yezi.itch.io

zitaoye is an independent game creator on itch.io who describes himself as "a bipolar disorder-man, trying to from crazy to artistic." His page is a collection of game jam entries, prototypes, and art experiments rather than a single commercial catalog. The work is best understood as a personal creative practice: short, often unfinished pieces that explore time, sound, Chinese text and calligraphy, memory, and zen-like stillness. You can follow him on itch.io to see new experiments as they appear.

What the page says about the author

The profile text is brief and self-written. It states two things directly:

• He identifies himself as living with bipolar disorder.
• He frames his creative direction as a movement "from crazy to artistic."

That framing matters for reading the games. Several titles are explicitly about mental states or philosophical ideas rather than conventional gameplay goals. The page does not present a studio, a team, or a commercial release schedule.

The recurring themes in the work

Looking across the listed projects, a few ideas repeat often enough to count as the author's signature:

The pattern is consistent: small, idea-first pieces where the mechanic serves a concept — a timer for time, a sound puzzle for listening, a poem-maker for language.

Game jams as the main production method

Most titles carry jam credits in their descriptions, which explains the short, prototype-like quality of much of the catalog:

• Global Game Jam: Sword Zen (GGJ 2021), The Mnemosyne (2020), Shaman's Dance (GGJ 2016, Xiamen)
• CiGA Game Jam: 罅隙 XIA XI (2020), S E E K (Shanghai, 2019)
• Ludum Dare: HeartBeats (LD #46), Hold The Button (LD 44), CATCH THE ENERY! (LD 39)
• GMTK Jam 2020: A Broken Car Creature
• GGJ NEXT 2021: GIF Yesterday Once More
• NExT Game Jam: C(8,3) [0090], a "playable music game album"

Jam work is a useful lens here: it shows an artist who uses time-boxed constraints to test ideas quickly, then keeps the results public rather than polishing them into products.

What the "experiments" label means in practice

The page groups work under an "Experiments" heading, and the descriptions back that up. You will find:

• A photography-collage piece inspired by David Hockney (Hockney's Photo)
• An unfinished manifesto (Short Game Manifesto)
• A curatorial prototype for the PSA Emerging Curators Project (寻找冯梦波 In Search of Feng Mengbo)
• A narrative timer prototype (Mini-Peer)
• A small choices-maker game inspired by an Oulipo-style poem (32768 Parties)

So the page is not only games. It is a working sketchbook that mixes playable prototypes, web interactives, and art-project proposals. If you arrive expecting finished, long-form games, adjust expectations; if you are interested in experimental game design as a practice, the range is the point.

How to follow the work

The page identifies the creator as zitaoye with the handle @Nir_yezi. Following the account on itch.io is the direct way to see updates, since the page itself functions as an ongoing log of jam entries and experiments rather than a curated portfolio with release dates.

One practical note: many entries are marked "Play in browser," while others are listed without that tag, so availability differs from project to project. Check the individual project page before assuming a title is playable immediately.

The idea in one sentence

The through-line is an artist using small games and interactive sketches to translate inner experience — mood, memory, time, sound, Chinese writing — into playable form, with game jams providing the rhythm and constraints for that translation.

Most of the works on zitaoye's itch.io page are prototypes and experiments tied to specific game jams or art projects, and the page itself usually names the event and year next to each title. The jams represented include Global Game Jam (GGJ), Ludum Dare, CiGA Game Jam, GMTK Jam, and NExT Game Jam; the art-side projects include a NExT Studios Gameplus episode and a PSA Emerging Curators Project prototype. Because these are jam builds and prototypes, expect short, rough, sometimes unfinished pieces rather than polished commercial games.

Game Jam Works

The page lists each jam entry with its event, year, and often a theme or ranking tag. The main ones:

The bracketed numbers (e.g. [0042], [0096]) appear to be the creator's own numbering of jam entries, not event rankings.

Art Projects and Studio Prototypes

Several works come from art or studio contexts rather than jams:

• 写首诗吧! Make a Poem — labeled as a NExT Studios Gameplus Project, Episode 1.
• 寻找冯梦波 In Search of Feng Mengbo — a prototype for the PSA Emerging Curators Project 2020.
• Hockney's Photo — a photography-collage experiment inspired by David Hockney.
• IN THE BOX 窄门 (2017.12) — a walking simulator and virtual museum about Hong Kong culture, listed under "Before 2019.4."
• Boomgie & Woomgie (2017.10) — a co-battle game about space and time.

Personal and Experimental Pieces

Some titles are explicitly personal or conceptual rather than event-driven:

• bipolar — described as "a simple representation of my bipolar disorder."
• 无 Nothing — a zen-like meditation game experiment.
• 时间的形状 The Shape of Time (Remake) — an experimental philosophical game about time.
• El Hacedor (2018) — a game about line and time.
• 32768 Parties — a small choices-maker game inspired by an Oulipo-style poem by btr.
• poem-plant — a simple print-and-play game prototype.
• Short Game Manifesto — an unfinished manifesto.
• Mini-Peer [0092] — a narrative timer prototype.

What This Means for Playing Them

The page marks many entries with "Play in browser," but not all — some are listed without that tag, and several are described as prototypes or unfinished. If you want to try a specific title, check for the "Play in browser" label on its entry first. The jam context also explains the scale: these are typically days-long builds with a single mechanic or theme, so judge them as experiments rather than finished games.

On the zitaoye itch.io page, the projects marked Play in browser are the ones you can try without downloading or installing anything. Based on the page listing, these include bipolar, poem-plant, 无 (Nothing), 写首诗吧! (Make a Poem), 書 (shū), 时间的形状 (The Shape of Time), Sword Zen, 罅隙 (XIA XI), 回 声 (SOUND RETURN), GIF Yesterday Once More, 32768 Parties, A Broken Car Creature, S E E K, Corgi And Cat, and Hold The Button. Many of these are game jam entries, prototypes, or small experiments rather than finished commercial games, so expect short, rough, or deliberately unusual experiences.

What “Play in browser” means here

The label indicates the project is set up to run in a web browser on the itch.io page itself. It does not guarantee the game is complete, polished, or long. The page describes several of these as prototypes, jam works, or experiments — for example, poem-plant is called “a simple pnp game prototype,” 罅隙 (XIA XI) is “A Timer Prototype,” and 32768 Parties is “a small choices maker game.” Treat the browser-playable list as a set of quick, experimental pieces to sample rather than a catalog of full releases.

Browser-playable projects listed on the page

Projects that are not marked browser-playable

The page also lists works without the Play in browser label, such as Hockney's Photo, Short Game Manifesto, Action C(8,3), El Hacedor, Visual Novel Experiments, 寻找冯梦波 (In Search of Feng Mengbo), HeartBeats, The Mnemosyne, Mini-Peer, and the earlier Before 2019.4 entries like IN THE BOX 窄门, Boomgie & Woomgie, Burst Boy, CATCH THE ENERY!, and Shaman's Dance. For these, the page does not show a browser-play option, so you would need to check each project page for whatever download or access method the creator provides.

Practical way to try them

Start with the browser-playable titles that match your interest: narrative experiments (bipolar, 32768 Parties), meditation or sound pieces (无, Sword Zen, 回 声), or small jam games (Hold The Button, Corgi And Cat). Open the project page, use the in-page play area, and expect short sessions. If a browser game does not load or feels unfinished, that is consistent with the page’s framing of many entries as prototypes and experiments rather than finished products.

The zitaoye page on itch.io is a personal portfolio of small experimental games and prototypes by a developer who describes themselves as “trying to from crazy to artistic.” Most works are short, browser-playable experiments tied to game jams, art themes, or personal expression—zen-like meditation games, poetry and calligraphy pieces, photography-collage experiments, visual novels, rhythm games, and timer prototypes. It is worth browsing if you are interested in artistic, conceptual, or jam-made games rather than polished commercial titles.

Main categories of work

Zen and meditation experiments

• 无 (Nothing) — described as a zen-like meditation game experiment.
• Sword Zen 劍入禪境 [GGJ 2021] — a sound-based zen-like experimental action game made for Global Game Jam 2021.

Poetry, calligraphy, and art themes

• 写首诗吧! (Make a Poem) — a NExT Studios Gameplus Project EP1 piece about making a poem.
• 書 shū — a game about Chinese calligraphy and painting.
• Hockney's Photo — a special photography-collage inspired by David Hockney.
• poem-plant — a simple pnp (print-and-play) game prototype.
• 32768 Parties — a small choices-maker game inspired by an Oulipo-style poem by btr.

Personal and philosophical pieces

• bipolar — a simple representation of the developer's bipolar disorder.
• 时间的形状 (The Shape of Time, Remake) — an experimental philosophical game about time.
• The Mnemosyne [0096] — an image-narrative game about Mnemosyne, made for Global Game Jam 2020.
• El Hacedor — a game about line and time (2018).

Game Jam prototypes and small action games

• C(8,3) [0090] — a playable music game album from NExT Game Jam 2019.
• A Broken Car Creature — a gameplay prototype from GMTK Jam 2020.
• GIF Yesterday Once More 昨日重现 — a simple action kids game from GGJ NEXT 2021.
• HeartBeats [0042] — a Ludum Dare #46 entry under the theme “Keep it Alive.”
• Corgi And Cat [0007] — a very simple board-style funny game.
• Hold The Button [0004] — a small solo game jam entry for LD44.
• S E E K [0031] — a CiGA Game Jam work from Shanghai (2019).
• CATCH THE ENERY! — a Ludum Dare 39 solo prototype.
• Burst Boy 炸裂男孩 — a NextJam project with colleagues (2017).
• Boomgie & Woomgie — a co-battle game about space and time (2017).
• Shaman's Dance — a GGJ 2016 entry from Xiamen, China.

Timer and narrative prototypes

• 罅隙 XIA XI — a timer prototype from CiGA JAM 2020.
• Mini-Peer [0092] — a narrative timer prototype.
• 回 声 SOUND RETURN — an interactive web piece about sound puzzles from CGJ 2021.

Visual novels and interactive fiction

• Visual Novel Experiments — grouped under a visual novel category alongside The Mnemosyne and Mini-Peer.
• 32768 Parties — listed as interactive fiction.

Earlier works (before 2019.4)

• IN THE BOX 窄门 — a walking simulator and virtual museum about Hong Kong culture (2017).
• 寻找冯梦波 (In Search of Feng Mengbo) — a prototype for the PSA Emerging Curators Project 2020.

How to decide whether to browse

Many titles are marked “Play in browser,” so you can try them without downloading. The page also has an “Experiments” section and a “Before 2019.4” archive, making it easy to separate recent jam work from older projects. If you enjoy short, concept-driven games from the indie jam scene, this page offers a compact sample of that style.

The zitaoye page on itch.io is the personal game portfolio of a developer who posts under the handle zitaoye (also shown as @Nir_yezi). It collects experimental games, game-jam prototypes, and small interactive pieces, many of which can be played directly in a browser. It is a place to browse and try short, idea-driven works rather than a commercial storefront or a single finished product.

Who runs the page

The page identifies the author as zitaoye, with the social handle @Nir_yezi. In the profile text, the author describes himself as "a bipolar disorder-man, trying to from crazy to artistic." That self-description frames the page as a personal, expressive outlet, and several works reflect that theme directly.

What kind of work is on the page

The catalog is organized into two visible sections, Experiments and Before 2019.4, and it leans heavily toward prototypes, jam entries, and concept pieces. Common formats include browser-playable games, small action or puzzle experiments, visual novels, and interactive narrative tools.

The Before 2019.4 section holds earlier work, including IN THE BOX 窄门 (a walking simulator and virtual museum about Hong Kong culture, 2017), Boomgie & Woomgie (a co-battle game, 2017), Burst Boy 炸裂男孩 (a NextJam piece, 2017), CATCH THE ENERY! (a Ludum Dare 39 solo prototype, 2017), and Shaman's Dance (a Global Game Jam 2016 entry from Xiamen, China).

How to use the page

Most entries carry a Play in browser label, which means you can launch them directly from the page without downloading anything. To explore:

1. Open the page and scan the Experiments list for a title that interests you.
2. Click a work to open its own page, then choose Play in browser where that option appears.
3. Expect short, prototype-scale experiences — jam entries and concept pieces rather than long games.

Some items, such as poem-plant (a print-and-play prototype), Short Game Manifesto, and Hockney's Photo, are presented as projects or documents rather than browser games, so check each entry's own page for what is actually available.

Who it is for

This page suits players and designers interested in experimental, personal, and jam-made games — especially work touching on mental health, time, sound, and Chinese art and calligraphy. If you want polished, full-length titles, this is not that kind of catalog; if you want quick, unusual ideas you can try in a browser, it is a good fit.