This game is trying to spread the message of how minorities are treated simply for being them. Its very sad, and dark. But unfortunetely its how the world is. We can't ignore it because its sad, we need to fight for a better future.
Game asked me if I wanted to experiment with my friend. As I'm aroace, I said no. It gave me an extremely dreary end about ''dying alone'' accompanied only by my cat, as though this were some terrible fate, and lectured me vaguely about giving up opportunities.
The point of this game is that the ending is bad no matter what. If you try to experiment you still get beaten by your homophobic dad. That's the point, that's the message.
Rip, a little limited but it's a tiny game. As a fellow aroace I would have loved the only "good" end to be dying alone with a cat but I guess most people wouldn't like that end :p I guess the implied is that you loved / wanted to get together with Rose (hence the name of the cat) but didn't because of homophobic dad.
I get the message you're trying to deliver, but this just comes across as overwhelming nihilism, which isn't really helping anyone. Not to mention the "show not tell" approach the game uses is plain poor execution rather than effectively delivering a message that has the potential to be powerful (albeit a message that is not at all supported by the gameplay).This game encourages the player to give up on life instead of helping others or appreciating what they have, which I'm sure isn't the intended message; it just wasn't executed well.
Yeah same. It says it proves that it's chance even with choices, but this doesn't have an element of chance. If you're black, you die either from racial violence or because you live in a "bad neighborhood". If you're a woman, you don't get any opportunities. I get the feeling that this game was made by a white person tbh, probably a man, because it kind of makes me feel like I'm never gonna get anywhere in life because I'm not in the group the last message is targeted at.
I agree. This isn't making anyone motivated to make the world better for people, it's just making me depressed lmao. Yeah life's a game of chance but there really is no chance in this game. All outcomes are bad. As a black man, my family business did alright but I was still unhappy. As a European woman, I was successful and got a degree in film making, and my films failed because I was a woman. As an Asian man I couldn't move to the city because I couldn't get a passport. Chance implies good and bad outcomes, not just bad ones. I get the message they're trying to send but it wasn't exactly delivered in the best way. Instead of 100 percent cynical it should have given you an opportunity for you to take charge and make the best out of the cards you were dealt. Times can be hard but not everything has to be so down all of the time for minorities :/
Tbh this is basically the first good/constructive criticism I've seen in the comments.
I've seen the gay film making ending considered as a "good end" because while you suffered, your actions resulted in good change in the future.
A couple other endings like that where despite your suffering you managed to do some good in the world would have been nice. I guess that would work better in a slightly larger game.
Yeah! Life sucks and I get that it's trying to be realistic, but even if you can't be successful in your lifetime, it could at least include a hopeful message and let you impact future generations :(
Doom and gloom will not incite change. It will simply spark hopelessness and cause people to give up. Let people know the world is bad, but give them the motivation to fix it.
Incredibly tone deaf and depressing. It seems as though this game was made to convince the player that these problems exist but it does it in the most obnoxious way. Regardless of how much the odds are stacked against certain people, life isn't just constant depression and disappointment. Waste of time.
Echoing what people here have said. Lacks nuance when it tries to have depth. Otherwise absurd but not in a fun way. Superficially compassionate with the ending.
The thumbnail is interesting but after playing three rounds I've come to the conclusion that this game lacks depth and is only based in clumsy, poorly thought out stereotypes written by someone wanting to seem "woke". The lack of varied choices and even a different ending text makes this game lackluster and misses the mark. Cute graphics though!
This really lacks nuance, and seems to be a political hit piece, lacking depth or realism. -100/10. Maybe killing your child doesn't always ruin your life and owning a gun doesn't always result in your six year old shooting you. Maybe you'll realize that at some point.
i will leave a bit of a lengthy review on this one. i hope you will take the time to read it and understand.
first of all the thumbnail for this caught my eye as i was looking through the 51 pages of the bundle for racial justice and equality, so i will compliment you on that front.
this game is strange and a bit disappointing. it relies on stereotypes. the asian man who wants to "leave the rice paddies" and works until he dies, the black african man who gets killed by a cop and dies wishing he had more sports cars, the white woman who is a lesbian who gets murdered or gets an abortion which ends that run right there.
i would absolutely not rag on a game with these backstories IF they were vent pieces created by people in those situations. but as this was made by a white man, i simply can't see it as anything other than performative or insulting, especially as i'm assuming you chose to submit it to the bundle. it's one of those pieces of media that just didn't need to be made, except for back-patting.
another compliment- i did like the music and the way the character and their eyes follow the mouse like they're a tamagotchi. a little unnecessary detail but one that does show you care about the visuals in your games.
i hope you've read through. i don't want to come off as a hateful person or anything, i do think you could've had something here if it was a different premise. your voice is better used to uplift and support minorities, rather than tell their stories for them, however simplistically they're represented.
the message is... punch in the face obnoxious, but doesn't offer anything original with it or try to say anything about it. Also blatantly untrue in a lot of cases, your life doesnt end just because one thing didn't work out.
I guess the point is to force priviliged people to see injustice? But yeah it's rather pessimistic and shallow (not unecpected from a tiny game jam game but still :/)
Game spells out the moral for you after only one playthrough (despite multiple endings) and the moral written out doesn't seem in tune with what's actually in the gameplay
ngl i get the distinct impression the dev doesn't have a whole lot of friends who aren't white guys
not sure if I agree with all of the more critical comments, but this is definitely a bleak game. I'm pretty sure I got most of the endings and the only remotely happy one involves dying young to become a martyr. Every time you die you get the same message about being more compassionate and treating others differently but no matter what you choose you always die sad and alone, usually due to forces beyond your control. there's a message about privilege and inequality in there somewhere, I'm just not sure if the game says anything meaningful about it.
There is also an ending where you have a great business that ended up failing at some point, you are loved and admired by your family and community but "can't help but think you could have done more with your business"
It didn't "strike at ... preconceptions" though, it enforced them. The woman is always held back by sexism. The black man is almost always held back or killed by racism. The Asian man is limited by living "somewhere in Asia" and can either be a rice farmer or a factory worker. It makes all underprivileged groups out to be nothing but our oppression and gives the idea that we'll never make it without it holding us back. While it's a nice message to tell other cishet white guys to hopefully do less oppressing, it seems to go under the assumption that no one playing this could be Black, or Asian, or a woman, or in any other oppressed group. And if we are, it's just a smack in the face that that's ALL we're seen as.
So, 4 messages in a row to make sure I still want my character to abort, and because I click yes every time, the game is over? I hope that was random... I don't mind the fact that the character has to face her mother/friends leaving her for this action, it unfortunately happens. But making 4 questions out of 5 about "are you sure? your mother/friend/coach/etc really thinks you should keep it!" feels a bit preachy... :/
this game comes across like it was made by someone unaffected by these struggles and super disingenuous. I appreciate what the developer was trying to do but it feels performative.
Wow! This is actually super fun to play. Most people know of the injustices in the world but to experience it in a game is much cooler! Each different path in life? Amazing! It was fun to see what affected what in my "life". Would 100% recommend to my friends :)
It's a remarkably realistic game, and the only remotely positive ending was one that had important future changes in it, making it the only life with any real immortality.
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This just feels ridiculously nihilistic. :/ Like, I get that life sucks (especially right now) but come on, cut me some slack.
This game is trying to spread the message of how minorities are treated simply for being them. Its very sad, and dark. But unfortunetely its how the world is. We can't ignore it because its sad, we need to fight for a better future.
Game asked me if I wanted to experiment with my friend. As I'm aroace, I said no. It gave me an extremely dreary end about ''dying alone'' accompanied only by my cat, as though this were some terrible fate, and lectured me vaguely about giving up opportunities.
Didn't enjoy, sorry. :(
Wow, that sounds pretty yikes tbh.
The point of this game is that the ending is bad no matter what. If you try to experiment you still get beaten by your homophobic dad. That's the point, that's the message.
And aromantic asexuals get no representation in a game about marginalized people.
Rip, a little limited but it's a tiny game.
As a fellow aroace I would have loved the only "good" end to be dying alone with a cat but I guess most people wouldn't like that end :p
I guess the implied is that you loved / wanted to get together with Rose (hence the name of the cat) but didn't because of homophobic dad.
Dumb ways to die,
so many dumb ways to die.
Hope you expand it one day. I really like it.
just added more salt in to the wound
im sad now :(
I get the message you're trying to deliver, but this just comes across as overwhelming nihilism, which isn't really helping anyone. Not to mention the "show not tell" approach the game uses is plain poor execution rather than effectively delivering a message that has the potential to be powerful (albeit a message that is not at all supported by the gameplay).This game encourages the player to give up on life instead of helping others or appreciating what they have, which I'm sure isn't the intended message; it just wasn't executed well.
Yeah same. It says it proves that it's chance even with choices, but this doesn't have an element of chance. If you're black, you die either from racial violence or because you live in a "bad neighborhood". If you're a woman, you don't get any opportunities. I get the feeling that this game was made by a white person tbh, probably a man, because it kind of makes me feel like I'm never gonna get anywhere in life because I'm not in the group the last message is targeted at.
I agree. This isn't making anyone motivated to make the world better for people, it's just making me depressed lmao. Yeah life's a game of chance but there really is no chance in this game. All outcomes are bad. As a black man, my family business did alright but I was still unhappy. As a European woman, I was successful and got a degree in film making, and my films failed because I was a woman. As an Asian man I couldn't move to the city because I couldn't get a passport. Chance implies good and bad outcomes, not just bad ones. I get the message they're trying to send but it wasn't exactly delivered in the best way. Instead of 100 percent cynical it should have given you an opportunity for you to take charge and make the best out of the cards you were dealt. Times can be hard but not everything has to be so down all of the time for minorities :/
Tbh this is basically the first good/constructive criticism I've seen in the comments.
I've seen the gay film making ending considered as a "good end" because while you suffered, your actions resulted in good change in the future.
A couple other endings like that where despite your suffering you managed to do some good in the world would have been nice. I guess that would work better in a slightly larger game.
Yeah! Life sucks and I get that it's trying to be realistic, but even if you can't be successful in your lifetime, it could at least include a hopeful message and let you impact future generations :(
Doom and gloom will not incite change. It will simply spark hopelessness and cause people to give up. Let people know the world is bad, but give them the motivation to fix it.
I love the concept, really cool game with an amazing message!
Incredibly tone deaf and depressing. It seems as though this game was made to convince the player that these problems exist but it does it in the most obnoxious way. Regardless of how much the odds are stacked against certain people, life isn't just constant depression and disappointment. Waste of time.
Aha, yikers.
neat game, but why is the white woman just a "woman" lol? unless that was also part of the commentary.
Well, I do love my cat named Rose...
The literal yellow asian character was a bit....tonedeaf.... A nice effort, but, really pretty thin. Any good outcomes would be a nice addition.
Played 5 rounds. It's 3 storys that you can pick 3 things from and get a kind of different path. I'm sorry I played this
this was sick play this
Terrible game. Do not play, even if you got it for free
Bad
Echoing what people here have said. Lacks nuance when it tries to have depth. Otherwise absurd but not in a fun way. Superficially compassionate with the ending.
The thumbnail is interesting but after playing three rounds I've come to the conclusion that this game lacks depth and is only based in clumsy, poorly thought out stereotypes written by someone wanting to seem "woke". The lack of varied choices and even a different ending text makes this game lackluster and misses the mark. Cute graphics though!
This really lacks nuance, and seems to be a political hit piece, lacking depth or realism. -100/10. Maybe killing your child doesn't always ruin your life and owning a gun doesn't always result in your six year old shooting you. Maybe you'll realize that at some point.
i will leave a bit of a lengthy review on this one. i hope you will take the time to read it and understand.
first of all the thumbnail for this caught my eye as i was looking through the 51 pages of the bundle for racial justice and equality, so i will compliment you on that front.
this game is strange and a bit disappointing. it relies on stereotypes. the asian man who wants to "leave the rice paddies" and works until he dies, the black african man who gets killed by a cop and dies wishing he had more sports cars, the white woman who is a lesbian who gets murdered or gets an abortion which ends that run right there.
i would absolutely not rag on a game with these backstories IF they were vent pieces created by people in those situations. but as this was made by a white man, i simply can't see it as anything other than performative or insulting, especially as i'm assuming you chose to submit it to the bundle. it's one of those pieces of media that just didn't need to be made, except for back-patting.
another compliment- i did like the music and the way the character and their eyes follow the mouse like they're a tamagotchi. a little unnecessary detail but one that does show you care about the visuals in your games.
i hope you've read through. i don't want to come off as a hateful person or anything, i do think you could've had something here if it was a different premise. your voice is better used to uplift and support minorities, rather than tell their stories for them, however simplistically they're represented.
the message is... punch in the face obnoxious, but doesn't offer anything original with it or try to say anything about it. Also blatantly untrue in a lot of cases, your life doesnt end just because one thing didn't work out.
I guess the point is to force priviliged people to see injustice? But yeah it's rather pessimistic and shallow (not unecpected from a tiny game jam game but still :/)
good little game very nice although the choices are quite limited
Interesting idea. The execution was very on-the-nose, so to speak - so I would have liked more subtlety.
The message at the end of each game would work better if each life was much longer.
Though, the game is alright for what it is. The morals behind it are rather bleak, though they harbor some greater truths.
It's called a game of chance because it (and life) are out of your control. I think that's worth something.
This really wasn't that good
Game spells out the moral for you after only one playthrough (despite multiple endings) and the moral written out doesn't seem in tune with what's actually in the gameplay
ngl i get the distinct impression the dev doesn't have a whole lot of friends who aren't white guys
not sure if I agree with all of the more critical comments, but this is definitely a bleak game. I'm pretty sure I got most of the endings and the only remotely happy one involves dying young to become a martyr. Every time you die you get the same message about being more compassionate and treating others differently but no matter what you choose you always die sad and alone, usually due to forces beyond your control. there's a message about privilege and inequality in there somewhere, I'm just not sure if the game says anything meaningful about it.
There is also an ending where you have a great business that ended up failing at some point, you are loved and admired by your family and community but "can't help but think you could have done more with your business"
Feels like the game was made to make a statement, and its dumb
I admire your efforts to strike at people's preconceptions with this game! Good luck to you in your future.
It didn't "strike at ... preconceptions" though, it enforced them. The woman is always held back by sexism. The black man is almost always held back or killed by racism. The Asian man is limited by living "somewhere in Asia" and can either be a rice farmer or a factory worker. It makes all underprivileged groups out to be nothing but our oppression and gives the idea that we'll never make it without it holding us back. While it's a nice message to tell other cishet white guys to hopefully do less oppressing, it seems to go under the assumption that no one playing this could be Black, or Asian, or a woman, or in any other oppressed group. And if we are, it's just a smack in the face that that's ALL we're seen as.
obnoxious game with no lasting or impactful message
So, 4 messages in a row to make sure I still want my character to abort, and because I click yes every time, the game is over? I hope that was random... I don't mind the fact that the character has to face her mother/friends leaving her for this action, it unfortunately happens. But making 4 questions out of 5 about "are you sure? your mother/friend/coach/etc really thinks you should keep it!" feels a bit preachy... :/
That's the point. This is how it is if you want an abortion.
That's how it is when you try to get an abortion irl so it's accurate...
I know, you're right... but I can't help but think that not the best choice. Maybe it just hit too close to home idk
It's not random. Every choice ends a certain way, and they always end badly.
this game comes across like it was made by someone unaffected by these struggles and super disingenuous. I appreciate what the developer was trying to do but it feels performative.
I really appreciate this game. Thank you for making it!
Wow! This is actually super fun to play. Most people know of the injustices in the world but to experience it in a game is much cooler! Each different path in life? Amazing! It was fun to see what affected what in my "life". Would 100% recommend to my friends :)
Well idea is great however I didn’t like that fact that there are too many redirects.
what a preachy game.
It's a remarkably realistic game, and the only remotely positive ending was one that had important future changes in it, making it the only life with any real immortality.