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Games

Create Weird Characters and Sweeping Landscapes in 'Even Scene'

Joni Kittaka's image-editing toy is a simple, surreal joy.

From Colorforms to Mario Paint, simple creation tools can often lead to the most satisfying results. And I'm not at all sure why that is. Maybe it's the attainability—the fact that everyone starts with the same components and no distinct advantages beyond their own familiarity with those components. Maybe it's the excusability—the fact that if anything does fall short of your vision you can blame the limits of the toolset and not the limits of your own execution. Or maybe it's just the simplicity—the removal of the countless variables of freeform creation, condensing what can seem like a boundless field to a secure little sandbox. Whatever it is, these kinds of tools can be a pretty relaxing and enjoyable way to pass a little time.

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Even Scene fulfills that role perfectly. Created by Joni Kittaka (who developed Even the Ocean alongside Sean Han-Tani-Chen-Hogan) it provides players with a variety of shapes and a few basic ways to manipulate them, then lets you loose.

Header and all Even Scene screens captured by editor

What makes Even Scene a little different is that those shapes aren't the core circles, triangles, squares and so on that those who've played with these kinds of things before might expect. Instead there are pieces shaped like green pumpkins, yellow tulip bulbs, and even brown chunks of meat with a bone-like core running through them. There are warmly glowing little flames, bright spotlights and blobs of shadow. Stars and flowers add some familiarity, but sit alongside peach-colored horns and a piece that looks as much like a slingshot as anything.

Given the unusual components it might seem like it would be hard to make much of anything in Even Scene, but it's not. With a little bit of flexibility, you'll probably be surprised at what you can come up with inside the confines of this softly shaded and super colorful browser-based playset.

Whether you want to make a great oeuvre or just kill some time in a semi-constructive way, you can experiment with Even Scene free on itch.io.