Creative Tools
- Twine - An engine for creating interactive fiction projects that output in HTML. Most of my games have been made in Twine/Twee (the source code notation for Twine).
Books and Graphic Novels
- Exit Reality, by Valentina Tanni - A book about internet aesthetics, focusing on things like vaporwave, weirdcore, nostalgia, and liminal spaces. It really taught me one of the core principles of liminal spaces, and how to depict the unknown in those aesthetics.
- Full Metal Alchemist, by Hiromu Arakawa - Yes, I'm recommending FMA. Yes, I know everyone and their mother recommends the (newer) anime, but read the manga. Colonization, military violence, prejudice, and how to truly make amends for both individual and societal wrongs are strong themes throughout the series. If you read it before, read it again. It's worth the revisit.
Games
- Fallout: New Vegas - A game that has so much trouble running on modern hardware, but is extremely worth the bother. Obsidian Entertainment had less than a year to make this game about geopolitics, the spectre of the past, power struggles, and I guess post-apocalyptic survival. Also responsible for making every Fallout conversation about East vs West Coast completely insufferable. This is a good thing. I suggest playing it unmodded first, then modding to your heart's content.
- Dai Gyakuten Saiban 1 & 2 - The best games in the Ace Attorney series. A narrative that openly asks "what happens when you model your own systems off of a corrupt one?" Has the best final antagonist of any game I've played. I haven't played much of The Great Ace Attorney (the official English release), but I also had to put it down due to getting annoyed by localization decisions. Watch a directly translated playthrough of the original DGS if possible.
- The World Ends With You - A game for the Nintendo DS that cleverly uses the dual-screen setup for combat. Also available on the Nintendo Switch now, apparently? While this game didn't have a big impact on me creatively, I enjoyed playing every moment of it for both the gameplay and the rich story. The story takes place in a dimension between life and death, but it's really about what it means to live.
- OFF, by Mortis Ghost - Another "collective internet-mandated recommendation" type of game, but OFF holds this status for good reason. It's a staple of RPGMaker games of the 2000's/2010's, set in a surreal world with charming sprites that poke right at the edge of being a little creepy. Also, you're in it. You control the main character, the Batter, and together the two of you will purify the world. OFF is a game that delights in surprising the player, even if those surprises do start turning unpleasant.
Visual Media
- Purgaliminal, by YOURLOCALBREADMAN - This YouTube series is exactly what it says: purgatory and liminality. The videos are meant to be mockups of a video game that the creator wants to make (and is currently making, if I remember correctly). Liminal spaces, abandoned interiors, and weirdcore landscapes are inhabited by bizarre entities and creatures that used to be human. The world is a mess, reality is tilting, monsters are after you, and you might not be so innocent, yourself. A story about transience in many ways. Check out the rest of BREADMAN's videos and music, because it's all very interesting.
- Zooliminology, by Quiietjay - A project focusing on liminal spaces and nostalgic imagery without the horror angle. It takes the genre in the "opposite" direction: liminal wonder. It's cozy, cute, and comforting. The unknown is a curiosity, not an anxiety to worry about. There's also a website that includes more images and in-universe information.
- drb0sch - An ARG video series about a player exploring an area beyond the Mojave Outpost fence of Fallout: New Vegas. Cryptic and very intriguing.
Miscellaneous
- Unicorn Eclipse - A stationery store that also sells some other desk and accessory items. Features a lot of cute designs heavy on flowers, celestials, computer windows, and uplifting messaging. I'm not sponsored by them or anything. I just think they're really neat.