking of all the widgets out there with almost identical functions. If your trying to manage your time better – grab hold of this and keep an eye on your progress.

And there you have it. A large gathering of ways to use that dashboard button. Plenty to fill up your screen.
There are thousands of widgets out there, it’s just a case of sifting through the gimmicks. If you have found any gems of your own then please, share in a comment.

Personally I think they would get a boost of popularity if their name was changed to something a little easier to say, and a little less geeky. Widget just doesn’t have a nice ring to it…