These are my personal favorite games, books, and other things that I've found on itch.io. Some of them had a pretty big impact on me and how I think about life. Some of them are just really neat but they're far outside of the themes of the other collections I've curated.
Content: Rated G. Suitable for all ages.
Medium: A computer game created in Bitsy. It runs in your web browser. About five minutes long. You can see everything in one play-through.
About: The author remembers racist microaggressions she heard when she was a child and the hurtful impact that these had on her.
Vibe: This game is about something very sad and painful to experience as a child, and it conveys those feelings well.
Content: Rated G. Content warnings for body horror and involuntary transformation.
Medium: Interactive fiction created in Twine, in the style of a Choose Your Own Adventure book. There are a few meaningful choices at the beginning, and the rest is a linear story.
About: You live in a fairy tale land and need a magical makeover so you can sneak in to a party. (You are an adult human whose gender isn't specified in the narration.) You end up getting transformed into something pretty but weird. Depending on which guise you take on, you have a different adventure. The original concept was that this was supposed to be a parody of a fad for mobile games about make-overs.
Vibe: Beautifully written and humorous. Reminiscent of other fun, nostalgic deconstructions of folklore and fantasy, and just as good as the best of them: Fractured Fairytales, Dealing with Dragons, and Shrek.
Content: Rated PG-13.
Medium: Interactive fiction created in Twine.
About: You wake up in the body of a billionaire and try to spend all his money before either the day ends or you get caught and stopped. (As a bit of artistic license, the game pretends these are all liquid assets that could be spent at a moment's notice.)
Most people find it difficult to think about very large numbers. This game is meant to make it easier to imagine just how much money a billionaire has by looking at everything that could be done with it if it was being used to solve familiar problems in the real world.
Playing this can have a long-term impact on how you think of the imaginary social construct of "money," the vast gulf between an ordinary person's idea of luxurious wealth versus someone who has more money than makes sense for a private individual to possess, and how the exact same number of dollars can be either life-changing or inconsequential to people of differing economic status.
Vibe: Comic mischief. Humor that punches up and not down. Economic outrage.
Content: Rated G.
Medium: Interactive fiction created in Twine, though its elaborate randomization and careful juggling of numbers in your stats makes it look much less like it was created with that tool. Impressive. Every play through is unique.
About: Science fiction. You are looking for a safe planet where the last humans could live, but it's a long and dangerous trip through space, and you might have to settle for a new home that's not so safe. The Earth is hard to replace.
Vibe: Grim, lonely, epic.
Rated PG-13.
A collection of handbooks for anyone running or playing any sort of live-action role-play (LARP) or tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) to make sure that it's an enjoyable and safe time for everyone involved.
Rated PG-13.
A handbook for anyone running or playing any sort of live-action role-play (LARP) or tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) to make sure that it's an enjoyable and safe time for everyone involved.
