Playing Every Game in the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality
PEGBRJE: Software of Page 46
Music for DAYS
Dancing with Demons
Let’s start ourselves off with this zine by Nat Quayle Nelson. While it’s title is ominous, it covers five different essays about dance, music and video games and how they can find themselves all overlapping. It’s not long, but each essay is clean and may get you hooked on more of their work. Speaking of which…
I Think
This is another zine by Nat Quayle Nelson, which is known as ‘Collected Writings’. It actually republishes writings by Nat with the major attraction being the award-winning sci-fi story ‘I Think’. Included in the zine is a poem and a Q&A to flesh out the zine.
Our Love Can’t Save The World
Our Love Can’t Save The World is a 2 player TTRPG by Mitch Schiwal in which players will attempt to decide between saving the world, or saving a failed relationship. While it feels more geared towards romantic-centric relationships, it is possible for this relationship to be platonic or any other kind that you can think of. It uses a deck of cards to drive the story forward, which can result in somehow saving both if luck works in your favour; or it could result in neither being saved. If you and the other player are prepared for the pressure that goes with saving the world, while also diving in to characters to see what went wrong, then this might be a good game.
Do be warned, it will get heavy — you’re dealing with the fate of the world after all.
VAMPUNKS
Enough sadness, it is time for VAMPUNKS by The Punk Wrangler, a TTRPG where you and friends get to be vampire hunters in a cyberpunk future. It’s mission-heavy gameplay using a 3d6 system as your vampunks try to take back the night from the deadly vampires. The true danger is when players approach death, as they will have a choice; embrace it with their humanity, or surmise they can continue the fight as a vampire at the possible cost of everything. It’s upbeat and exciting, mixing together dark themes with utter nonsensical ideas to keep things silly and fun. Even the GM can get in on the action while they try to keep the city from being torn apart. Have fun!
Desktop Dungeons OST
Now begins the departure from the ‘norm’ that these pages usually have, for the next few are all audio related.
Starting us off is the soundtrack to Desktop Dungeons, which featured a collaboration between the legendary Danny Baranowsky and Grant Kirkhope. The game is a roguelike dungeon crawler which aimed to have players of all kinds explore a dungeon within 10 minutes. As such, it combines Baranowsky’s upbeat pixel-centric style with Kirkhope’s controlled whimsy to create a full album for anyone and everyone.
As with many OSTs in the bundle, the game itself is not here, but that’s ok — the soundtrack is great on its own.
Classic JRPG Music Pack // Medium Pack
Rest has created a large asset pack of ‘classical’ JRPG tracks that are now at your disposal. They are grouped in to three ‘packs’, with tracks and stingers to go for each to help you implement them where ever they may be needed. There are atmospheric background pieces to bring up the mood, fighting music to hype the player up, boss music to turn everything on its head and more. If you needed a massive set of audio assets to assist in your projects, this is a great place to start.
The Binding of Isaac OST
Well well well, Danny Baranowsky has decided to grace the bundle with one of the games that -arguably- got him on the map as a video game composer. The Binding of Isaac needs little introduction, being a roguelike that smashed the scene with its imagery and simplicity. It was so popular that I knew people that were playing it in class. It wasn’t my cup of tea, but the soundtrack sure was; and here it is available for download. Fate has been kind, unlike how it was to Isaac. If you loved the game and didn’t own this already, congrats, it is now your lucky day too.
Super Meat Boy! — Digital Special Edition Soundtrack
Oh hey, funny that I would see Danny Baranosky here again so quick with his other soundtrack that caught people’s eyes back in 2010. Again, the game itself is not included, nor is it my cup of tea — at all. This game was brutal, and I did not finish it in sheer rage. But that’s ok! That does not change the excitement that this game did for many others, nor how much fun the soundtrack was just to listen to during a pause menu after dying 100 times.
This ends the Danny Baranosky sountrack extravaganza, but you now have three legendary albums; I consider that a win, wouldn’t you?
The Frost Papers — Ten Games to Play in the Dark
We return now to more ‘standard’ entries, starting with The Frost Papers by Arcana Games. It is a bit hard to describe. The best description would be a micro TTRPG horror anthology within a victorian-era setting. The games lean heavily on the ritualistic aspects of TTRPGs, with repetition and chants being common in each of the games — there are even ‘hypnotic’-like moments which can be terrifying for those unprepared. They string together with a similar ‘plot’ as they detail a singular person and their experiments.
It’s as occult as you can get, and the lack of safety measures for the players is a bit worrying so do be aware when jumping in. It’s definitely not meant for beginners or those easily scared, so play with caution and summon some ghosts — real, or your own.
Dungeon Hero Volume 1: Starter Set
Featuring a zine-like format, Dungeon Hero Volume 1: Starter Set is a fast-paced TTRPG by Lone Spelunker. You create a character with specific characteristics, pick a zine, and get to rolling dice to see how the adventure goes. Each region can be succeeded or failed, where failure only deals damage so you can keep going — but too much damage means death. It’s made to be played fast and light with whomever is available, and then folded away for later when done. Best played with new people and experienced players alike that just want to get down and grab treasure.
Butter-Passing Robot — Background for 5e
In the ultimate piece of software, this is a background for a D&D 5e character based on the show Rick and Morty. The entire background is made with the sole purpose of fulfilling the one task assigned to you; pass butter. Yet it somehow still fits within the mechanics of 5e, albeit as a much more ridiculous background that probably won’t work for every setting. If you can find a way to wiggle this character in, however, this is a hilarious and nonsensical background to have in a game.
Especially if someone needs butter.
Rolling with Laughter
This TTRPG by Uri Lifshitz is a bit hard to explain at first, for it is an adventure on its own, but also a guide for other adventures. The game itself uses the Dozens system in order to keep the story moving without fear of mechanics bogging it down, but this is where it gets a bit more technical as well. Each scene contains an equal amount of narrative explanation for the GM on how it uses the narrative and other elements to make the scene funny. Each section gives details on why these events are happening through comedic devices, almost like a guidebook on how to make any section funny if you can understand the principles. That is the key of this game, for then you can take that knowledge and make any adventure a comedy if you so choose. It’ll take some time, but I have faith you’ll have your party laughing in no time.
Grave Liasons
Are you old enough to go to massive reunions and be those nosy relatives that are trying to insert themselves in the lives of their younger relatives to help them with their love? If no, have you ever wanted to? If you answered yes there, then Grave Liasons is the game for you. This is a ‘roleplaying PvP’ game in which ghosts are trying to hook their descendants up with the perfect mate — at least, what they think is perfect. Those on the side of the SPIRITS will use ghostly powers to social engineer perfect events to hook up the people they want, while the DESCENDENTS are woefully ignorant of these dealings and are just hoping to find love, or even just a friend.
Flirt with everyone, and get chocolate! Chocolate is an actual mechanic here, you are welcome.
The Boughs — A Campaign Setting
Finally we have The Boughs, a TTRPG campaign setting crafted by Sandy Pug Games. The world is a massive, infinite forest that is full of strange and terrifying creatures. The only ones that know how to navigate are the Rangers, and they deal with stopping anything and everything from destroying the peace between the Boughs. Too bad that’s a lifelong pursuit, and a never-ending position.
It was made with the Dungeon World RPG system in mind, but can function as a system agnostic setting.
And that’s everything! Page 47 of the bundle should be started tomorrow unless something disasterous happens to my health (again). See you then!
