[briangray]

I believe the key benefit of small games is not the minimalism or short duration, but the forced condensing of core gameplay. Essentially bundling the fun without the excess fluff. I've heard developers constantly note that features will be dropped and your favorite implementation will hit the chopping block when making games. In the case of small games, you're turning this idea into a feature. Finding what can be stripped away to focus on engagement. Not what massive world can I develop to creature a robust experience, but what bits of the world can I shave to make a fulling experience.

[silicon2401]

This is one of the reasons I personally enjoy retro games. Plenty of old games go for volume of features, but IMHO it's a lot easier to find games with a more condensed, focused in older generations. By the same token I think you're right, and small games like Pikuniku and Minit have re-kindled my interest in modern games after almost a half decade of not really keeping up with the scene, thanks to their condensed focus on fun and gameplay.

[bokchoi]

I feel the same applies to short stories -- with the constraint a lot of fluff is removed. It's been a while, but I used to subscribe to a few sci-fi magazines and loved it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_fiction_magazine#Curre...

[pcmaffey]

Especially so for sci-fi. As Gibson put it, the short story is the quintessential form of sci-fi.

[jyrkesh]

If I wanted to get into these now, could you recommend any particular magazines (title and/or vintage) or time periods that are good starting points?

[bokchoi]

I enjoyed the long running "Asimov's Science Fiction" and "Analog Science Fiction and Fact" the most, but the newer "Clarkesworld" was also quite good. If you'd prefer a large tome, go for "The Year's Best Science Fiction" by Gardner Dozois. Ooh, and can't forget http://escapepod.org/

[meheleventyone]

The Year's Best Science Fiction and really all the collections edited by Gardner Dozois are fantastic. Sadly he died but there are years and years and years of great selections.

[chrisweekly]

Electric Literature

Also Ted Chiang (Your Life and Other Stories, Exhalation, ...)

[mrec]

*Stories of Your Life and Others

[chrisweekly]

whoops! yes, thanks for the correction

[Tepix]

The indie game Battle of Polytopia (iOS/Android/Steam) feels like that. It masterfully extracts the core gameplay of games like Civilization. It also has a matching graphics style.