For anybody participating that wants some examples of what I meant when I said indigestible games, here are some examples that aren't wholly representative, but just some things that may give you inspiration.
Indigestible means that these games recognize their potential inaccessibility to a larger public, but own it because the game requires it to make its point:
- PeaceMaker Game (http://www.peacemakergame.com/)
- Developed in 2007, portrays the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a game.
- The work of Michael Brough:
- (Cinco Paus) - a rogue dungeon crawler without language, instructions, or context
- Kraid Dating Sim (Demo) (https://vreyes.itch.io/kraid-dating-sim-demo)
- Dating that huge handsome monster KRAID from Metroid
- Hylics
- Absurd imagery, oblique references, randomly generated text and powers https://mason-lindroth.itch.io/hylics
- NSFWare
- A pornographic version of WarioWare (https://pierrec.itch.io/nsfware)
- Oikospiel Book 1 (https://dkoikos.itch.io/oikospiel)
- A surreal, musical and referential game about labor,environmentalism, video games, and much more. The game contains a lot of references to turn of the century literature, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, and opera.
- Self Portrait Interior (https://theotrian.itch.io/self-portrait-interior)
- A guided tour inside artist Theo Triantafyllidis
- Sonic Dreams Collection (http://hedgehog.exposed/)
- References to Sega’s exploitation of their poor blue hedgehog, internet subcommunities, fetishes, and more!
- TetraGeddon (https://alienmelon.itch.io/tetrageddon)
- An absurd, satirical, super sensoral reflection of internet culture
- The Trans Zone (https://glamow.itch.io/the-trans-zone)
- A funny, cute, tho serious game that frames HRT as a quest through the Trans Zone
- Four Nights 7: The Return of Foxy (https://foofin.itch.io/four-nights-7-the-return-of-foxy)
- A satirical game parodying rushed RPGmaker games, contains a lot of references to niche online content, other RPG maker games, and YouTube streamers, as well as making jokes you won’t get if you’ve never played Off, Lisa, and Five Nights at Freddy’s. The game uses music and visuals from a lot of other games.
Fan Games:
I would consider any and all fan games at least somewhat indigestible and niche.
- No More Pills for Poppy https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/416917
- A game based on a scene from “Mega64,” an online sketch comedy podcast performance artist group.
- NG’s 20th Anniversary Collab https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/666610
- Filled with references to NG memorabilia and characters that really pass over my head…
- Fan games in general are a great reference/starting point for this jam!
So there you are, some references! Have fun this week!