I make little games, help organize game dev stuff in Michigan, and have a monthly adventure game discussion group called the Adventure Game Club. You can read all about them here:
https://virtualmoose.org/about/

Is Virtual Nightclub considered a fringe game? I think it was intended to be mainstream so maybe it doesn’t count, but it is trying to represent a counter culture that existed at the time and while it’s not good, it is interesting.

Unfortunately, having your game sold exclusively through the sci-fi channel phone line will make your game obscure no matter what the budget is.

Here’s video of the game. It’s not even on MobyGames so I’ll have to fix that
Youtube Video

That is all

It's impressive seeing how much Bitsy has evolved and been modified in the last few years. We even now have a Bitsy 3D with Color that was used to make games like Breathe, which lists other Bitsy tools and stuff on there.

There's also a Bitsy-like called Bipsi? I don't quite understand how it's different or why it was made, but I've played neat stuff made with it too

I don't know if this counts as a fringe game but I feel like text adventures are rarely sold as commercial games these days so maybe?

Just completed Thaumistry for adventure game club and really liked it. It's by an Infocom alumni (Bob Bates who also founded Legend Entertainment) but also felt very modern at the same time. There's no softlocks or deaths and also has an in-game map and hint system. I was also surprised it had a small amount but positive trans man representation. Anyway, it rules and was just very pleasant to play

https://store.steampowered.com/app/532980/Thaumistry_In_Charms_Way/

I don't know if this counts as a fringe game but I feel like text adventures are rarely sold as commercial games these days so maybe?

Just completed Thaumistry for adventure game club and really liked it. It's by an Infocom alumni (Bob Bates who also founded Legend Entertainment) but also felt very modern at the same time. There's no softlocks or deaths and also has an in-game map and hint system. I was also surprised it had a small amount but positive trans man representation. Anyway, it rules and was just very pleasant to play

https://store.steampowered.com/app/532980/Thaumistry_In_Charms_Way/

Hopefully this belongs under the Organizations part. I'm a big fan of regional groups that try to put together events and anthologies and one I follow is the Hand Eye Society in Toronto. They do a lot of anthologies that you can check out for free/Pay-what-you-want but they've also done some fun virtual conventions.

You can check them out here:
https://handeyesociety.itch.io/

Yeah, Wanderhome is a good time.

I guess Gobliiins 5 counts as an Itch game? It's weird thinking of it that way but that's the only place where it's available. @SpindleyQ and I have talked about it a lot elsewhere but it's actually pretty decent and maybe one of the more successful "retro adventure game dev making a return" kickstarters. Sure it's rough around the edges and the game is split into 4 applications because the dev doesn't completely understand Adventure Game Studio, but it's been fun so far and has the spirit of the original trilogy.

https://pierre-gilhodes.itch.io/gobliiins5

@michael ok now it’s out. This is a very good ttrpg for families
https://dinoberryjam.itch.io/dinocar

I went to post about a very cute and good ttrpg called Dinocar that I backed on a crowdfunding site but I guess it's technically not on Itch yet, so here is another good family friendly ttrpg that the same people worked on

https://dinoberryjam.itch.io/sprouts-rpg

I don't know if there's a ploy other than I got waaaaaay too excited about posting about obscure indie games on a forum (for a temporarily inactive podcast I really like) instead of on Discord, which is starting to annoy me more each month.

But welcome! It's nice that other people like talking about indie games too

It's impressive seeing how much Bitsy has evolved and been modified in the last few years. We even now have a Bitsy 3D with Color that was used to make games like Breathe, which lists other Bitsy tools and stuff on there.

There's also a Bitsy-like called Bipsi? I don't quite understand how it's different or why it was made, but I've played neat stuff made with it too

That is all

@bogusmeatfactory said in Virtual Nightclub:

One of things I noticed during the pandemic was how club culture adapted to the lockdowns and folks were hosting virtual club nights and you could see the same style of dress, music and overall aesthetic represented here in this game.

Oh this is new to me. Are there any articles/videos about this? This sounds so interesting

Is Virtual Nightclub considered a fringe game? I think it was intended to be mainstream so maybe it doesn’t count, but it is trying to represent a counter culture that existed at the time and while it’s not good, it is interesting.

Unfortunately, having your game sold exclusively through the sci-fi channel phone line will make your game obscure no matter what the budget is.

Here’s video of the game. It’s not even on MobyGames so I’ll have to fix that
Youtube Video