EllensPageOfStrangeStuff

Do you like bizarre stuff? Do you like things that are so bad they're good, things that violate 'good taste' in all senses of the phrase, things that make you stand up and go "what the fuck?"

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Then what the hell are you doing here?!

This is just a page for me to put my bizarre recommendations, not a lot of which people know exist. There's probably a lot of disturbing things as well as epileptic triggers and I don't know how to alert people to that very well, so tread lightly. Additionally, some of the websites are extremely offensive. I don't promote anything they say, and if anything they're all collected here because they probably make people take them even less seriously.

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Games

As a kid, I spent a lot of time playing Flash games. That probably informed my current taste in video games (weird, quirky indie games with Meaning)

• Space Funeral: the best truly postmodernist RPG game to exist (fuck you, YiiK?). This game exists as meta-commentary on the state of created games, only through imperfection can you find perfection. Also you fight knockoff Marc Bolan and listen to Les Rallizes Desnudes. I quote it on a daily basis.
• The Pretender: Not so much a bad weird game as a sort of mediocre flash game with some fun mechanics and a surprisingly sad storyline. Sadly does not exist anymore, although can be found using BlueMaxima?'s flashpoint.
• I Am A Tree You Are Not Ha Ha: I feel like this has a deeper meaning. And yet... it's like that one Tumblr post: "you are experiencing a flavor and that flavor is nothing."
• Megaman Sprite game: I... don’t even know what to say about this one. It’s not deep but something about the whole concept gets me every time. It's just very humorous.
• Revenge of the Sunfish: Yes, this is the first game, the second game is Revenge of the Sunfish 2. Was there an original Sunfish game? The world may never know. Warning, probably a trigger for visual epilepsy (it's kind of an assault to every sense you can imagine, and even some you can't)
• Anything by Kimberly Kubus: While I haven't yet played these games, I know they’re hugely influential in some corners of the internet (such as Revenge of the Sunfish). Somewhere, someone has probably archived his very interesting viewpoints on the world.
• Bubsy Visits the James Turrell Retrospective: I don’t like this one so much as find it intriguing. It also ruined "Don’t Fear (The Reaper)" for me because of that one level where the riff just plays on repeat. Brought to you by the people who made the Sonic Dreams Collection.
• Strawberry Cubes: I could write a lot about Strawberry Cubes, but that’s partly because nobody's fully explained it. It's apparently based off the creator's experiences with their grandmother, who had Alzheimers, and it really shows. Probably also a trigger for visual epilepsy.
  • "Very interesting to see the debate around "Strawberry Cubes", it's a game that works in contrast to normal games where everything put in place there is a reason, a sense of progress, and objectivity. This game was intended to have mechanics to be figured out without explaining and actually not necessary, nothing is supposed to have a reason (like why the phrases appear or you spawn frogs and chickens), there is no story around it, it was intended to be 'broken' by exploits (like Vinny did), it's procedurally generated (there is no thinking put into the map structure), there are puzzles and collectibles but they are useless and other stuff like that. Basically, it's a game that makes you do everything other games make you do, but the game itself doesn't do what it is supposed to do (structurally)." (a YouTube? comment I found)
• OFF: Why yes, I am a fan of the Mother series, how did you know? Anyhow, if you haven't played this one, I recommend it. This is one of the few games (maybe other than Strawberry Cubes) which still fills me with dread whenever I think about it. Also "Pepper Steak" gets stuck in my head a lot.
• Winnie The Pooh's Home Run Derby: OH BOY. SO YOU THINK YOU CAN PLAY KIDS GAMES? YOU THINK YOU CAN WIN AGAINST EVERYBODY? YOU THINK SO, PUNK?! WELL LET ME SHOW YOU A THING. I STILL CAN’T BEAT TIGGER, AND YOU THINK YOU CAN GET TO CHRISTOPHER ROBIN?!?! WELL YOU CAN'T, BECAUSE THIS GAME IS IMPOSSIBLE. (Note: it is not impossible)

Websites

I have a folder on my computer called "Ellen’s Folder of Wretched Websites," which is... exactly what you'd expect. To be updated as I figure out how the hell to even categorize this stuff!