Hey, you, do you’ve got the procedurally-generated treasures of Strangethink Software safely downloaded and able to go? No? Then seize them now, as a result of they’re nice and Strangethink will quickly take away the downloads. They beforehand pulled their older games, leaving solely Secret Habitat, Joy Exhibition, Mystery Tapes, and These Monsters left till these too fade. That’s one game the place you discover procedurally-generated artwork galleries, one the place you paint your individual artwork utilizing bizarre sprayguns with unpredictable results, one the place VHS tapes change the world round you, and one exploring a procedurally-generated monster museum. Lovely stuff. Don’t miss out.
I’m glad to listen to from Strangethink once more. They appeared to fade, taking many traces of their work with them. Okay positive the rationale they returned is to say much more of that may vanish, which is kinda dangerous information, however their reappearance renews my hope for extra new Strangethoughts. They introduced on Twitter this morning:
To clarify #2 a bit, the Itch app has a giant ol’ “Install” button on pay-what-you-want games that skips the step of asking if you wish to pay. Store pages contained in the app do nonetheless present the choice to call your individual worth, however it’s worthwhile to search for that and the Install button is way extra outstanding. I’d be shocked if Itch don’t change that, given how a lot care they put into the shop for builders, nevertheless it’s presently a priority.
The enigmatic Strangethink has eliminated games earlier than so do get in when you can. Some older Strangethink games have been down for ages. In reality, I didn’t even know Secret Habitat had reappeared after being eliminated, so I’m delighted to nab it once more on my newest PC.
Secret Habitat is my favorite Strangethought. It’s a procedurally-generated island coated in procedurally-generated buildings with procedurally-generated wallpaper filled with exhibitions from procedurally-generated artists with procedurally-generated summary artwork bearing procedurally-generated names (with bonus procedurally-generated sound installations).
The island feels so very alien: neon water, blue fog, wibbly turquoise, timber, and too many stars within the sky. Then it’s coated in artwork galleries filled with artwork, algorithmic makes an attempt to seize… one thing. The framing seems like an unsettling alien experiment. Then I’m distracted from that as a result of I stumbled throughout an exhibition I actually, actually like, a room the place portray and identify and music mix to make one thing actually particular or sudden. It’s a spot of nice serendipity.
I’ve talked concerning the issues I like earlier than with an earlier model (the art-generating algorithms have been later refreshed, I believe):
Rewatching that now, I’m reminded that I as soon as fell down a gap of bizarre voices for movies. If you’d favor written phrases, the entire gang had a chat about Secret Habitat after we named it one of our favourite games of 2014.
I’m up for the potential “remastered versions” of those games that Strangethink talked about. Even simply updating the procedural guts may make an enormous change. Returning to Secret Habitat immediately, I obtained the sensation that its algorithms had been reworked since my final go to, with the music specifically having extra devices and warmer riffs than I bear in mind. I believe? I used to be thrilled by the recent jazzy double bass I heard in a single gallery. With procedural era, it may be exhausting to inform precisely what’s new and what’s an unfamiliar permutation.
Head on over to Itch.io to obtain Secret Habitat, Mystery Tapes, Joy Exhibition, and These Monsters when you nonetheless can. They’re all pay-what-you-want with no minimal.
