Though it crashed my browser the first two times I tried to load the game after seeing it linked by friends on my Twitter feed, I made a third attempt at playing Small Worlds this morning and was rewarded for my persistence.

It's a wonderful little exploration/platforming game in which you guide a three-pixel tall character through tiny but distinctive, slow-revealing environments. I won't spoil the premise (or my interpretation of it, at least), but there is a goal to Small Worlds despite your initial aimless wanderings, and each area offers a fantastic soundtrack that's worth playing the game for alone.

Developer David Shute created Small Worlds as a submission for JayIsGames' Casual Gameplay Design Competition 6, which had a theme of "exploration" this time around. You can play more submissions from the game design competition here.

[Via Metafilter]