news

The doge[.]gov website that was spun up to track Elon Musk’s cuts to the federal government is insecure and pulls from a database that can be edited by anyone, according to two separate people who found the vulnerability and shared it with 404 Media. One coder added at least two database entries that are visible on the live site and say “this is a joke of a .gov site” and “THESE ‘EXPERTS’ LEFT THEIR DATABASE OPEN -roro.”

Doge[.]gov was hastily deployed after Elon Musk told reporters Tuesday that his Department of Government Efficiency is “trying to be as transparent as possible. In fact, our actions—we post our actions to the DOGE handle on X, and to the DOGE website.” At the time, DOGE was an essentially blank webpage. It was built out further Wednesday and Thursday, and now shows a mirror of the @DOGE X account posts, as well as various stats about the U.S. government’s federal workforce.

MBFC
Archive

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Summary

Trump’s mandatory return-to-office order has left federal employees struggling with overcrowded, unsanitary conditions.

Workers report cockroach infestations, fights for desks, and being forced to work in closets or sit on floors. Some agencies lack internet or workspaces, creating chaos and reducing productivity.

Critics argue the order is designed to push employees to quit, aligning with Trump’s goal of shrinking government.

While the White House defends the move as improving efficiency, labor unions and governance experts warn it’s causing dysfunction and undermining public service.

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archive.is/VU5L4

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As Donald Trump and Elon Musk prepare to bring their next round of arbitrary cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, it seems like at least one employee is making their displeasure known. On Monday morning, the first day of the Trump administration’s “return to office” ban on remote work, employees at HUD were greeted by a feat of digital protest — or a “foot” of one.

According to videos and photos circulated on social media, televisions at HUD’s central office in Washington, D.C., were hijacked to play an AI-generated video of Trump making sweet, sloppy oral love to Musk’s bare feet. The words “LONG LIVE THE REAL KING” were emblazoned over the visual, likely a reference to recent posts from Trump and the White House describing the president as “the king.”

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B-Side gaming Zine #2

Welcome

This is the second issue of B-side gaming zine. The idea for doing this came from the user
PerfectDark who does something similar to this for the Steam deck and games communities.
I really enjoy PerfectDark's work and I often wondered myself if I could create something like a
small magazine. So I figured I give it a try now that I have my own community here. The last issue
had mostly links to news about Foss and indie games. This time, I decided to add more stuff and
add some personal flair to make it feel less dry. Though I still think the writing feels often dry, I will try to improve it more in the future, but writing is not my strong suit even though I enjoy it.

(Dyslexia is not helping)
So beyond the news, this issue includes the First part of the history of Adventure games, focusing
on text adventure games. The article is based on Wikipedia and other wiki entries, and additionally,
it includes some tools that can be used to make your own text adventure games. Following that are
the 10 Indie games recommended for newcomers.
Next, I decided to link indie hardware reviews
for each issue. For this one, it is the Playdate by panic.
I also thought it would be neat to include a game with the Zine, and since adding a link to a free game is a bit less unique and I cannot afford to give out game keys for commercial games, I decided
to further back in time when magazines did come with physical media and had code written on their
pages, and you had to type it into the code editor yourself.

I have included a game in Python written
by me; do not expect something fancy with super dumper graphics; it is just a simple Rock, Paper,
Scissors game.

Finally, I added the corner of fun. Where you can find memes, jokes (They are kind of meh though),
and comic strips I found about making indie games.

Indie game news

Hermano and Chante

https://bleedingcool.com/games/hermano-chante-released-as-classic-game-boy-cartridges/

ModRetro has released two new retro-like games that are available as Game Boy cartridges, as you can get Hermano and Chante today

WILL: Follow The Light

https://80.lv/articles/explore-a-stunning-northern-wilderness-in-this-first-person-adventure-puzzle-game/

TomorrowHead Studio has released the first gameplay reveal trailer for WILL: Follow The Light, a story-driven, first-person adventure puzzle game created with Unreal Engine 5.

The Outlast Trials

https://bleedingcool.com/games/the-outlast-trials-releases-the-season-2-1-update/

The Outlast Trials dropped a new update for the current season, bringing a new limited-time event, anniversary plans, and more

Airlock Arena

https://bleedingcool.com/games/co-op-roguelike-airlock-arena-released-for-steam/

Airlock Arena has officially been released on Steam this week, giving players a new co-op roguelike adventure set in space

Dead as Disco,

https://gamerant.com/hi-fi-rush-sifu-dead-as-disco-similar-how-rhythm/

Brain Jar Games' upcoming debut indie, Dead as Disco, appears to be the perfect blend of Hi-Fi Rush and Sifu, meaning it's something which players should keep an eye on if they're a fan of
martial arts and rhythm-based gameplay.

Wanderstop

https://fingerguns.net/reviews/2025/03/26/wanderstop-review-ps5-a-good-cuppa/

Tea making cosy adventure, Wanderstop, is out now. But is it a storm in a tea cup, or just not our keep of tea?

The Pantaloon Label,

https://mcvuk.com/business-news/pantaloon-has-announced-a-new-indie-label-for-bold-and-bizarre-games/

Newsletter creator Pantaloon has announced The Pantaloon Label, a new indie publishing imprint that describes itself as ‘a home for misfits’, and says it is looking to sign and publish ‘peculiar’,
‘plucky’ and ‘punchy’ games.

These games were indie smash hits but what happened next

https://www.theguardian.com/games/2025/mar/27/these-games-were-indie-smash-hits-but-what-
happened-next

The developers of Thank Goodness You’re Here!, Frog Detective and Consume Me discuss burnout, ‘second-album syndrome’, erotic fan art, and the other highs and lows of having a breakout
success

Cave 1.2 Engine

https://unidaystudio.itch.io/cave-engine/devlog/913341/cave-engine-12-is-out

Cave 1.2 focuses a lot on your experience, to make sure that the engine tech provides you all the
necessary tools and features to create realistic and advanced games, taking advantage of modern
rendering, animation and terrain features and much more. It brings major improvements to
rendering, editor usability, performance, and Linux support.

Chronicles of Vaeltaja

https://www.indiedb.com/news/islands-of-the-prophets-part-2-update-released-for-chronicles-of-vaeltaja

Chronicles of Vaeltaja's latest content update 'Islands of the Prophets Part 2' was released on Sunday
March 16th. The update brought a new main story dungeon the 'Temple of the Prophets' and the last
underground area of the 'Islands of the Prophets'. It also unlocked the abandoned houses in the main
island and added a new tool, Grappling Hook, which lets the player climb holes in the floor and
ceilings. A new enemy was introduced in the form of Phantom Knights, who are spirit beings
guarding the main dungeon, and some new weapons and armour.

Rain World

https://gamerant.com/rain-world-watcher-dlc-interview/

Rain World won over fans of indie games back in 2017 with its unique environments, procedural
creature animation, and dynamic world. Now VIDEOCULT is back with a new expansion, poised to
take Rain World to new heights.

Top New Indie Games Coming in April 2025

https://www.analyticsinsight.net/games/top-new-indie-games-coming-in-april-2025

The indie gaming landscape has been continuously flourishing over the years. The strength of indie
games lies in their rich storyline and innovative experiences. Interestingly, implementing these
features often enables them to push boundaries of conventional game design and create something
stunning for gamers. It’s almost the end of March 2025, and April is only a few days away. So, it’s
high time to check out the indie games that are coming in April 2025.

Honeycomb: The World Beyond Announced For 2025 Release

https://bleedingcool.com/games/honeycomb-the-world-beyond-announced-for-2025-release/

Discover a thrilling sandbox survival game set on the alien planet Sota7 in Honeycomb: The World Beyond.

• Master bioengineering skills to adapt and thrive against the ecosystem's unique flora and fauna.

• Build, explore, and innovate with advanced equipment to ensure your survival on this uncharted world.

• Unravel mysteries and harness alien resources in a journey filled with discovery and strategic planning.

The Rise of Indie Gaming

https://ourculturemag.com/2025/04/02/the-rise-of-indie-gaming-how-independent-developers-are-changing-the-industry/

Across the whole iGaming sector, games are changing. Rather than players focusing on games from major studios, there has been a surge in indie games. These studios are often small teams with
limited funds, but capture the imagination of the game-playing public through innovative game features, unique stories and creative influences. So what has sparked this and how are things
changing?

2025's Tokyo Indie Game Summit

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/2025s-tokyo-indie-game-summit-is-the-biggest-yet-attracting-23000-attendees

Tokyo's digital and in-person indie game event - the Tokyo Indie Game Summit - saw its third event
more than double last year's attendance.

10 Indie Games That Aged Like Fine Wine

https://www.dualshockers.com/indie-games-aged-like-fine-wine/

There is a long history of video games collaborating with movies, television, and other brands to create meaningful interactive media and gaming experiences. In the 80s and 90s, building out a
video game associated with a major film release was a great marketing tactic to reach new audiences. This brought us titles like Goldeneye 007 on N64, Aladdin on SNES, or the infamous
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial on Atari. While there has always been some level of official licensing of
popular brands in video games, the frequency is far from what existed in the early years of gaming,
mostly from a decline in the overall quality within those licensed games. Recently, though, there has
been a resurgence of officially licensed games and it’s coming from the indie gaming scene.

Indie Studios Are Breathing New Life Into Classic Franchises

https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/indie-games-old-franchises-new/

Every console generation, you'll constantly see Sony and Nintendo re-releasing their old games in a
new way, and a new wave of appreciation for the classics that still hold up. That doesn't happen for
indies.

Usually, indie game releases come into the world, and people talk about them when that happens.
The wave of appreciation dies out as new things come along, which means tons of heavily
polished, great games go underappreciated.

10 Most Iconic Indie Game Heroines

https://www.dualshockers.com/most-iconic-indie-game-heroines/

While heroines are certainly not the exclusive realm of indie games, the smaller studios have done a pretty great job over the years of giving us a multitude of leading ladies.

Haunted House Renovator Will Come Out in Mid-April

https://bleedingcool.com/games/haunted-house-renovator-will-come-out-in-mid-april/

Transform haunted homes by banishing ghosts and renovating interiors in Haunted House
Renovator, out April 2025.

•Immersive first-person gameplay with magical tools; banish spirits gently or with radical
methods.

• Discover and tame unique paranormal entities like a mischievous gremlin and a Shiba Inu ghost.

• Experience a dark atmosphere and influence the storyline with your moral choices and
creative renovations.

Upcoming homebrew for Game Boy 2025

YearGameSystemPublisherLink2025Alentejo: Tinto’s LawGB/CLoading StudiosLink2025Black Tower EnigmaGB/COgre PixelLink2025Cake KeeperGBCXeifLink2025ChanteyGB/CModRetroLink2025Cosmo Knight ZiONGBCZeichi GamesLink2025Cronela’s MansionGB/CStraynusLink2025Do you like/?GBCnanuLink2025GBS WindowsGBCRubenRetroLink2025Ghoul TrasherGBMagic Quest MediaLink2025Hermano (Re-Release)GB/CModRetroLink2025Jelly BoyGBLimited Run GamesLink2025Luft GearsGBCestmir KocianLink2025Metal MiracleGBCPat Morita TeamLink2025Ophide Snake RebornGBStudio 40ALink2025Orpheus: To Hell and BackGB/CStudio Loading ProductionsLink2025Project S-11GBCModRetroLink2025Self SimulatedGBC2nd Law GamesLink2025SnoutGBCsaanLink2025Squirrel FallsGB/CBitmap SoftLink2025Tools of NexauraGB/CSLG StudiosLink2025UnearthedGBCLimited Run GamesLink

Source: https://dmgpage.com/homebrew-releases/

Featured article: History of Adventure games

An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in
an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The first games in this genre were
text adventure games, in which players use text commands to control characters and influence the
environment.

Part 1: Text adventure

Colossal Cave Adventure (1976), written by William Crowther and Don Woods, is considered to be the first adventure game, and it had a significant influence on the genre's early development.
Crowther was an avid caver and role-playing game enthusiast; he wrote a text adventure based on his own knowledge of the Mammoth Cave system in Kentucky.
The program, which he named Adventure, was written on the company's PDP-10 and used 300 kilobytes of memory. The program was spread through ARPANET (the precursor to the internet,
yay), which led Woods to modify and expand the game, eventually becoming Colossal Cave Adventure.

Following its release on ARPANET (the precursor to the internet, in case you forgot. ;) ), numerous variations of Colossal Cave Adventure appeared throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, with
some of these later versions being re-christened Colossal Adventure or Colossal Caves.
The genre gained commercial success with titles designed for home computers. Scott Adams
launched Adventure International to publish text adventures, they released 12 adventure games,
including an adaptation of Colossal Cave Adventure, while a number of MIT students formed
Infocom to bring their game Zork from mainframe to home computers, and it was a commercial
success.

Infocom later released Deadline in 1982, which had a more complex text parser, and more NPCs
acting independently of the player. Also, innovative was its use of "feelies," which were physical
documents unique to the game itself that aided the player in solving the mystery, which also
resulted in the higher cost of the game at the time of its release relative to other text adventures.
These feelies would soon become standard within the text adventure genre.

When personal computers gained the ability to display graphics, the text adventure genre began to
wane, and by 1990 there were few if any commercial releases, though in the UK publisher Zenobi
released many games that could be purchased via mail order during the first half of the 90s. Non-
commercial text adventure games have been developed for many years, mostly as indie games by a
small team or solo developers.

Tools to Build Text Adventure Games are still being developed. Here are some examples if you want to try building your own game or just play around with them just for fun:

1. Twine

https://twinery.org/

You don't need any coding experience for simple, basic stories, which is where Twine comes in.
Giving you the tools you need to start creating your interactive fiction, Twine runs on desktop and
in your browser.

Simply use the app to create your interactive stories and export them as web pages. When your
story is finished, upload the HTML files to a web server and share them with the world.

For more complex narratives, Twine supports features like variables and conditional logic. It also
supports JavaScript, CSS, and images if you want to present your story as more than standard
interactive fiction.

2. Quest

https://textadventures.co.uk/quest

While you don't need programming experience to
use these text adventure makers, it can help with
Quest. It features a built-in scripting language for
handling complex logic and supports the addition
of sound, images, and video.

Available for Windows or in your browser,
completed Quest games can be exported to the web
and played online. Furthermore, there are no
commercial restrictions, so you can even sell your
Quest games if you want to.

Quest is open source under the MIT License, which means you can download the source code and
modify it. You probably won't do this, but forking the project remains a possibility if you don't like
the Informdirection Quest takes in the future or if you are just curious about the code behind it.

3. ADRIFT

https://www.adrift.co/

ADRIFT is one of the oldest functioning options for creating your own text-based games. Its unique
selling point is pretty clear: absolutely no programming experience needed, even if you want to create non-trivial narratives.

The beauty of ADRIFT is that everything is driven by the GUI. This means drag-and-drop
selections, folder navigation, drop-down menus, etc. All characters, events, objects, variables, etc.
are click-to-set-up, making ADRIFT one of the easiest systems to use.

The only downside is that ADRIFT games can only be played through the ADRIFT Runner application. The good news is that ADRIFT is cross-platform, so it's not too much of an
inconvenience.

4. Inform

https://ganelson.github.io/inform-website/

A free app that uses a programming language based on
English, Inform features two built-in books to help you learn. These are a tutorial, Writing With Inform, and The Inform Recipe Book.

Using the tutorial, you can ease yourself into the software; the recipe books shows you how to
control objects in your text adventures.

In addition to Windows, macOS, and Linux, versions of Inform are available for FreeBSD and
Raspberry Pi. Nice!

5. Squiffy

https://textadventures.co.uk/squiffy

From the same team as Quest is the simpler Squiffy tool. While Quest is aimed at writers planning to create advanced text adventures or gamebooks, Squiffy focuses on story.

Free and open source, Squiffy outputs completed games as HTML and JavaScript so you can upload
them to the web. This can be your own site or the textadventures.co.uk community.

6. Decker

https://internet-janitor.itch.io/decker

Decker is a multimedia platform for creating and sharing interactive documents, with sound,
images, hypertext, and scripted behavior. It draws strong influence from HyperCard, as well as
more modern "no-code" or "low-code" creative tools like Twine and Bitsy.

To be continued…

10 Indie games for newcomers

1. Super Tux

https://www.supertux.org/

SuperTux is an open-source classic 2D jump'n run sidescroller game in a style similar to the original Super Mario games.

2. Stardew Valley

https://www.stardewvalley.net/

You've inherited your grandfather's old farm plot in Stardew Valley.
Armed with hand-me-down tools and a few coins, you set out to begin your new life!

3. Shovel knight

https://store.steampowered.com/app/250760/Shovel_Knight_Treasure_Trove/

Dig, blast, slash, and bash your way through a fantastical, 8-bit inspired world of pixel-perfect platforming, memorable characters, and world-class action-adventure gameplay.

4. Celeste

https://www.celestegame.com/

Help Madeline survive her journey to the top of Celeste Mountain in this super-tight,
hand-crafted platformer from the creators of TowerFall.

5. Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption

https://www.hero-u.com/

Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption is a humorous fantasy role-playing adventure game by Lori and Corey Cole, creators of the acclaimed Quest for Glory series. As the Rogue Shawn O'Conner, players will make friends, explore a haunted castle, and use
their Rogue skills for fun and profit.

6. Undertale

https://undertale.com/

Undertale is a 2015 role-playing video game created by American indie developer Toby Fox. The player controls a child who has fallen into the Underground: a large, secluded region under the surface of the Earth, separated by a magical barrier.

7. Super Tux Kart

https://supertuxkart.net/Main_Page

SuperTuxKart is a free and open-source kart racing game.

8. Hades

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1145360/Hades/

Defy the god of the dead as you hack and slash out of the Underworld in this rogue-like dungeon crawler from the creators of Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre.

9. Black Castle

https://user0x7f.itch.io/black-castle

He set out for the warlock's black castle to free the kingdom from his tyranny.
Fight your way through four exciting levels, find secret passages, hidden Items and defeat the black warlock.

10. Crypt of the NecroDancer

https://store.steampowered.com/app/247080/Crypt_of_the_NecroDancer/

Crypt of the NecroDancer is an award winning hardcore roguelike rhythm game. Move to the music and deliver beatdowns to the beat!

Indie Hardware Review

https://www.howtogeek.com/panic-playdate-review/

Panic's Playdate has proved to be a surprise hit with gamers and non-gamers alike, offering an approachable low-tech handheld with distinctive crank. Now, more than two years later and over
70,000 handhelds sold, the Playdate is just as charming as ever, although its limitations, purposeful
or otherwise, may still give some would-be owners pause.

Free Game Rock Paper Scissors

# Import the random module to allow the computer to make random choicesimport randomdef run_game(): game_loop = True # Boolean flag to keep the game running choices = ['rock', 'paper', 'scissors'] # List of valid choices for the game # Start the game loop to keep playing while game_loop: # Prompt the player for input and convert it to lowercase user_choice = input("Enter: Rock, Paper, Scissors or Exit: ").lower() if user_choice == "exit": # Check if the user wants to exit the game break # Stop the game loop and end the game # Check if the user made a valid choice (only rock, paper, scissors, and exit are allowed) if user_choice in choices: computer_choice = random.choice(choices) # Randomly select a choice for the computer print(f"- Computer chose {computer_choice}") # Display computer's choice print(f"- {user_choice} vs {computer_choice}") # Display the matchup # If both choices are the same, it's a draw if user_choice == computer_choice: print("- Draw! Try again") # Check for all possible winning conditions for the user elif (user_choice == 'rock' and computer_choice == 'scissors') or \ (user_choice == 'scissors' and computer_choice == 'paper') or \ (user_choice == 'paper' and computer_choice == 'rock'): print("- You win! Play again") # Notify the user they won # If it's not a draw and the user didn't win, they lost else: print("- You lose! Try again") else: print("- Invalid choice. Please choose Rock, Paper, Scissors or Exit.")if __name__ == "__main__": # Check if the script is being run directly run_game() # Start the game by running the function

How to run the game

The easiest way to run the game is using and online IDE for Python, like https://www.online-python.com/ .

If you prefer running it locally, then you must make sure that Python is installed on your computer.

Open a text editor like Notepad on windows and paste the code in or type by yourself line by line.

Save with any name you want but give it the extension .py

For example rps.py

Windows:

1. Install Python:

• Download the latest Python installer from the official Python website.
• Run the installer and make sure to check the box that says "Add Python to PATH".

2. Open Command Prompt:

• Press Win + R, type cmd, and press Enter.

3. Run the game

python rps.py

Linux:

1. Install Python:

Most Linux distributions come with Python pre-installed.

2. Open Terminal:

You can typically open Terminal from your application menu or by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T.

3. Run the game

python rps.py

Mac:

1. Install Python:

     brew install python

2. Open Terminal:

You can open Terminal from your applications or by pressing Cmd + Space and typing
"Terminal".

3. Run the game

python rps.py

Android:

The game can run on an android device but you need to know how to use termux and install python
with termux and download the files in Termux and run them. It will probably also work on newer
android devices that have their own Terminal.

Corner of fun.

https://cheezburger.com/8037900544/every-indie-game-announcement-ever

https://cheezburger.com/7802301952/do-people-who-only-play-pc-games-even-need-a-nice-rig

Why did the gamer cross the road?

To rescue the princess, of course!

Why don’t gamers go outside?

Because they have better graphics indoors!

Why did the skeleton refuse to play any video games?

Because he had no “body” to play with!

What is the favorite gaming console of the French? Wii.

Comic:"INDIE'D"

http://comics.fromdustscratch.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/08/comics_indied_001.png

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Thick white smoke billowed from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel on Thursday, signalling to the world that the Roman Catholic church has a new pope.

The smoke was met with loud applause from the thousands of pilgrims and tourists waiting in St Peter’s Square. It means that one of the 133 cardinals inside the chapel has obtained the necessary two-thirds majority required to win the conclave, the secretive centuries-old ritual of electing a new pontiff.

In a further confirmation that the conclave is over, the bells of St Peter’s Basilica rang out. The pope was chosen on the second day of voting, after the fourth ballot, although his identity was not immediately made known. When Jorge Bergoglio, who became Pope Francis, was elected in March 2013, his identity was revealed about 45 minutes after the white smoke when he appeared on the balcony above St Peter’s Square.

Takahe has limited support for this type: See Original Page

The National Weather Service has received permission to hire 450 meteorologists, hydrologists and radar technicians just months after being hit hard by Department of Government Efficiency-related cuts and early retirement incentives.

The new hiring number includes 126 new positions that were previously approved and will apply to “front-line mission critical” personnel, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration official told CNN.

The NWS cuts have spurred concerns over how well-prepared the country is to withstand hurricane season, which is just starting to heat up in the Atlantic. The staff reductions also have been scrutinized in the wake of the deadly Texas floods in July, with vacancies at weather service forecast offices there.

The cuts to probationary employees, as well as early retirement incentives, meant the nation’s front-line weather forecasting agency’s staffing levels fell by more than 550 people since the second Trump administration began, to below 4,000 total employees.

CNN has reached out to NOAA for comment.

Agency employees are greeting the news, unveiled at an all hands meeting on Monday, with guarded optimism and relief. Current employees have been working additional hours with additional responsibilities since the layoffs and retirements earlier this year, trying to maintain the 24/7 posture US extreme weather requires. The agency has also been functioning with less data from fewer, less frequent weather balloon launches.

Takahe has limited support for this type: See Original Page

A government of the pedophiles, by the pedophiles and for the pedophiles.

Takahe has limited support for this type: See Original Page

Welcome

to the third issue of B-side gaming zine. It has been three weeks since the last one. One week longer than the time between the last two issues, and I am thinking that from the next one it will be once a month only. This way I have plenty of time to put everything together without getting too tired working on it. That being said, life happens, and I am just one person working on it, so I might not be able to release an issue each month, but I hope it will not happen often.
As for this issue, I have gathered a ton of news—an endless amount of news. So much news that the whole issue will not fit in a post, and I will have to cut it off and post the rest as a reply to this post. Also included is the second part, the history of adventure games, with early adventure games that included graphics from the Mystery House to the first king's quest.

Additionally, I recommend 10 video games that are open source. Of course, a free game in Python code is included; this time it is a mini escape room game. As for indie gaming hardware, I have added a review for the popular arduboy. The corner of fun is also returning with jokes, memes and a comic.
But that is not all. I have added some completely new stuff, first the blast from the past area with reviews on two older games from the 90s. Second, a top 10.
I wanted to include a top 10 for a while but was not sure how to make it work, which games should be included, and who would vote for the games. Then an idea struct me; it is actually simple, and I don't need to do much since the voting system for games already exits. The games that are posted in the community are voted on by users of the community; I just need to sort them by top, and voilà, I have a list with the top-voted games, perfect! Well, almost perfect. I still had to set some rules; only direct posts of games are counted; excluded are game reviews, lists of games, and NSFW games, and the games need to be already out, not demos or early access. Also, for simplicity, downvotes are ignored. Well, that is it. I hope I did not forget anything. Enjoy reading :)

Gaming News

First the news. Lots and lots of news.

--Open-source--

News about indie games that are also open source.

Principia version 2025.04.05

Hello, Principia 2025.04.05 has been released. In the months since the last release, things have been slow but there has been a lot of changes accumulated since then to warrant a new release.
As usual, you can find downloads on the Download page, and the full list of changes in the Changelog. F-Droid and various Linux distribution packages should receive the update within due time.

Principia is a physics-based sandbox game. Build and play advanced contraptions, circuiting, minigames, puzzles, robot adventures and more. Open source, free and available for Windows, Linux, Android and more

Hades Revisited version 0.17.0

This update mostly changes how the plants grow and die. Many plants now look and behave differently in each season and have a different growth behavior.
This is mostly relevant for tree fruit and farming plants (plants that grow on wet soil).
The tree fruit only grow in the correct season. Same is true for farming plants. These plants will die when their season is over, you can rip out the dead plant for seeds tho.

Plants may stop to grow or even die in the wrong season. Item tooltips are your friend.
This game now follows the rule “(almost) everything grows from seed”. Seeds are now needed for trees, papyrus, sugarcane, cactus, flowers and most bushes.
Seeds can be obtained by crafting or by digging grass and tropical grass.

You have stranded on the planet Hades. Use your limited supplies to survive and use terraforming to create a beautiful habitable place.

Hurry Curry! version 2.3.1

Hurry Curry! is a cooperative multiplayer game about cooking. You work at a restaurant accepting orders, cooking various dishes and serving meals to customers. But don’t take too long, as customers might get impatient.

--Indie games--

General indie games news

Nubby’s Number Factory

Work at the numbers factory consists of launching a sentient ball, Nubby, down rows of pegs, hoping to score enough to pass to the next level. Players only have six lives, and if all Nubbys are depleted before making quota, the sun explodes. When players meet or exceed the round goal, they earn restocks of the board based on how much they went over the necessary score. Restocks also earn lives and coins, the latter of which can be used to purchase items, which is where the real fun begins.

Blue Prince review

Blue Prince is one of the greatest video games I have ever played, but please: don’t read this review.
I admit, in a landscape of constantly evolving Google algorithms, explicitly asking you to go away in the first line of an article might be seen as a trifle eccentric. But Blue Prince is best experienced with as little foreknowledge as possible. Believe me when I tell you, this is a game you need to experience the way its creator intended.

Cassette Beasts Launches Brand-New Sunshine Update

Discover the new Sunshine Update in Cassette Beasts with an exciting storyline and partner character Sunny.
Explore the mystery of New Wirral's Landkeepers and recruit Sunny to unlock her new questline.
Meet three new monsters: Pawper, Pawprince, and Minosteam, and enhance battles with fresh strategies.
- Customize your gliding wings and soar through New Wirral with the premium Wings Pack DLC.

Game Over – A Musical RPG ?? Review

Game Over – A Musical RPG?? is one of the strangest, most creative, and unexpectedly thoughtful indie titles I’ve played in a while. It’s weird, witty, and wonderfully unpredictable, fusing traditional RPG storytelling with rhythm-based combat, moral dilemmas, and an offbeat tone that feels like a blend of Undertale, EarthBound, and a late-night jam session. But make no mistake, this is a game that won’t land for everyone. It’s a highly stylized experience that feels tailor-made for a niche audience, yet its unique approach is worth celebrating.

Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders Releases Baifushan Mountain Update

Discover Baifushan Mountain in Lonely Mountains: Snow Riders' latest update.
Explore four new trails with challenges, multiplayer, and leaderboards.
Support Megagon Industries with a new pack featuring skins and gear.
Enjoy skiing thrills with tricks, shortcuts, and breathtaking vistas.

‘R.E.P.O.’ Sees You Stealing Fragile Items & Fleeing Horrors

R.E.P.O. is a co-op experience where you are tasked with sneaking highly breakable trinkets out of a house without breaking them or dying.

‘Big Hops’ Puts a Frog’s Tongue to Work With 3D Platforming

Clearly inspired by Mario Odyssey, Big Hops allows you to explore colorful and vibrant stages filled with interactable puzzles and characters that you can help. Primarily using your tongue, you can swing, complete puzzles, and interact with various objects – it’s a lot of fun.

Kingdomino Will Be Released As a Steam Game In 2025

Enjoy authentic gameplay with original rules and artwork from the 2017 Game of the Year.
Compete in cross-platform multiplayer with online, AI, and friends' modes.
Expand creativity with customizable gameplay, immersive art, and active community.

Over the Hill Somehow Makes Driving Slowly Look Extremely Exciting

Rather than the thrill of racing, Over the Hill aims to capture the quieter joy of slow offroading. The game was announced earlier this year, but the recent indie game showcase, the Triple-i Initiative, gave us a much closer look at the game. Its new trailer shows off a stunning, free-roaming driving sim.

New Studio Onibi Unveils First Game Tomo: Endless Blue

Experience voxel-based anime RPG adventure in Tomo: Endless Blue's boundless ocean realm.
Dive into procedurally generated islands rich with unique cultures and mysteries.
Befriend Tomo creatures with elemental powers for combat and everyday tasks.
Enjoy multiplayer features with limitless players, both locally and online.

Starless Abyss Confirmed For Late April Launch Date

Starless Abyss launching in April on Steam from Konafa Games and No More Robots.
Play as a fleet commander against Eldritch gods in this sci-fi roguelike.
Collect and combine 160+ cards to battle through tentacle-y boss fights.
Embrace or fight insanity while using Ritual Cards to harness occult power.

Deedlee Doo! Carkour!

The two major features of the game are its art style and very "refined" soundscape. Everything in the game is made out of real-world clay and scanned into the game's world, the car itself, the paths, walls, trees, obstacles et cetera. "All of sounds and music are all mouth sounds," from explosion to car, drum, boots and cats, and guitars. 

MUSESTRUCK – Kickstarter Demo

a vibrant 2D platformer RPG following Journey and Quinn, two artistic friends thrust into the mysterious realm of Negative Space after investigating a fallen star.

Nomada Studio's graceful side-scrolling platformer Neva won the Best Artistic Achievement award

Nomada Studio's graceful side-scrolling platformer Neva won the Best Artistic Achievement award, seeing off Astro Bot, Black Myth Wukong, Still Wakes the Deep and Senua's Saga: Hellblade II. It was a well-deserved accolade for one of the most beautiful indie games we've seen.

Hark the Ghoul brings a retro '90s vibe with its first-person Souls-like dungeon crawler on Steam

Explore an underground Victorian world filled with terrifying monsters and curious characters.
Engage in freeform traversal and expressive combat within a lore-rich and melancholic setting.
Discover unique gear and solve problems creatively in interconnected zones below Clergerac.

Beloved Indie Game Among Us Is Getting A Full 3D Version, Releasing Soon

Among Us is getting a new look for 2025, bringing the 3-dimensional style of the VR version to non-VR players. The extremely popular indie darling was released in 2018 but rose to internet fame around 2020 and 2021, when the world was in need of online social entertainment. A Virtual Reality version arrived in 2022 for PC VR devices and the PlayStation VR, to general success.

Cozy Incremental Game Unboxathon Announced For Steam

Join Unboxathon on Steam, a cozy incremental game about finding your lost childhood toy.
Open boxes to discover loot, from camo socks to magical artifacts, while seeking your beloved plushie.
Pop bubbles to earn mystery boxes and enjoy incremental upgrades for enhanced game features.
Sell loot for profit and use earnings to unlock exciting upgrades and enhance gameplay.

Best Served Cold Confirmed For Release This May

Murder mystery game Best Served Cold by Rogueside launches on Steam this May.
Set in an alternate history Europe, solve mysteries at a speakeasy bar called The Nightcap.
Engage with 22 unique characters, uncover secrets, and tackle five thrilling cases.
Mix drinks and gather clues to save your business amidst the backdrop of wartime strife.

Satisfying Movement & Explosion In This Upcoming Unity-Powered Indie Platformer Wheelbot

Indie game developer BATTLE LAB had a robot-skateboard game prototype ten years ago, and recently, they've finally made it into a full game in this third attempt and released a trailer for it, showcasing polished and satisfying gameplay.

Puzzle Platformer Power Sink Receives Late-May Release Date

Navigate submerged ruins using logic-based circuitry puzzles.
Explore six diverse biomes in a rich, atmospheric setting.
Unravel the mystery of the station's collapse with fellow Tidekeepers' guidance.

Resident Evil collides with Subnautica in one of the most frightening games we’ve ever seen. Dark Mass

If you have a fear of the deep sea and horrific monsters then this new survivor horror could be your cup of tea or nightmare, depending on your perspective.

This 3D Isometric Action-Adventure Game Mixes Driving, Engaging Story & Horror Elements

In this 3D isometric action-adventure game that features driving mechanics, an engaging story, and horror elements, players control a toy car to set out on a journey to look for the missing owner, a young boy.

Marisa of Liartop Mountain Announced For September Release

Indie game developer UnknownX and publisher Alliance Arts have revealed their latest game, Marisa of Liartop Mountain, and confirmed a release date. This is an all-new adventure RPG in which all of your choices are made with the roll of the dice, and depending on what you get, the path the story will take will be determined.

--Homebrew--

Unofficial game releases for gaming consoles
The Curse of the Mantle For GB

When the governor's niece Lady Eleanore receives a cursed mantle, she begins to change and her life falls apart pulling the entire town with her.

Hero GP For GB

Hero GP is a 3D racing game which pays homage to the classic 3D retro racers of yesteryear. The aim of the game is simple: prove your worth as you compete in challenging races around the globe to become the ultimate racing champion.

Zelda’s Adventure For GB
This is a complete port of the CDi original and was developed in GB Studio, with a few modifications. Thanks to Beatscribe for composing the music.

Witch n' Wiz For NES

A brand new puzzle-platformer for the Nintendo Entertainment System!

A young boy has been kidnapped by a Dark Sorceress! It's up to his best friend, a young Witch, to rescue him but it won't be easy! Over 100 levels of brain-melting puzzles stand between the two, and it's up to you solve them all!

My Friendly Little Island for GB

My Friendly Little Island is a cute game about personal growth and making friends. It starts out as a slow, simplistic adventure game. However, with every new skill you unlock, the game’s dynamics change more and more into a fast-paced platformer.

3D SnowTank For GBA

The objective is to collect the white snow on the floor and blow apart the larger snow blocks. Your time remaining is added to your score so to get a high score you need to beat the game faster! A score of 45 is pretty good but I’m sure you beat that.

NOTE from Falseprophet:
I recommend not using Visualboyadvance as an Emulator as shown in the screenshots. There are much better emulators like mgba.

Slow Mole+ for the Dreamcast

The whole game is designed around a unique checkpoint mechanic that will only award a checkpoint when the player proves their mastery of a screen. It can be very challenging at times, but rest assured, it's equally rewarding.

Penguin Migrants For GB, Mega Duck/Cougar Boy and C64

c64 Link

It's a puzzle game that player controls a bunch of penguins to reach a special location. The game only has 40 levels for now

--Other news--

Other gaming news

We Asked GDC Award Winners What Indie Developers Need the Most, Here’s What They Said

The past year has been near-legendary for indie games – from the smash-hit success of Balatro, to games that crept up into success like 1000xResist. Nearly every month, dozens of indies dropped to soak up players’ time. But despite those successes, indie developers felt the harrowing issues of the video game industry just as keenly as anyone – from a lack of funding to issues of even getting their game discovered in the first place.

Slimekeep's Developer Released a Video About How They Released Their Indie Game After Five Years!

Slimetopia is in peril due to the vile Slime King, and we players have been summoned to bring it back to its former glory and safety by running around killing or capturing various slimes to do so. This procedurally generated roguelike that will bring tons of nostalgia to 90s kids is developed and published by BenBonk! A perfect summary of Slimekeep can be found in one of the sentences on the Steam page: the game aims to be Enter the Gungeon meets Slime Rancher, with unique mechanics added!

Indie Developers! Level up your game at PG Connects Barcelona 2025

We've been supporting indie developers around the world since 2006. At our events in London, Helsinki, Dubai, San Francisco and more, we're always looking for new ways to help solo developers, small studios, and startups.

Blue Ocean Games launches $30 million investment fund to support 100 indies

Blue Ocean Games, a new $30 million early-stage venture fund backed by PUBG maker Krafton, has launched with the aim of supporting 100 indie developers over the next three years.

Featured article: History of Adventure games

Let's continue with the history of adventure games. After purely text-based adventure games in the early 80s, text adventure games with graphics were born.

Part 2: Text adventure with graphics and early graphical adventure games
The first known graphical text adventure game was Mystery House, by Sierra On-Line, designed by the company's co-founder Roberta Williams and programmed with the help of her husband Ken, the game featured static vector graphics atop a simple command line interface, building on the text adventure model.
Roberta was directly inspired by Colossal Cave Adventure, as well as the text adventure games that followed from it. Sierra continued to produce similar games under the title Hi-Res Adventure.

Other examples of early games include Sherwood Forest (1982), The Hobbit (1982), and Antonio Antiochia's Transylvania (1982, re-released in 1984).
Meanwhile, in Japan, Due to differences in computer hardware, language, and culture, the development of adventure games went in a different direction compared to Western markets.
In the early 1980s, computer adventure games began gaining popularity in Japan. While the NEC and PC-8801 were prominent, the country's computer market was largely dominated by PC-9801 (1982), which had a resolution of 640×400, higher than Western computers at the time, in order to accommodate Japanese text.
While the computer became known for its higher resolutions, the lack of hardware sprites and anemic video RAM resulted in games having a tendency to be much slower. This in turn influenced game design, as Japanese computers became known for RPGs and adventure games with detailed color graphics, which eventually evolved into visual novels and dating Sims.

The most famous early Japanese computer adventure game was the murder mystery game The Portopia Serial Murder Case (1983), developed by Yuji Horii and published by Enix. The player interacts with the game using a verb-noun parser, which requires typing precise commands with the keyboard. The game featured exploring an open world, an interrogative dialogue menu system, and making choices that determined the order of events. The game was well received in Japan, with praise aimed at its mystery, drama, and humor. The game was later re-released on the Famicom (The Japanese variant of NES) in 1985 and featured the addition of 3D dungeon mazes and a verb menu system.

Due to a lack of content restrictions, some of Japan's earliest adventure games were also bishoujo games with eroge content. In 1982, the eroge, Danchi Tsuma no Yuwaku (Seduction of the Condominium Wife), was released, becoming a big enough success to turn Koei into a major software company. Other now-famous companies such as Enix, Square and Nihon Falcom also produced similar eroge in the early 1980s before they became famous for their mainstream role-playing games.

As computers gained better graphical abilities and the ability to use pointing devices, games with more advanced graphics began to appear with menu-driven interfaces.

Sierra's King's Quest (1984),
though not the first game of its type, is recognized as a commercially successful graphical adventure game, enabling Sierra to expand on more titles.

King's Quest is the first adventure game to integrate graphical animation into the player's view of the game world.
This shifts the focus away from the static scenery, to the player's character, which is animated on-screen. Animation sequences are in most player interactions reachable through the normal course of exploration. For example, animation sequences show Graham picking up objects from the ground, opening doors, and wading through water. Depth perspective is simulated; Graham can walk behind objects, causing his character to be hidden from view, or walk in front of them, obscuring the object.
The game still came with a parser for text input, but you could use the arrow keys to navigate with your character and also had a menu that could be displayed by pressing the escape key. This menu had several options, like saving and restoring the game, but also allowing the player to choose actions like jumping and swimming.

Other noteworthy games of that era include The first 'space quest' games and the first to 'quest for glory games'.

End of part 1, Part 2 in the comments

Takahe has limited support for this type: See Original Page

cross-posted from: lemmy.world/post/37214791

Takahe has limited support for this type: See Original Page