I’m a sucker for pretty pictures. I just am. It’s bad, I know, but I despite the best efforts of trolls the world over, I still like that unbearably cute one of the kitten bounding through a field of flowers. You know the one. It’s all over the internet.

Including here:

http://www.clevelandseniors.com/family/cat-newyear.htm

I do. I like it. Awww, kittens. I can’t help it.

And now there’s a game, Drifting Afternoon, obviously inspired by the same picture:

http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/g3/drift.htm

In Drifting Afternoon, you get to control the kitten as it bounds, while jumping from bubble to bubble. Occasionally you fall down and have to bound through the flowers again. It is - do not claim I did not warn you - unbearably cute. On the other hand, it is unbearably cute.

Sometimes, in this world, it is necessary to be that kitten. For a bit. Now you can be.

There are also pretty pictures here - http://www.skytopia.com/project/fractal/mandelbulb.html - this time of 3D Mandelbrot sets. They are also pretty. Not cute, though, nor unbearable.

If you are in denial about liking cute things, you will require your cuteness to be subverted at all times. In this case, you should already know all about the excellent webcomics KinokoFry, by Rebecca Clements - http://kinokofry.com/ - and the equally excellent Hilarity Comics by Patrick Alexander - http://www.eegra.com/show/sub/cat/comics/

Well, there’s a game of that stuff too, sort of, loosely. Ish. Ok. I don’t know if there really is a connection, but some elements of the artwork in Ninjadoodle’s game Clickplay 2 reminded me strongly of both Clements and Alexander. In a good way, not a bad way. Here’s a link to a link about Clickplay2 (linked via the Jay Is Games page because you might well want to read a bit about the game as well as play it. That kind of game.):

http://jayisgames.com/archives/2009/11/clickplay_2.php

More of that kind of stuff over at http://www.ninjadoodle.com/

Finally, and cuteness be damned, if you haven’t seen it, you should have a look at Dungeon - a tragic platformer about what can happen in a castle, and how it affects people like you and me. Unless you don’t give a fig for games, in which case, don’t bother, you won’t get it:

http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=9284.0

By this I mean you should follow the link and read about it, not necessarily that you should attempt to play it. There is a pretty picture there, but it is one that has been painted around the game, pretty much mostly in words. On a forum. On the internet. That is entirely what the internet is for.

I’m a sucker for that shit too. It’s pretty cute.