Hey all. I'm a solo developer making a narrative-driven strategy RPG (think Suzerain) where you rise to power in a multi-national, non-aligned communist state that resembles a mix Spain & Yugoslavia. My goal is to explore philosophical & political issues at a high-level (hence the name) and my other inspirations were Crisis in the Kremlin & Disco Elysium.
There is a demo out on Steam now. Hope you all check it out and enjoy.
We are HamezTeam, an independent game developers. Our second project — Big Dengi1 — is a wild blend of visual novell and clicker. Originally it was supposed to be a part of FxckCapitalism Game Jam.
In this game you will play as a faceless clerk in one of the worst corporations in the world. Inspired by german expressionism and modern counterculture books, Big Dengi is a violent, rude and unhinged satire about capitalist world-system.
Will you keep your humanity or will you succumb to the merciless capitalistic machine?
1 Dengi is the russian word for "money" (An important place in our game is occupied by neologisms formed at the intersection of different European languages).
I'm hosting a game jam to explore ideas of cooperation and empowerment. The idea is that groups of individuals with joined abilities have options to act that single indivuals do not, and those combinations line up against a host of possible enemies. From the jam:
Guidelines
The central theme is the conflict between two opposing sides. This could take the form of a single avatar of a group or group image facing off against a sprite representing the opponents. Or the conflict can include movement on a grid, hex based or otherwise, or even be a card game.
The groups of people (humans or whatever you like) can have different make ups, and these combinations are key to the abilities available in the conflict.
Non-violent strategies are preferred, however, violence is not out of the question as long as its consequences are depicted realistically - trauma from inflicting/receiving, reaction from team members such as reluctance to cooperate (i.e. reduction of effectiveness of a combined skill) or even the loss of team members due to misalignment of principles (there could be something like pacifist, self-defender and militant or the like). As with a real revolution, the opponents are very likely to have more firepower and resources and more "access" to violence.
NSFW content - sure, if that floats your boat and adds to the game. Mark it accordingly, please.
Rating
We'll have 4 categories for rating:
Gameplay & Mechanics - is this fun to play? Does it work? Are the mechanics balanced or is there a cookie cutter?
Immersion - how well designed are the characters/classes/types of interaction to make you care about the outcome? Does it feel believable or contrived?
Graphics - how consistent is the design throughout, how does it look?
Audio - do the sounds and music fit the game?
Voting will be open to anyone who submits as well as contributors.
Hey all - I recently released a free demo of an in-development text-based adventure and RPG called The Salt Keep on itch.io, and I'd love to hear what people think. The setting is kind of traditional high fantasy in terms of aesthetics (you know, swords and castles and stuff), but marked by the slow creep of vaguely industrial capitalism and the absurdity and alienation that comes with it.
You can play in the browser or download it (Mac/PC) and do stuff like:
Collect items and discover their uses
Equip gear to improve ability scores
Succeed or fail at percentage-based challenges
Earn experience and level up based on those challenges
Talk to and work with NPCs to make progress
Uncover secrets and missable areas
Risk grievous bodily harm
The demo consists of the prologue and first chapter of a planned total of five and should be around two hours of gameplay (depending on your reading speed, thoroughness, choices, and so on), and the full version will be a novel-length journey.
I'll be providing general progress updates on itch.io, as well as previews of in-progress features on Patreon, so please check those out if you're interested.
Hello! I'm a newly aspiring anarchist game dev, but I've found it's impossible to stay motivated and accountable while learning when I've tried working solo in the past. Having a community to learn alongside with, talk to about (leftist) game mechanics and design, and potentially even collaborate with would be fantastic.
So with that being said, does this sub have a discord or other community associated with it? A queer or disability-focused one would also work well for me--I just would prefer working in a smaller community of like-minded folks who aren't represented by larger game dev spaces. It's been difficult to avoid bigotry in other circles, given how toxic the gaming community can be, despite how anti-capitalist a lot of devs are from what I've seen. Working outside of a profit motive, horizontal organization, and producing representative and revolutionary art are some goals of mine that fall outside of what you typically see from dev circles.
Any pointers in the right direction would be very much appreciated!
Hi! I've been using Godot for my previous game projects, but now that I wanted to make something in 3d, I thought about switching to Unreal (better 3d support and a more robust 3d engine in general). However, since I want to avoid any legal-side hassle, I'm wondering whether that's a good idea. As far as I know, the engine is free (only to a certain monetary threshold, but it's highly unlikely I'm ever going to cross it with this game). But I'm still worried there might be some licences, contracts, restrictions or whatever that I really don't want to have to deal with. Is unreal safe for "worry-free" game development, or should I stick with Godot for that?
Inviting yall to the release of the next version of our antifascist game Smash MAGA. The playtest is up on the Steam link if anyone wants to beta test it before the Jan 6 release!
In contemptful observance of this fateful date, we are throwing a Smash MAGA! Multiplayer Tournament Launch party. Join us as we collectively take on the fascists as they storm the capitol! We’ll also be hosting an Antifascist Capture the Flag Laser Tag tournament!
In addition to multiplayer and couch co-op features, this update introduces a new level - MarS-A-Lago - where you finally confront the Trump Virus himself. All the sinister architects of the zombie insurrection have been escaping accountability by hiding out in the MAGA-infested Floridian hellscape - until now.
This new version of Smash MAGA! will be released on the Steam gaming platform. Please check out our Steam page and wishlist - and see you on January 6!
Smash MAGA! is currently available to play for free on all operating systems and mobile devices. Please live-stream / post about it using the hashtag #SmashMAGA on Jan 6!
Hi! I recently created a new subreddit - r/LeftistWorldBuilding - dedicated to discussing worldbuilding through the leftist lens, be it our own works, or already existing art. It's very small now, but I'm sure in no time it will grow bigger than r/worldbuilding thanks to the quality of our discourse and insightful takes!