itch.io

The Sims is definitely some kind of ominous and dark shadow looming over the genre. One thing I do enjoy more about Paralives so far is that it feels more European in architecture, which is a nice change to the stock American suburbs in the Sims base game.

That voting mechanic thing is so hilarious in the context of such a deeply depolitised game. Not that electoral politics will ever fundamentally change the world, but what are the Sims even voting for? Why do they care? It's a vague, apolitical dys/utopia with an American set dressing. The greenwashed ecology mechanics just feel flat in the context. 

I'm glad you like the idea of that mod though! The more I think about it the more I think I might like for it to have some kind of narrative element, similar to MyHouse.wad I'll make some noise if I ever get around to actually finishing it. Cheers and have fun with Faggots and Their Friends ;)

I love love love this idea of living devices

This is really well-written, I think it would make for a good poem to actually read out loud. There's some nice sounds and rhythms in there. 

Thank you for mentioning the context this manifesto was born in. Somehow it feels like we're backsliding there again, at least in some regards. I don't mean this with my nihilist or doomer tinted lenses on, but something's up right? That's why I'm also very fond of how this book articulates faggot love and resilience, it's just as relevant as I assume it was in the 1970s.

I do have a PDF of F&F, so I think my next step would be to get a print copy. There's some really beautiful editions out there I'd love to actually flip through. I assume the author you mention is Asta, the illustrator? In any case I love that he's cool with the piracy, he's the real deal.

To your point about simulations, I think that's pretty much where I landed too. The simulation have built-in assumptions as you say, and they are taken for granted by many players. So games and especially sim games reproduce certain socio-political discourse by uncritically affirming them. This is despite that fact that they are often completely mythologised and essentially made up. The way most video games treat gender is the most obvious example to me, but there are many for sure.

Anyways, cheers and thank you for the thoughtful comment, I really appreciate it!

This is the best receipt I've ever read, thank you so much :)

This is so real. I've often felt at odds with how much of a push towards specialization there is, in video games yes but also in contemporary arts. It feels wrong. I often stand somewhere between being very proud of all the skills I've been able to explore all while feeling incredibly insecure as well about not having some kind of "expertise". It feels like this big important thing to be an expert in something, and to not be can feel like you're not as real or professional as everyone else.

This really speaks to me, always striving to situate the practice in the body. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for that article on substack it was a nice read. Funnily enough I considered unlisting the exact project you link to for all the same reasons you mention, so to have it linked on this blogpost feels a little bit like fate telling me to keep it up! I think this is a very real feeling and also one that I find myself grappling with as well, especially in terms of the public sphere, how much of ourselves we can give ourselves to a public before it turns voyeuristic, etc,... It's kind of complicated but I'm glad I'm not the only one out here trying to figure it all out! 

Beautiful

L'écran blanc est normal – il faut commencer à tester les touches ;) ! Sans les contrôleurs alternatifs il s'agit de : 

Space, Enter, Q, E, S, D, F, B, H, U, L, P, Y, J, N

This rules, I can't believe I'm the first comment. I love how much you do with such short sentences, very inspiring. 

I remember playing Bleakshore a few years back and even thinking about the game later on but being unable to remember what it was called. So I'm very glad to have randomly stumbled on your page this morning, I don't why but it really stuck with me.

<3

yeah!

Really inspired by how you've mixed in all these different medias and tools together!

Hii, thank you so much! I'm so sorry somehow I totally missed this comment :( If still needed, here's a picture of the code I used. I simply added it at the end of the html file. Ftr, I got it from the Borksy Game Hacker by AYolland! I think only the audio tag works though 

Ahhh so excited to dive into this thank you so much Andrew!!

Merci <3 Je l'ai écrit en français à la base donc ça me fait plaisir !

Oog this issue seems right up my alley.. excitingg!

Reminds me of getting my dog, I always get super emotional thinking abt the day he won't be around anymore :')

Aaahh thank you so much that makes me so happy you have no idea :') !!

Lovely <3

Weird and wonderful and perfect, thanks <3

When the sky turned red and the air toxic, I took refuge in a greenhouse.

As Hermit Crabs Do is a photography game set in a greenhouse at the end of the world where you may only take one picture. 

It includes: 

- A 4:3 resolution mimicking common camera aspect ratios

- Entirely self-made assets in a low-poly, low-res style

- Hidden dialogue interactions

- A night and day cycle!

I would love to see people play and share their pictures. I made it in Godot for class but it's a very personal project. Thanks for checking it out ❀

For some reason, at first I assumed I HAD to be pressing either left or right at all times, but when I realised I didn't I was able to do much better hehe...

Hi everyone, I hope the new year has been treating you well! 

Just wanted to share this interactive poem I made on here. 

John With an I is an ode to my grandpa and the generation of eastern european grandpas stuck in 1989. 

⚘️

Oh fun mechanic! Reminds me of playing flash games as a kid.

Ohhh repaired the hell out of those gears... hell yeah, gimme that robot prize. Love the robot's animations alongside the sound design. They complemented each other so well - felt bouncy, somehow!

So much fun, messed around with this for a little bit and I can already tell the absolute hold this game could have on my life! I took a look at your roadmap and man I can't wait for there to  be public transport, would love to try and recreate a 15-minute city inside the game.

Goodbyes

Played with my boyfriend on local, sooo fun, love how much weight it has!

Sinä olet velho (this is all the finnish I know from Duolingo, thanks for the game).

I read this last year and it struck something very deep inside me, thanks. 

Thank you so much, and your game was lovely! Definitely hit a chord in me. The metaphor was perfect :)

The quartet dreamers

Tysm, had fun experimenting with the 2d integration!

Nice, there is yet hope for the beholder!

Google translates part of this as 'you give big monsters' and I think that's beautiful thank you.

Holy cow, this is amazing!!! I didn't read everything but just skimming thru and seeing all the games you showcase is wonderful. You've nailed the aesthetic to a T and I hope your teachers take notice of you sticking to the bitsy UI for all the descriptions. Seeing my own game in there was so unexpected but cool as well :') I would get this in a heartbeat if it was made into a physical copy haha, but I imagine that's just for your class. Either way this is such a love letter to the community and it's awesome to see <3

Painting the inside of anything is dangerous.

Hey, made an interactive poem for my literature class  based on Richard Siken's Portrait of Fryderyk in Shifting Light. I got to experiment with pixsy this time around and I'm really happy with the result, it sort of allowed me to try a different approach to interactions, check it out