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www.transience.com.au
There is a rumor that when George W. Bush was Governor of Texas, he had Solitaire deleted from all computers in his offices to combat rampant procrastination. Even Bush understands that the simplest game on a computer screen can be as addictive as cocaine – especially when there’s work to be done.
If you think you need another diversion from life and school, Transience.com.au has you covered. This eccentric Web site feels like an Australian Homestar Runner, complete with a cast of characters represented by floating geometric shapes and short cartoons about their misadventures. Transience has slightly edgier cartoons, including the borderline offensive “El Emigrante.” This cartoon stars Jose`, a stereotyped Mexican who is always hatching plans to sneak into the United States but is repeatedly foiled by the border patrol. While politically incorrect, it’s no worse than some old Looney Tunes cartoons. In fact, it would fit better with old cartoons than on the internet.
The games are the best part of Transience, though. Unlike the cartoons, which quickly get boring, the games are creative and lend themselves to hours of wasted time. “El Emigrante” has the best game, even if you feel guilty playing. You control Jose`, riding a bicycle around in the desert and avoiding police cars that try to run you down. You get points for each second the cops don’t hit you, and bonus points if the police cars collide with each other.
“Chasm” is like “Myst,” if “Myst” were a flash game where you control a platypus. The goal is to get water to a town, and the game presents you with a very complex system of gears, pulleys and chutes which require some exploring and a lot of thought. Unfortunately, the difficulty of the games is inconsistent.
“EIEIO” can be solved in a few minutes, while “Chasm” must take hours to unlock. Only “El Emigrante” has a score, with the top 10 scorers immortalized on a board beside their impossibly high scores.
The “music videos” are uninspired cartoons accompanied by what I assume is popular Australian music. Animation that literally interprets song lyrics is overdone and never interesting.
Stupid animation and addicting games can be a dangerous combination when you have work to do, which gives me an idea. If I can somehow make George W. Bush aware of this Web site, he’ll be too busy playing “El Emigrante” to focus on his reelection campaign. If you want to help, e-mail a link to Transience to President@whitehouse.gov. Trust me, he, and us, could use the break.
