I've seen games do a lot of things before, but this is rich. A new game appearing on Kickstarter known as The Painter's Apprentice is offering an unexpected way to get players interested in art: platform gaming.

The game in question is called The Painter's Apprentice, and this small-scale release is a platform gamer featuring the title character. Said title character has spent the last three years apprenticed to the village's master painter, and now, he's ready to take on some big challenges. Noticing that one of his master's paintings has lost its color, the apprentice decides to take over, restoring color to the drained work. Upon doing so, he finds himself falling into the painting, where he discovers that there's a much more sinister reason the color has been drained from the art.

The apprentice will then move through eight different paintings, each in a different art style, to restore color to the paintings and take back art from the sentient paint blobs that have drained it.

It's a clever way to learn about things like Fauvism and Neo-Expressionism, but there's another play mechanic that's even more noteworthy. Fighting enemies requires a mastery of color in order to do completely. An orange enemy, for example, must be struck with a yellow brush first, then switching to red allows the monster to be defeated.

Pledging just $5 allows users to get a digital copy, along with other special offers, and as is standard with Kickstarter, there are plenty of other rewards waiting.

The idea is exciting enough, and though the gameplay--based on current video--is a little straightforward, the mechanics are sufficiently unusual to make this one worth a look, and a pledge. One part Splatoon, one part classic platformer and one part art lecture make an interesting combination.

It could have been more, certainly--restoring color to, say The Mona Lisa or the other great masterworks would have been better than random examples of Fauvism--but it's still a noteworthy concept as it sits. With just under 20 days to go, it's raised about a quarter of its goal, so have a look and see if you want to see this one work out.