Celadon: a close look, tips and whether it is worth your time

If you like slow, craft-driven games where the process matters more than your reflexes, take a look at this one. Here is everything you need before the first launch: the gist, the controls and some working techniques.

What this game is

Celadon is a 3D pottery game. You are a potter in the ninth winter of the Long Ash, chasing a glaze colour whose original nobody living has ever seen. Nothing is painted by hand: the form of the vessel, the thin wall, the glass and the firing itself are computed by physics and chemistry, not sprites.

How to play, in short

It starts with a ball of clay on the wheel. Put a hand on it and drag: up to lift and thin the wall, down to press it back, out to belly it, in to collar the neck. Bring the wall to an even, thin height, cut away the surplus underneath and leave a clean foot ring. Then the glaze — dip, pour, brush or spray — and be sure to wipe the foot bare, or the pot welds itself to the kiln shelf. Finally the firing: set the temperature and reduction curve, light the kiln and wait. The finished piece is scored 0 to 100 on form, craft, surface, fire and hitting the brief.

Controls

Mouse and touch: drag on the clay to shape it; right button or two fingers orbit and turn the pot; wheel or pinch to zoom; a slider sets wheel speed; SPACE adds water, number keys switch tools, ENTER takes the next step. On a phone the same gestures apply — one finger throws, two turn the camera.

A couple of tips

• Don't rush the thinning: a wall only gets thinner by getting taller, and an uneven one turns into wobble and cracks.
• Wash the foot clean every time — it is the most common way to lose a piece.
• Try the demo on the game page: it plays the whole arc from ball of clay to the report.

A perfect game to slow down for an evening — and before you know it the winter has gone. Ready to try it? "Celadon"