A Googler, by the name of Paul Truong (Creative Technologist) has created a game based on his love for Gmail. The game was created with HTML5, and runs a little choppy in Firefox.

The Gmail game is a throwback to arcade games of yesteryear in which you’re a spaceship flying around, shooting various flying objects. You know the kind – Galaga, Stinger, Lifeforce, and probably dozens of others.

The boss is some Android-looking object made out of a bird cage that swings spiked balls at you, though doesn’t appear to be able to get to you if you’re at the bottom of the screen. Not incredibly challenging, but I don’t think they intend to turn this into a moneymaker.

"Webmail has come a long way in the past few years but it’s all too easy to take for granted practically unlimited inbox capacities and responsive interfaces backed by the power of search," says Truong. "While I’m not on the Gmail team, I felt a little celebration of how far we’ve come was in order, so I wrote a little HTML5 game, in part as a ‘thank you’ to the Gmail team for their ongoing work to improve the webmail galaxy. If you’re into games, or just like the idea of flying m-velopes that shoot bad guys, give it a try (make sure you’re using a modern browser that supports HTML5 first)."

Part Gmail promotion, part Chrome promotion, part waste of time (no offense to Truong). Check it out if you’re really bored.