A very merry Pride month to all, and what better way to celebrate than by putting some money in queer developers' pockets and getting more than 500 games (and zines and other such goodies) in return? There's a bit of everything in here, from a bird-run grocery store to a meditation on the decay and connection both inherent to today's internet.
For the second year in a row, queer developers have come together on itch.io to bundle up their games for a suggested price of $60. (There's also a sliding scale starting at $10 for those who can't afford that.) For that you really get a bit of everything - visual novels and Bitsy games and RPGs (computer) and RPGs (tabletop) and mystery games and poetry and game assets and music and so on, you get the picture.
"If we had the budget of an AAA game, we could give every solo developer a livable wage for a year multiple times over and every single team a massive funding boost. Imagine what the developers and artists in this bundle could create a year from now if they weren’t worried about starving or how to pay their rent this month," the bundle says. "Help nurture our diverse queer arts community, fund the creation of the next great game you love, and find your new favorite game by purchasing the bundle today."
Perhaps I can help with some recommendations, direct from the brain of a real life gay person. Morgue simulator A Mortician's Tale is in here, which is an unflinching look at the death industry. There's also EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OK, the fantastic game/zine hybrid from Nathalie Lawhead. (Some of Lawhead's other work is in here too, which I don't have direct experience with but am confident enough to recommend anyway.)
A more recent release I'm thrilled to point to is
Read more on rockpapershotgun.com