Electronic Literature Collection
New Media Writing Prize (open "archive" to see all works)
Itch.io (home page)
Itch.io (Twine Games)
Itch.io (The Bitsy Essay Jam)
National Film Board of Canada Interactive
The New River Journal (open "archive" to see past works)
The interactive fiction competition

Your task is help build our list of works, including hyperlinks, brief summaries, stars, and tags. As our list grows, we can begin to organize the material differently.

Here's an example:

A Vast and Lonely Desert by Gavin G. See
In this Bitsy game, we travel through empty spaces with a friend making our way toward a campfire and star gazing. The work is about friendship and grief and poetry with a western vibe. It's sparse and powerfully moving for its sparseness.
Info:  made in 2020; serious game; authoring tool: Bitsy; on the Electronic Literature Collection, vol 4 and itch.io
tags: spatiality, navigation, orientation, friendship, loss, LGBTQ
[entry posted by k.kelly]

The Talos Principle by Croteam
In this picturesque puzzle game, we are the end of a long slew of AI robots that run the gauntlet of puzzles to "ascend". This work is about self-reflection, self-discovery, and doubt towards authority figures. As a non-linear story, we can either stay faithful or ask the important questions: Who are you? What is your purpose? And what will you do about it?
Info: made in 2014; serious game; authoring tool: Serious Engine 4; on Steam for $30 full price; Overwhelmingly Positive with 24k+ reviews
tags: faith, navigation, puzzle, self-discovery, trust, first-person, existentialism, morals
[entry posted by d.shen]
When the Darkness Comes by Sirhaian
This is a short psychological game in the style of Depression Quest, while wrapped in a 3d-platformer genre. At first, it seems like your normal anti-game (like There is No Game) but quickly spirals into the topics of depression and self-hatred. This work is about depression, anxiety, and platforming (pretty hard platforming at some parts). 
Info: made in 2019; serious game; authoring tool: Unity; free on Steam; Very Positive with 8k+ reviews
tags: depression, anxiety, exploration, horror, platforming
[entry posted by d.shen]

Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist by Crows Crows Crows
Desc: A short, 15 minute walking simulator game in the complete opposite style to Gone Home as a lighthearted game. However, its not what you expect it to be! 
Info: made in 2015, non-serious game; authoring tool: Unity; free on Steam; Very Positive with 9k+ reviews
Tags: the narrator talks a lot, exploration, short, funny, perspective
[entry posted by d.shen]
 

Tacoma by Fullbright
This is a brief but detailed walking simulator from the same creators as Gone Home. This game is set on a space station. In place of audio tapes/journal entries, there are holographic AR logs to help the player fid out what happened on board the station and where everybody went.
Info: Released in 2017; semi serious game; authoring tool: Unity; $19.99 on Steam and Epic Games store; Very Positive with 2500 reviews (steam) and 4.4 stars (epic)
Tags: puzzle, walking simulator, first person, ethics, morals, AI, artificial intelligence
[entry by r.jaeger]

Crown of Ashes and Flames by Coeur
This is a fantasy game that follows the main character, you, the child of the Queen and King. Your parents are killed and you're taken by Luceris, who has taken over the kingdom. It's a story about survival, coming of age, and hardship. The story is very well written and invokes a lot of imagery. 
Info. Released in 2023 and still being updated. Non-serious game. Free on itch.io. Positive reviews of 96. 
Tags: fantasy, second-person, world-building. 
[entry by a.kennedy-dominguez]

Please Answer Carefully by Litrouke

This bitsy game has users fill out surveys asked in a human-like manner from a robot…. But it’s not just that.  What seems like a simple fill in the blank task becomes a story that scratches the surface of the topic of stalking and being in a controlling relationship. 

Info: 3 minute play time;authored withBitsy;platformed by Itch.io;published March 2023

Tags: Psychological Horror,  Short, Text based, Twine, Mouse only

[Entry posted by Sarah Godfrey]