As a reaction of the whole Itch thing, we decided
a) To mirror all our downloads on our own server. We also keep them up on Itch, as we don't consider them the culprits in the whole case - but we believe that it is important to decentralize the whole indie/underground/non-commercial gaming scene. Relying to one monolithic platform ain't good.
You can find our games at
https://thunderperfectwitchcraft.org/
all of them are free software, and most of them (except the "Vaults of Minos" and "Just Let Me Play Mahjongg") have also free assets.

b) To kick the pricing on "The Vaults of Minos". We talked about doing this a while ago already, and as we also want it to be available on our own server, this seems like a good time to do it. I contacted the support at steam, and expect that it will be turned to freeware there in the next few days as well.
It is - until now - our most elaborate project, we are proud about it, and recommend heavily to play it :).

You can find it at
https://thunderperfectwitchcraft.org/VaultsOfMinos/index.html

Have fun!

#game #games #videogames #digital #art #digitalart #floss #foss #opensource #libre #libregaming #free #underground #undergroundgame #gamedev #indie #indiegame #itch

arcane cache: Review to "How to Make It Home"

The poetry of How to Make It Home is located somewhere in the space between existentialist novels and Fin de Siècle-Poetry: it is an interactive fiction of rare artfulness, beauty, and thoroughgoingness.

https://thunderperfectwitchcraft.org/arcane_cache/2025/07/30/how-to-make-it-home/

#art #digital #digitalart #games #videogames #gaming #review #underground #undergroundgame #indie #indiegame #interactivefiction #surrealism #linux #gamedev #indiegamedev #if #existentialism #decadence #poetry

arcane cache: A tour through various digital museums.

It is possible that art (and, similarly, science) is able to break up restrictive structures, and to bypass the limits and fences – by demonstrating us our desires, the faults of-, and the possibilities outside of the capitalist reality. Humanness, mirroring capitalism’s ability to enter every available gap, is able to bloom in the most unlikely soil. Digital museums are also a form of art, and in this post, I will spotlight some vastly different examples of them – lets see what they are, and what they say.

https://thunderperfectwitchcraft.org/arcane_cache/2025/04/14/digital-museums/

Featuring works of @FrugalGamer and @mk

#digital #art #games #videogames #gaming #digitalart #experimental #opensource #metamodernism #philosophy #review #underground #undergroundgame #indie #indiegame #atmoshperic #freesoftware #free #opensource #linux #website #review #exploration #gamedev #indiegamedev

Arcane Cache: Review to Glittering Light 2

A ASCII art game that breaks with quite some conventions in a wonderful way. Instead of moving an @ through a maze of lines, it feels like moving through a strange, mysterious world ... a game with a limited, set scope, where the atmosphere and the fundamental idea of the game are much more important than the balance or the gameplay ... a parabola on life itself.

https://thunderperfectwitchcraft.org/arcane_cache/2025/02/06/glittering-light-2/

#game #videogame #indiegame #gamedev #indiegamedev #undergroundgame #exploration #2D #surreal #art #digitalart #opensource #freesoftware #freegame #free #libre #gaming #browser #indie #review #underground #ASCII #text #roguelike #crawler #rpg #crawl #rogue #angband #retro #text #experimental

It took longer than planned, but we just released Bjørnstigen - a map for Venzone, which is an ASCII platformer game made by @ffaff .

https://thunderperfectwitchcraft.itch.io/bjrnstigen

Rather exotic for the genre, Bjørnstigen is primarily focused on narration: Obstacles, difficult situations, and the flow of the level design are used as tools to convey emotions and ideas. But still, it is directed to experienced players, and playing the original game is very recommended before tackling it.

#game #indiegame #gamedev #indiedev #underground #undergroundgame #floss #opensource #free #freegame #gaming #platformer #narrative #experimental #adventure #mountains #ascii #retro #freesoftware #openculture #difficult #interactivefiction #if #itch #art #digitalart

Arcane Cache: Review to "Messages from the Universe Graveyard"

A interactive fiction with MUD elements, that takes place in the world of a shut-down MMORPG. Defunct, industrial spaces, overgrown greenhouses, and astral-surreal places – all of them forlorn, disturbed by glitches, and sometimes seemingly bleeding into each other. The best comparison to describe Messages from the Universe Graveyard’s general atmosphere might be Andrej Tarkovskys „Stalker“, although the spirits that haunt this zone clearly derive from an digital age...

https://thunderperfectwitchcraft.org/arcane_cache/2024/12/17/messages-from-the-universe-graveyard/

#game #videogame #indiegame #gamedev #indiegamedev #undergroundgame #exploration #2D #surreal #art #digitalart #opensource #freesoftware #freegame #free #libre #gaming #browser #indie #review #underground #haunted #hauntology #mud #interactivefiction #if #multiuserdungeon #interactive

Arcane Cache: Review to the games of Cal Michael.

The games of Cal Michael are a demanding „Gesamtkunstwerk“ – even if you approach them with good will and an open mind, they might largely escape you in the end – but are certainly worth a look. If you manage it to penetrate them, they reward you with a dive into a mystical, enthralling, and unique other-world.

https://thunderperfectwitchcraft.org/arcane_cache/2024/11/02/the-works-of-cal-michael/

#game #videogame #indiegame #gamedev #indiegamedev #undergroundgame #poetry #2D #paintings #occult #art #digitalart #opensource #freesoftware #freegame #free #libre #gaming #browser #indie #review #underground #mysticism #poet #poem #interactivefiction #if #bitsy #zine #zines

Arcane Cache: Review to Escape Guldur, an minimalist 2D action rpg.

https://thunderperfectwitchcraft.org/arcane_cache/2024/10/15/escape-guldur/

Escape Guldur ain't no dull hack-and-slay game: Your initial health has to prevail for the whole game, creating a need to search for a route with as less enemy contact as possible - you will need to sneak around corners, outmaneuver enemies and kite them if you want to win. Additionally, every level has a unique mechanic that you have to understand to beat the game, and there are even some neat little details every now and then. ... Escape Guldur has a surprisingly good overall production and balance – playing through it is a fun and satisfying experience. The minimalist, retro inspired style works out very well, and the games overall atmosphere is coherent and dense.

#game #videogame #indiegame #gamedev #indiegamedev #undergroundgame #retro #2D #rpg #action #art #digitalart #opensource #freesoftware #freegame #free #libre #gaming #browser #indie #review #underground #minimal

Arcane Cache: Review to Agentia by @richardacarter .

https://thunderperfectwitchcraft.org/arcane_cache/2024/09/23/agentia/

Despite being technically simple at a first glance, Agentia utilizes ideas drawn from poetry and philosophy that lie outside of the usual repertoire of game development. The way of drawing and describing the world is poetry in itself – nothing here is arbitrary – every layer of Agentia is a intricate poem, open to interpretation. This game is a masterpiece.

#game #videogame #indiegame #gamedev #indiegamedev #undergroundgame #psychedelic #2d #art #digitalart #procgen #procedural #philosophy #gaming #experimental #browser #narrative #poesy #literature #interactivefiction #if #fiction #interactive #indie #review #underground

Arcane Cache: Review to "I, The Living Flame":

https://thunderperfectwitchcraft.org/arcane_cache/2024/09/09/i-the-living-flame/

The player controls a girl that has to find a way through a dungeon maze while collecting notes and evading an angry Minotaur that chases her. ...
The games aesthetics are great: Abstract images are shown between the levels, the texts and the title are somewhat cryptic – the overall atmosphere is mystic, occult, and mythical. ... „I, The Living Flame“ is probably as artsy as a non-abstract 2D Gameboy puzzle game can get.

#game #videogame #indiegame #gamedev #indiegamedev #undergroundgame #psychedelic #2d #art #digitalart #occult #pixelart #fantasy #gaming #gameboy #gb #gbc #handheld #rom #homebrew #puzzle #logic #retro #indie #review #underground