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!

  • amio@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Undertale? I came at it being basically familiar with RPGs and having only a faint idea of what it was like. It was awesome. It has a few things that get “rosebudded” a bit these days, being an old game with a bunch of meme potential. It’s an indie, very Japanese-inspired RPG with “bullet hell” fighting mechanics and an astonishing soundtrack. I basically can’t praise it enough, BUT if you’re going to play it and have managed to not get it spoiled so far, do yourself a favor and don’t read up on it first.

    Factorio? I fell in love with it practically because of the nice, flashy power graphs. It’s a factory sim with “tower defense” aspects but you can play peaceful mode if you (like me) are not into that or don’t like its combat mechanics.

    TIS-100, Shenzhen IO, SpaceChem, Opus Magnum or Zachtronic games in general, if the last one was somehow not geeky enough. A lot of the zachtronic-style games have more or less the same general idea and they also focus on some nostalgia/zeitgeist type things. TIS-100 and Shenzhen IO are coding games on an imaginary computer, you basically write a minimal form of “assembly”. SpaceChem and Opus Magnum have the same basic problem solving thing but are less overtly “code-y”. TIS-100’s UI is very “faux retro” and their last game, Last Call BBS doubled down on that aesthetic, really drilling down into the “90’s kids’ idea of computing back in the day”. I personally didn’t like the actual LCBBS games or activities but the presentation is really neat.