other recommendations
Still not satisfied? Here are some stories with more conventional methods of distribution.
The Tatami Galaxy
A college student reflects on how his campus life would have differed, if only he’d enrolled in a different university society.
Masaaki Yuasa’s anime adaptation of Tomihiko Morimi’s novel matches breakneck writing with breathtaking animation, full of heart and humour. Eleven episodes, plus three seven-minute shorts released on DVD. Masaaki Yuasa’s later movie, Night Is Short, Walk On Girl, is adapted from another Tomihiko Morimi novel, and features many of the same characters; consider it a spiritual sequel, or a taster if you can’t commit to watching a full series.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Two childhood friends reunite, and decide to make a video game together. Though they love each other, they aren’t lovers; often, it seems that they are more like enemies.
This is a #1 bestselling novel, but in terms of content, it has much more in common with the lengthy metafictional works on my main list: billed as “the first great video game novel”, this is a deeply-human and structurally-ambitious work by Gabrielle Zevin. I found it devastating. 120,000 words.
Diaries of a Spaceport Janitor
You are the Janitor, an Alaensee girlbeast given the endless task of incinerating trash at the Spaceport. Adventurers bustle through the packed alleys and plazas, delving into the Dungeons beneath to claim rare loot. Maybe one day, if the Nine Goddesses smile upon you, your Curse is lifted, and you save up enough credits… you’ll be able to leave Xabran’s Rock far behind you.
Sundae Month’s sci-fi slice-of-life “anti-adventure game” is a captivating experience with beautiful visuals and a masterful alien soundtrack. Available on Steam, often goes on sale.
The Plan
You are a fly, and you must fly.
A five-minute game that’s free to play on Steam. I’ll say no more.
The Unbelievable Gwenpool
Gwendolyn Poole used to be just another comic-book fan. Now, she’s a superhero in the Marvel Universe, and life has never been better—but the laws of narrative are starting to rear their heads, and it turns out being a superhero isn’t as easy as the stories made it out to be. The Unbelievable Gwenpool needs to shape up, or she’ll be cancelled forever.
Christopher Hasting’s metafictional superhero comic series doesn’t really play its hand until issue #16, but it’s a hugely entertaining ride with an ending unlike any I’ve seen. Five trade paperbacks—collecting issues #1-25, an issue #0, and two holiday specials (read the first one before #1, the second before #16). Hastings also wrote Edge of Venomverse #2 and a story from Not Brand Echh #14, both featuring Gwenpool.
Do A Powerbomb!
Lona Steelrose wants to be a pro wrestler, but she’s stuck in the shadow of her mother—the best to ever do it. Everything changes when a wrestling-obsessed necromancer asks her to join the grandest—and most dangerous—pro-wrestling tournament of all time…
Daniel Warren Johnson’s wrestling comic is an intensely emotional spectacle, exploring loss (in every sense of the word) through the lens of an oft-misunderstood sport. Seven issues, collected in a single trade paperback.
Warbot In Accounting
In the near future, human-like artificial intelligence is developed and put to use in a fleet of highly-destructive “Warbots”. After their first, brutal, deployment, public outcry leads to the fleet’s decommissioning—but activists successfully lobby for the robots to be rehabilitated and put to work. One Warbot ends up at Weyland Accounting…
Brian Clevinger’s depressing comedy webcomic about not fitting in is an exercise in escalation. Fifteen pages.
Mata Nui Adventure Game
You awake on a beach. Before you, half-submerged, lies an empty metal canister. The gods have arrived on the mysterious island known as Mata Nui—and you are not one of them.
In 2001, to tell the story of their fledgling BIONICLE multimedia epic, Lego commissioned a big-budget 3D console platformer. This is not that game. No, this is a Myst-like flash game, outsourced to a small group of indie developers—an afterthought designed to promote some McDonalds Happy Meal toys. It’s a story about afterthoughts, about outcasts—and about the heroes they can become. Ignore the boat on the beach at first, use this handy cipher, and visit the villages in the following order: Ta, Ga, Po, Onu, Le, and Ko.
wadapan 
