Feminist game environment

Engage QW
3

REFS

I have tried here to list at the best of my knowledge examples of sidestepping approaches to gaming. Most of the games I know that develop a criical narrative are media arts initiatives or artists work, mostly presented in those environments and not distributed along usual circuits for independant games such as for example Steam or Itch.io

One exception is Porpentine, an amazing feminist game artist who has an itch.io channel:
https://porpentine.itch.io/
her main site still presents most of her games.
http://slimedaughter.com/

Another very active team producing amazing art and critical approaches to both gaming and social discourse:
http://tale-of-tales.com/
they are very know for their intersectionnal critical game"SUNSET" where you play an immigrant housekeeper in a swanky bachelor pad,
and for their concept of slow game in “THE GRAVEYARD” you play an old lady walking in a cemetery.
Tale of Tales is focused on the interaction the environment the art, and not really on the game principles, “Tale of Tales does not necessarily want to develop games. We’re interested in entertaining interaction with virtual worlds and characters. But not necessarily in games. In fact we suspect that the goal-oriented and rules-based nature of games may stand in the way of artistic expressiveness, which is the primary goal of our work.”

In Italia an other amazing and very known group is Molle Industria,http://molleindustria.org who also distribute their more recent games on itch.io
https://molleindustria.itch.io

I also listed some reference games quickly listed from Steam, many of them are already a few years old I should find their contemporary equvalents, but still. here you go.
Most of those games are listed under the category "Puzzle Games, this is a relatively large category that counts with all the games that propose problem solving challenges logical organisation challenges and/or transformation of sequential interaction including time and space distorsions. Puzzle Games are usually differentiated from Narrative Games since mostly the interaction is not guided by a clear narrative, however while they can be some narrative elements I never found one that incorporates critical views. puzzle Games however incorporate the most refined visuals beautiful and challenging designs and surprising organisations, but they mostly take place in a very abstract environment and scarcely personify their characters.

A Puzzle Game that I have been really touched by is: " FOUR SIDED FANTASY", I have been seducad mostly by its graphic environment and the altered perception of space it proposes, the choice of pernofying a feminist character AND a masculine character, I found interesting however it still is a binary position.

Also Sun and Moon, beautiful visuals, but pure Puzzle Game interaction logic.

Circa_Infinity Same feeling

http://circainfinitygame.com

Here also very interesting interaction logic and completely unusual use of space, but no statement of commitment to any discourse or critics.

http://semispher.es/

Antichamber, has had a lot of success because it was clearly redefining logics of interaction towardsspace, time transformation; involving for example tunnels and teleportations that involved alterations of screens. Here again visualsand graphica are amazing and shine from their neutrality, modalities of interaction are equally neutral.

http://antichamber-game.com/

I was also touched by “PROTOLIFE”, a form of game of life that works according to bacterial interaction rules
https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/38/protolife
this got me thinking about the symbiose project, that we had realised some years ago:
https://ps.zoethical.org/t/about-the-symbiosis-and-symbiogenesis-conference/1327

Some tutorial to get started with Godot:

VIDEOS TO WATCH:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PI26-KXCXpBtZGRJizz0cvU88nXB-G14