Somewhere in time

A play site for someone who likes a neat trick and a good picture. There is nothing to buy and no account, only a place to play in for a few minutes and one idea to take away. Each look hides these six lines, and each one makes you slow down to find them.

1. Somewhere in time, you are here, playing.
2. Time runs fast, then slow. It changes as you live.
3. And it stays with you, wherever you are.
4. Time is what you experience. That's worth protecting.
5. So slow down when it runs too fast.
6. Speed up for the things you love to make.

The Long Afternoon

Style

Surrealism after Giorgio de Chirico: long shadows, empty arcades, a clock tower and a train passing behind a wall.

How time works

Your walking pace sets the speed of the day. Rush and the days fly by, and the skyline adds something for every one of them. Stand still and the sky gives you the next line.

Controls

Move the pointer or use the arrow keys to walk. Shift hurries, Space slows down.

Open The Long Afternoon

Pocket World

Style

Pixel art in the sixteen colours of the PICO-8 console, with dithered skies and an island mirrored in the sea, inside a brass watch.

How time works

The sun is the hour hand of a 24-hour dial. Sit on the bench and time almost stops, and a line arrives. Paint at the easel and the seasons fly. The finished painting is kept in the lid.

Controls

Arrow keys or taps to walk, E to sit or paint. Shift hurries, Space stops time and scrolling winds the crown.

Open Pocket World

Ink and Paper

Style

Wabi-sabi: grey-green hemp paper, sumi ink, the shadow of a plum branch, a vermilion seal. The poem is written in columns.

How time works

Slow strokes keep the day lingering and soak into the paper. A flurry of quick ones sends the shadow sweeping across the sheet, and old marks fade as the days pass.

Controls

Draw with a mouse, a finger or the arrow keys. Shift rushes, Space lets the ink pool.

Open Ink and Paper