Hello!

One of the things I really enjoy is unique, interesting or out-of-the box game design. It doesn’t have to be AAA game, it doesn’t have to be a perfect game, it can be pretty rough - but if it has a mechanic or design element that is somehow unique or original, I’m instantly in love with the game.

The problem is that such games do not usually get a lot of exposure, since it is after all a niche. And that is really a shame - in the past few years the most fun had with video-games was playing such smaller and shorter indie games with something unique or pretty clever, where I can obsess over the design and more importantly - get inspired. That leads me to my question - are there any communites or blogs or content curators that are about this kind of smaller, maybe unpolished, but original games? Or what games would you recommend that would fit into this description? I don’t mind if it’s a 5 minute experience. It’s ok if it’s more interactive art than a game.

To better illustrate what I’m looking for, I’d compare it to modern art - the kind where you get a single colored square on a canvas. I never got it, and it always felt just weird - until I had to start doing flyer design and started researching and reading about composition, space and all that stuff. And now I see there’s so much going on even on a picture with a single line, that it’s really interesting to think about why the square is where it is, and what kind of composition rules was he working with.

And I think it’s the same for game design - sometimes you see a clever mechanic or design on otherwise really ugly and unpolished game, and it still gets you inspired and thinking.

I understand that my question is a little bit vague, so I’ll give you a list of some games I consider unique, some of them are well known, some of them not-so-much:

  • Immortality - you probably know about this one, but a game where the plot twist is discovering a hidden game mechanic, you could’ve done all the time? And the fact that you watch three movies at once in random scene order is also a really good experience.
  • Against the Storm - I really like how they solved the issue with management sims - that they tend to get boring once you set everything up, by making it a roguelike.
  • Different Strokes - an online persistent collaborative museum of art, where you can either leave a new painting, or edit someone’s else. Each painting can be edited only once, so there are always two authors of a single piece.
  • Sayonara Wild Hearts - I really like the idea of making what’s basically an interactive music album. While the game design isn’t anyting that interresting, the focus on music is cool - there should be more music albums with video-games instead of video-clips.
  • Project Forlorn - Again, not really a game - this time I think there’s no actuall gameplay, but it’s the best interactive music album presentation I’ve ever seen. And again - I like the idea of exploring music and games together.
  • Playdate - Not exactly a single game, but rather a console - but the idea behind giving you a game per day (which is I think how it started, they may all be available now looking at it) sounds amazing - which I’d also consider a game design (or rather, experience design?).
  • Baba is You - Another probably well known game, but the puzzle mechanic is just mindblowing.
  • Before Your eyes - In this game, the main mechanic is that you go through the memories of someone who has just passed away, but the time advances every time you blink - physically blink, because the game can use your camera. That is such a clever idea, that it definitely fits onto this list.
  • Nerve Damage - This is my favourite recent discovery. The game is trying so hard to be uncomfortable to play, with it’s main design build around just being unplayable. But it somehow works and once you get into the flow, it’s such an unique experience.

So, does anyone has some recommendations about where to look for more experimental games? A curated list, blog would be awesome - since clicking through pages of games on itch.io is pretty hit and miss. Also, feel free to share some of your favourite unique design or experimental experiences and games!

  • isiloron@kbin.social
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    1 year ago
    • Heaven’s Vault: Language translation point and click adventure game.
    • Project Hospital: A great hospital sim. You can even diagnose the patients yourself!
    • Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin: A japanese RPG/brawler with a (very detailed) rice farming simulator as the way to gain XP to level up.
    • Warsim: The Realm of Aslona: A text based kingdom manager / adventure game. Full of quirky details and humor.
    • THE LONGING: A very very slow paced point and click adventure game about waiting… for 400 days… in real time. Why not read some books while you wait, or come out of your little hole and explore the caverns outside?
    • Cultist Simulator: Run your very own lovecraftian cult, the card game!
    • Windward: A pirate sandbox akin to Sid Meier’s Pirates! Tried it on a whim when I got it in a bundle and got stuck playing it for 15 hours. Worth a try.
    • Shadows of Doubt: A procedurally generated detective simulator (in early access at the moment).
    • Ruinarch: A big bad simulator sandbox. You are the big bad. See that village over there? Make their lives miserable!
    • Ghost of a Tale: You are a mouse bard in a fantasy world of anthropomorphic animal people. You are imprisoned in the castle dungeons and need to escape.
    • Heat Signature: A space bounty hunter sandbox. Hijack a ship, kill your target, collect the package, throw yourself out the airlock, and pick yourself up by remote controlling your ship.
    • Intergalactic Fishing: You like fishing? Do you want to fish an unlimited amount of different fish in an unlimited amount of different lakes all over the galaxy? Look no further.
    • The Last Federation: You are the last surviving individual of a powerful species in a star system full of different species at different levels of technology. Your mission: unite the star system to save its people from annihilation. Will you be able to unite all of them, or will some species be eradicated for the greater good?
    • Songs of Syx: A fantasy city builder of grand proportions. Build your kingdom’s capital and fill it with hundreds or even thousands of individual people.
    • 5D Chess with Multiverse Time travel: Are you good at chess? Well, everyone is on a level playing field when you introduce time travel and the multiverse.
    • Mikina@programming.devOP
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      1 year ago

      Thank you! That is an amazing list, most of the games you are recommending I haven’t heard about, and it sounds awesome. I will add it to my backlog for sure!

      • isiloron@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        Glad you liked it! Here is a bonus item I did not remember for my list:

        Wilmot’s Warehouse
        You are Wilmot, the (only) warehouse employee. You are tasked with storing items delivered to you, and retrieving items that people request from you. What are all these items and how do you organize them?
        Who knows! Figure it out!

    • ideathing@feddit.it
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      1 year ago

      So many good ones in this list, cultist simulator will make you see the world through its game system afterwards, ghost of a tale is Soo damn cute and well done. Expanding on 5d chess I’d recommend 4D toys, a sandbox that will open your mind to the 4th dimension

    • ZOSTED
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      1 year ago

      +1 Heaven’s Vault. Gets you thinking in totally different ways.