hi all,
Enjoying reading through folks' thoughts about GDC and checking out sweet games! For my own part, I'm exhausted by the momentum of a video game industry that seems more interested in commodifying ideas like "indie" and "diversity" than actually holding up the work of marginalized creators or interrogating its own toxic techno-capitalism. I know a lot of ppl get a lot of good out of GDC, and I respect those experiences, but for me, at a distance, the psychic and material costs of participating feel overwhelming.
I love the possibilities of this medium, and I'm so grateful for itch.io and other spaces that recognize the value of a less profit-driven creative scene AND the need for publishing platforms to speak out against the worst tendencies of "gamer culture". As a white queer person, I think that owning the inextricability of arts practice and political identity is critical to the health of our communities AND challenging our own fucked up internalized ideas about whose work and voices have value.
OK that's my rant full of ANDs. pls check out "Apologies, for what it's worth", a short game I made with some pals: https://shrunken.itch.io/apologies
It's an interactive fiction about family ties and unreliable memory that takes the form of a dense letter from an estranged sibling.
Thanks so much!
b