I'm currently stranded in a Thai cafe because I don't have enough time to go home before work and yet don't want to go to work an hour early, so I thought it would be cool to unload some of this cool stuff I've been playing / interested in / have had rotting in my bookmarks for way too long.
- Some kind person has uploaded the entirety of the MindMaze midi loops to Youtube. If anyone else had a Windows computer in the 90s, you possibly used the Encarta Encyclopedia, and you likely played MindMaze (or that planetary gravity simulator...or that fun one where you matched up musical instruments to their culture of origin). I probably did roughly 5837498479748 times because it was rural North Carolina and what else was I going to do, really? Either way, the score is hugely nostalgic for me.
- ‘Rollercoaster Tycoon' Sadist Creates 210 Day-Long Hell Coaster. Check out his older stuff set to haunting Gregorian chants, too.
- This seems very interesting, but I'm probably biased because anything described as 'basically a malaria dream about sausages or something' is an average Friday night for me. I've yet to actually play it but I'll hijack R's laptop soon and do so.
- I basically had a job like this once. But Unsolicited's definitely more fun.
- Geogoo isn't really a game per se...more of an interactive web project. Still kind of fascinating to watch. Here's the background on it and its creators, JODI. I've always been morbidly fascinated by the way that games and web interfaces function and how to make them dysfunctional. I used to love things like gamesharks and purposefully glitching out old N64 cartridges and gameboy games.
- Speaking of, this is an awesome online glitcher. I used to be very into giltching many years ago back when there was only like, one online glitch algorithm. And it was weirdly public and completely randomized; you had no ability whatsoever to make any adjustments to your images and all of them were uploaded on the same server so everyone could see whatever it was you were trying to glitch. So it's cool that there are more diverse options now. Although I definitely did make what I consider some very pleasing glitched stuff back in the day.
- I recently completed a run of We Know the Devil, which is awesome not only for its queer/trans representation but also for having some very unique visual novel graphics and a chilling score. I wish more indie games were this cool. BoingBoing did a great review of it here. It's not perfect but I hope it's a step towards way more stuff like it--including even more exhaustively developed things--being made.
- R and I were able to visit the really cool Indie Game Revolution exhibit at the EMP museum on our Seattle / west coast trip last fall. The games rotate but we were able to play some super cool stuff like Night in the Woods, Downwell (which is actually available as a super addictive app for your phone), Tenya Wanya Teens, and Gardenarium. Typoman was also really cool but I'm clearly too stupid to be anything close to effective at playing it.
- I played this for the first time at the IGR exhibit, but since you can actually play it online, How Do You Do It? is hilarious. And NSFW.
- Mirrorlake is a beautiful game / potential screensaver that develops interesting landscapes. Similarly, Reflection creates lovely landscapes you can explore a bit using information from your webcam. A Safe Place for Dust is also pretty relaxing.
- Swan Hill is a story about two brothers, but you choose--to some extent--how the events between them unfold.
- Final Girls is easily one of the most fascinating and emotional games I've ever played; in it you direct support group conversations and facilitate relations between women made famous by popular horror media. It's an interesting look into how people process trauma and abuse.
- I accidentally forgot about it for a while and was crushed to discover that my plants all died, but if you're more responsible than me in the digital realm, Viridi is a very relaxing succulent simulator. It also has soothing background music.
- Recently at work we've been entertaining ourselves with Deep Dream Processing, which is the scary side of google algorithms and image recognition. The very scary side. We had a good deal of fun generating horrifying hamster photos a few weeks ago.
- For all those with guilty consciences or who are into paying penance but live in a city flat / apartment...
- Some kind person has uploaded the entirety of the MindMaze midi loops to Youtube. If anyone else had a Windows computer in the 90s, you possibly used the Encarta Encyclopedia, and you likely played MindMaze (or that planetary gravity simulator...or that fun one where you matched up musical instruments to their culture of origin). I probably did roughly 5837498479748 times because it was rural North Carolina and what else was I going to do, really? Either way, the score is hugely nostalgic for me.
- ‘Rollercoaster Tycoon' Sadist Creates 210 Day-Long Hell Coaster. Check out his older stuff set to haunting Gregorian chants, too.
- This seems very interesting, but I'm probably biased because anything described as 'basically a malaria dream about sausages or something' is an average Friday night for me. I've yet to actually play it but I'll hijack R's laptop soon and do so.
- I basically had a job like this once. But Unsolicited's definitely more fun.
- Geogoo isn't really a game per se...more of an interactive web project. Still kind of fascinating to watch. Here's the background on it and its creators, JODI. I've always been morbidly fascinated by the way that games and web interfaces function and how to make them dysfunctional. I used to love things like gamesharks and purposefully glitching out old N64 cartridges and gameboy games.
- Speaking of, this is an awesome online glitcher. I used to be very into giltching many years ago back when there was only like, one online glitch algorithm. And it was weirdly public and completely randomized; you had no ability whatsoever to make any adjustments to your images and all of them were uploaded on the same server so everyone could see whatever it was you were trying to glitch. So it's cool that there are more diverse options now. Although I definitely did make what I consider some very pleasing glitched stuff back in the day.
- I recently completed a run of We Know the Devil, which is awesome not only for its queer/trans representation but also for having some very unique visual novel graphics and a chilling score. I wish more indie games were this cool. BoingBoing did a great review of it here. It's not perfect but I hope it's a step towards way more stuff like it--including even more exhaustively developed things--being made.
- R and I were able to visit the really cool Indie Game Revolution exhibit at the EMP museum on our Seattle / west coast trip last fall. The games rotate but we were able to play some super cool stuff like Night in the Woods, Downwell (which is actually available as a super addictive app for your phone), Tenya Wanya Teens, and Gardenarium. Typoman was also really cool but I'm clearly too stupid to be anything close to effective at playing it.
- I played this for the first time at the IGR exhibit, but since you can actually play it online, How Do You Do It? is hilarious. And NSFW.
- Mirrorlake is a beautiful game / potential screensaver that develops interesting landscapes. Similarly, Reflection creates lovely landscapes you can explore a bit using information from your webcam. A Safe Place for Dust is also pretty relaxing.
- Swan Hill is a story about two brothers, but you choose--to some extent--how the events between them unfold.
- Final Girls is easily one of the most fascinating and emotional games I've ever played; in it you direct support group conversations and facilitate relations between women made famous by popular horror media. It's an interesting look into how people process trauma and abuse.
- I accidentally forgot about it for a while and was crushed to discover that my plants all died, but if you're more responsible than me in the digital realm, Viridi is a very relaxing succulent simulator. It also has soothing background music.
- Recently at work we've been entertaining ourselves with Deep Dream Processing, which is the scary side of google algorithms and image recognition. The very scary side. We had a good deal of fun generating horrifying hamster photos a few weeks ago.
- For all those with guilty consciences or who are into paying penance but live in a city flat / apartment...
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