Please, Touch the Artwork

gamedeveloper.com:

Please, Touch the Artwork is an experimental puzzler that poses a singular, tantalizing question: What happens when you DO touch the artwork? The answer is squirrelled away in a virtual gallery where abstract paintings demand attention, letting players add color, lines, and more with a flourish in search of a deeper meaning.

Described as an "aesthetic journey to the origins of modern art" by creator Thomas Waterzooi, Please, Touch the Artwork combines procedural generation with three unique sub-games (each containing multiple puzzles) in a bid to deliver a uniquely personal experience to each individual player. 

There are no time limits. No pressure cooker scenarios designed to make players sweat. Just a smooth jazz soundtrack and stylish puzzles intent on sparking *something* in players. It's an ambitious vision, and we recently sat down with Waterzooi to chew the fat and learn more about his influences and approach to game design.

Game Developer: What appealed to you about the concept of an artful puzzler?

Thomas Waterzooi: I chose to tackle abstract art because it had always been a difficult topic for me. What should I feel? Could my little brother actually do this? After reading 'What Are You Looking At' by Will Gompertz I got a deeper insight and although my feelings about art are still very fluctuant, I do see why it's so important for the world.

You go on a journey and read about where these artists lived and worked, who their friends were and what drove them to make their art. It was the period after post-impressionism -- the period of cubism, suprematism, the style -- that attracted me the most. The avant-garde abstract artists are considered one of the pioneers of modern art. They reflected the rapidly