So, I love looking through your game recs, and all of them look so interesting!
The only problem is that I have zero money at the moment, or at least zero that can be spent of games.
I donāt suppose you know any good/enjoyable games that are free or have a demo?
(There is only so much time you can spend doing housework or looking for work and Iāve replayed and replayed the games Iāve already got so many times)
Itās funny you should ask. Folks often ask me how the hell I have thousands of games in my Steam library, and the answer is, well, a substantial chunk of them are free to play. Many of them are very, very bad, but there are exceptions ā Iāve placed links to the 120 or so that Iād actually recommend to other people under the cut.
A lot of these games are quite short (i.e., average playing time in the five to fifteen minute range), but they're free, so really that's good value for your money! Note: owing to the length of this list, I will not be including descriptions or content warnings ā be sure to check the writeups and reviews.
Iāve marked my personal top dozen with asterisks (*). These arenāt necessarily the most approachable or well-constructed titles on this list, mind ā just the ones I had the most fun with.
Agent-00
Alien Squatter
Arc Apellago
Atma
Aurora: A Child's Journey
Becalm
Beneath a Steel Sky
BirdGut
Camp W
Cloud Climber
Court of Ashes
Dead Horizon*
Deepest Sword
Delores: A Thimbleweed Park Mini-Adventure
Doki Doki Literature Club!
Down Ward
Dr. Langeskov, The Tiger, and The Terribly Cursed Emerald
Emily is Away
ERROR: Human Not Found
Estigma
Faefever
First Snow
Flicker of Hope
Frame of Mind
Frog Fractions
From the Shadows
GET OUT!
GNRBLEX
Grace
Gravitas*
Grimmās Hollow
Hare Apparent
Heart of Enya
Helltaker
Heroineās Quest: The Herald of Ragnarok*
Himno
Honey Rose: Underdog Fighter Extraordinaire
Hopebringers
HorrorVale
If On A Winterās Night, Four Travellers
Janosik - Highlander Precision Platformer
K Station
Kari
Karisvale
Khimera: Destroy All Monster Girls*
Kidz
Lake of Voices
Last Slice
Loading Story
Lockheart Indigo*
LunarLux - Chapter 1
Mandagon
MetaWare HIgh School (Demo)
Miksaās Cave
The Mirror Lied
missed messages
Mission Zigloton
Mission: Itās Complicated
Mitoza
Monolight
Mushroom Cats
NaissanceE
The Night Fisherman
Nocturne: Prelude
The Odyssey of the Mammoth
one night, hot springs
One Ping Only
Overclocked*
Perfect Vermin*
Perspective
The Pilgrim
Pink Heaven
Placement
Planetary Planter
Princess Remedy in a World of Hurt*
Project Exhibited
Prologue for a Vacant Kingdom
Quest 4 Papa: Reloaded
A Raven Monologue*
Red Planet Farming
Relic Hunter Zero: Remix
Return.
Roller Riot
Saira*
Senna and the Forest
Shine Within
Shotgun Witch
SKYE
Slay the Dragon!
A Small Robot Story
Soma Spirits: Rebalance
Soma Union
Sono
Soulspace
Space Choice: Data Analyser
Star Apprentice: Magical Murder Mystery*
STAY
Stealthscape
Stones of Solace
Super Crate Box
Super Raft Boat
The Supper
Swallow the Sea
Swarm
Tadpole Tales
TAKANARIA
Tiny Bunny: Prologue
Tori
Tree Trunk Brook
Tukoni
UNBEATABLE
We Went Back
We Were Here
What Never Was
Wienne*
The Wild Eternal
With You
You Have to Win the Game
You Will (Not) Remain
Yume Nikki
Not reblogging because I don't want to bash, but a day after hearing that OpenAI has scraped AO3 to train their writing AI, I've just seen a Tumblr post with AI-generated 'fanfic'.
The billions of hours of labour that millions of fanfic writers have given, hoping for nothing in return but comments and kudos, has been taken and used to train a for profit AI owned by Elon Musk.
This is bad, guys.
It's bad because it's fundamentally wrong, because it endangers fan works, and because it's illegal.
Not illegal in the way that fanfiction is legally questionable but now broadly defensible by highly trained OTW lawyers. Illegal in the way that copyrighted works and characters have been used for profit to create works with Open AI.
It's wrong not just because the works are created without consent from the labour of authors who won't see a penny, but because the aim of AIs like Open AI is to replace the work of professional writers.
You may use Open AI to make a silly fanfic and have a good laugh, but that's not what Elon wants it for.
If you hate what's happened to Twitter, you should be really, really scared about this.
It endangers fanworks because it awakens the power and might of brands like Disney, who have mostly stopped trying to sue fancreators (although they really, really did used to, and not that long ago) for using their IP and especially for writing LGBTQ+ fic. They're mostly willing to turn a blind eye because we aren't making any money.
But that's not what Elon wants to do. And they might start caring again if they see Open AI writing Stucky (follow the link, it writes Stucky omegaverse fic at the merest mention of Steve) and it obviously does so because it used AO3 as its source material.
You and I know it's not any fic writer's fault, but I don't think Disney cares, and it's cheaper to battle AO3 than Elon.
I should stress: AO3 admins are aware. It's been reported. do not clog up their inboxes reporting it again.
The above reasons and more are all arsenal in the armoury of OTW's lawyers. But that's still a battle to fight.
In the meantime, the very least you can do is NOT USE OPEN AI.
Not for a laugh. Not for anything.
And please: spread the word.
some antipsychotics can make you more susceptible to heat exhaustion because they make it so your body cannot regulate your body temperature correctly. I learned this the hard way last summer, I got really nasty heat exhaustion while on a high dose of quetiapine. so check if your meds react badly to heat, and if they do, please be sure to wear your sunscreen, have light cover ups on or with you, wear a hat, and stay hydrated! be safe
Removed/checked all links to make sure everything is working (03/03/23). Hope they help!
Sejda - Free online PDF editor.
Supercook - Have ingredients but no idea what to make? Put them in here and itāll give you recipe ideas.
Still Tasty - Trying the above but unsure about whether that sauce in the fridge is still edible? Check here first.
Archive.ph - Paywall bypass. Like 12ft below but appears to work far better and across more sites in my testing. Iād recommend trying this one first as I had more success with it.
12ft ā Hate paywalls? Try this site out.
Where Is This - Want to know where a picture was taken, this site can help.
TOS/DR - Terms of service, didnāt read. Gives you a summary of terms of service plus gives each site a privacy rating.
OneLook - Reverse dictionary for when you know the description of the word but canāt for the life of you remember the actual word.
My Abandonware - Brilliant site for free, legal games. Has games from 1978 up to present day across pc and console. Youāll be surprised by some of the games on there, some absolute gems.
Project Gutenberg ā Always ends up on these type of lists and for very good reason. All works that are copyright free in one place.
Ninite ā New PC? Install all of your programs in one go with no bloat or unnecessary crap.
PatchMyPC - Alternative to ninite with over 300 app options to keep upto date. Free for home users.
Unchecky ā Tired of software trying to install additional unwanted programs? This will stop it completely by unchecking the necessary boxes when you install.
Sci-Hub ā Research papers galore! Check here before shelling out money. And if itās not here, try the next link in our list.
LibGen ā Lots of free PDFs relate primarily to the sciences.
Zotero ā A free and easy to use program to collect, organize, cite and share research.
Car Complaints ā Buying a used car? Check out what other owners of the same model have to say about it first.
CamelCamelCamel ā Check the historical prices of items on Amazon and set alerts for when prices drop.
Have I Been Pawned ā Still the king when it comes to checking if your online accounts have been released in a data breach. Also able to sign up for email alerts if youāve ever a victim of a breach.
I Have No TV - A collection of documentaries for you to while away the time. Completely free.
Radio Garden ā Think Google Earth but wherever you zoom, you get the radio station of that place.
Just The Recipe ā Paste in the url and get just the recipe as a result. No life story or adverts.
Tineye ā An Amazing reverse image search tool.
My 90s TV ā Simulates 90ās TV using YouTube videos. Also has My80sTV, My70sTV, My60sTV and for the younger ones out there, My00sTV. Lose yourself in nostalgia.
Foto Forensics ā Free image analysis tools.
Old Games Download ā A repository of games from the 90ās and early 2000ās. Get your fix of nostalgia here.
Online OCR ā Convert pictures of text into actual text and output it in the format you need.
Remove Background ā An amazingly quick and accurate way to remove backgrounds from your pictures.
Twoseven ā Allows you to sync videos from providers such as Netflix, Youtube, Disney+ etc and watch them with your friends. Ad free and also has the ability to do real time video and text chat.
Terms of Service, Didnāt Read ā Get a quick summary of Terms of service plus a privacy rating.
Coolors ā Struggling to get a good combination of colors? This site will generate color palettes for you.
This To That ā Need to glue two things together? Thisāll help.
Photopea ā A free online alternative to Adobe Photoshop. Does everything in your browser.
BitWarden ā Free open source password manager.
Just Beam It - Peer to peer file transfer. Drop the file in on one end, click create link and send to whoever. Leave your pc on that page while they download. Because of how it works there are no file limits. Itās genuinely amazing. Best file transfer system I have ever used.
Atlas Obscura ā Travelling to a new place? Find out the hidden treasures you should go to with Atlas Obscura.
ID Ransomware ā Ever get ransomware on your computer? Use this to see if the virus infecting your pc has been cracked yet or not. Potentially saving you money. You can also sign up for email notifications if your particular problem hasnāt been cracked yet.
Way Back Machine ā The Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites and loads more.
Rome2Rio ā Directions from anywhere to anywhere by bus, train, plane, car and ferry.
Splitter ā Seperate different audio tracks audio. Allowing you to split out music from the words for example.
myNoise ā Gives you beautiful noises to match your mood. Increase your productivity, calm down and need help sleeping? All here for you.
DeepL ā Best language translation tool on the web.
Forvo ā Alternatively, if you need to hear a local speaking a word, this is the site for you.
For even more useful sites, there is an expanded list that can be found here.
Does anyone have a link to a back-to-basics article about good fanfic practices, like standards of content and chapter length and such (speaking as an old fart who only wrote a couple of shitty one-shots back when lemons were a thing)
Que ioputa
I've seen this before, but it's been years and it just came across my Twitter in its dying days. The words are from a favorite author of mine, Maggie Stiefvater, and they are the words I most need to hear when it comes to dealing with chronic pain and illness. I didn't need this the first time I saw it, six years ago. I need it now. Maybe you do, too.
choking on water is the worst because how do you stop choking? drink something? well ive got some bad news for you
I have no patience for negativity toward "boomers" anymore.
Almost everybody doing the work to restore ecosystems, grow native plants, and preserve rare species is 50 or older
The people I work with IRL have told me that my presence is encouraging because it means "the younger generation is getting involved with this stuff too." There's really not very many people my age
Who do you think was fighting this fight in the 1970's
here is a star for everyone whoās not feeling their best today (š)
Genuinely wish we could go back to that time in fandom where creators and fandoms just left each other alone. Please. For the love of god.
Iām sick of people demanding constant answers and information from creators about things that donāt need answers or further information. Iām sick of people using fucking Word of God tweets in their shitty fandom discourse as an excuse to call someone a sexual predator. Iām sick of creators going onto fandom posts and basically telling fans that theyāre wrong for interpreting/interacting with content in a certain way. Iām sick of creators giving any opinions on fandom ships at all.
Iām just tired of it. Iām done. We need those boundaries back.
Temples are built for gods. Knowing this a farmer builds a small temple to see what kind of god turns up.
April Foolās Day is in a few days, and I just wanted to make this clear. This blog is safe, and I can promise you no screamers, nothing emotionally abusive, no fake posts, and nothing to intentionally trigger dissociation. You are safe here.
literally most things that people write off as justĀ ātexturesā to use in graphics are stolen & unsourced material created by artists or photographers NOT meant to be used as elements in projects without royalty payments. you can sayĀ āitās just random tumblr posts they donāt careā but you wouldnāt want someone to take your work and edit into their work so they can be praised for their beautiful style and creativity even if they just post it on social media w/o profit, would you?? so maybe if you browse pinterest or google images for pictures without finding the original source, youāre using images that youāre not allowed to use without realizing it.
you see it on here a lot especially in (i wonāt link anything but iām sure you know what i mean) those album trackĀ āaestheticsā posts, auĀ āaestheticā posts (you see these less in kpop, but where people use non-royalty free images to kinda craft a visual au), and even just rather typical graphics that have a lot ofĀ ātextureā elements. and texture packs too!! thatās often where the problem starts; people just collect images (often literal art), compile them in a folder w/o sources, then insist no one can repost those images w/o crediting the person who compiled them. what???
SO may i suggest some of my fave places you can get FREE, ROYALTY-FREE elements that are totally legal to use
creativemarket has 6 free high-quality resources (textures, brushes, fonts, etc), different every week! wow awesome i check it every week
searchĀ āfreebieā on behance. awesome stuff!!! lots of v nice templates textures and fonts
mockup zone freebies
unsplash: tons of very nice free photographs, not shitty stock photos
pexels: same idea. + they have an adobe plugin so you can get photos without closing your editor damn nice
pixelsquid is a super cool free program (again w a ps plugin that i love) with lottts of super cool hq 3d elements!
as to not make this too long: spoongraphics, lostandtakenĀ (textures galore), pixeden, freebiesbug.
a couple snippets from a presentation i gave at school this past week on storyboarding!!
ā¼ļøDISCLAIMER: I am a still a student and have only worked on student and indie projects! This is just stuff that I personally find helpful as an amateur, so feel free to take it with a grain of salt!
Happy boarding, friends! āļøš
I'm saying this from a place of genuine care: if you are seeing ghosts or shadows or having nightmares... and sageing, eggshells, Crystal's, and psychics arent cutting it..
Please.. please... check for things like gas leaks, water damage, vermin. I'm not saying your house isnt haunted, I'm just saying that carbon monoxide poisoning looks a LOT like being haunted.
since the old version of this post was flagged for 'adult content'...
So a free tool called GLAZE has been developed that allows artists to cloak their artwork so it can't be mimicked by AI art tools.
AI art bros are big mad about it.
thoughts on the green broadbill?
everyone look at this thing immediatelyā¦ā¦ so green with a wonderful silly faceā¦.
funny phrases to use when something goes wrong instead of jokingly saying "i'm going to kms":
i'm going to kill god
i'm going to delete my blog
i'm going to explode
i'm going to blow up this entire website
i'm going to become the joker
this is going to be my villain origin story
i'm being so brave about it
fuck it we ball
god had to nerf me because i was too powerful
i'm too pretty for this
all according to plan
feel free to add on
I always hate it when people are all āso do you go to school, or are you working, orā and I either have to
make up some lie, or
eventually get around to āI am not working because of depression/anxiety,ā and subsequently have to deal with whatever bullshit-riddled and completely unsolicited opinions on mental illness this stranger feels obligated to share with me.
So my therapist was like, āYou donāt have to do either. You can just say you havenāt worked in a while because youāre recovering from an illness.ā
I tried it when the home inspector was here today, and it fucking worked. He was like, āoh, Iām sorry, are you doing better now,ā and Iām like yeah, and donāt worry, itās not contagious, awkward laugh, and we moved on.
MY THERAPIST. IS A GENIUS. Because it is an illness, so itās not a lie to say that, and itās also none of his business to know specifically what it is, and I clearly donāt want to give more details, so we should move on from this topic. MY THERAPIST IS A GODDAMN GENIUS.