Sublime indie wander 'em up Proteus has opened pre-orders with a discount and instant access to a beta build, so you can start exploring straight away. The IGF 2012 hopeful is coming to PC, Mac and Linux.

Proteus is a game of ambling through the countryside, taking in the sights and sounds of the passing days, nights and seasons. Flora, fauna, and even stars respond to you, adding their own notes to the reactive soundtrack. Made by Ed Key with lovely noises from David Kanaga, it's awfully pleasant, and slightly magical. There is a vague objective--to find and activate artifacts--but the real treat is simply walking.

It'll cost $10 when it launches this fall, but Proteus is only $7.50 to pre-order. As well as a playable beta build, you'll also get a music 'EP.' The beta is only for Windows so far, but Mac and Linux versions are coming "soon." There's also a $40 physical Artifact Edition, $30 to pre-order, which comes boxed with artwork and liner notes, an OST "suite," and other development artifacts.

The last time I saw Proteus, it was projected onto a screen at the end of an indie games conference, the controller left for whoever wanted a go. Tired people who had wanted nothing more than to get to the pub wandered past, paused for a look, then sat down, and soon found themselves oohing and aahing along with dozens of others as players chased frogs, stalked shy musical flowers, and watched stars twinkle across the night sky. Special stuff.

Here's a trailer from last year: