Look and listen in the game: What features (or assets) are helping to create an illusion of exploring a world? How simple or complex are the graphics and media?
The portraits and simple graphics make it seem like an enclosed room, so very claustrophobic. The cool color palette also helps it feel like a late night session
How simple or complex are the settings in the game? How far can you explore and what makes the settings distinctive?
The settings are very basic and mostly for accessibility things
What kind(s) of character(s) are you invited to control? Are you invited to be multiple characters? Or just one character type?
You’re just one character who lives in the G2 sector of the city.
How do you get to know the character(s) you are playing? What details make them distinctive, quirky, memorable, etc?
The main character is the most normal person in the entire game, the therapist dr kreugar is also very eccentric and morbid
What kinds of interactions do you have with NPC characters?
Theres only one npc in the game so its all seemingly random minigames disguised as therapy
How are you challenged as a game player in this game? What are you being asked to investigate, where do you get stuck, and how do you make progress in the game?
When replaying the game, I repeatedly got the bad ending and never really figured out how to get a different one. You're supposed to investigate the actual motives of the therapist but its very cryptic
What kinds of objects do you interact with in the game? Do you pick up written messages, do you ever need to consume food in the game, do you pick up functional things you need to get other things work?
As for objects, the protagonist interacts exclusively with index cards. Its all multiple choice so it makes sense.
Comment on sounds and music in your game. How are sounds built into the game, and is it effective, supportive of game play? Do the sounds in the game provide clues of what is happening, or have a particular function in the game?
The sounds in the game are very subtle but once you hear them you sort of get a feel for what's about to happen next (suspense, reveal, etc). The actual music is a part of the environment, with the therapist turning up the music every time theres a break
Where (if ever) do you see the game comment on itself in a meta way as a fictional, constructed system (as a game)?
The game is very meta. When in a session, I was told I could save and load my answers, to which the therapist responded “sounds like cheating” another instance of this was my first death and seeing the ending, so I pressed skip only for the therapist to tell me its rude to ignore what he says.
Where and how do you see the game respond to or comment on our reality? Or what cultural issues from our world do you see reflected in this game?
I don’t really see any comment on the real world, except maybe how therapy could be anxiety inducing for people who are inexperienced and poor.
creaturepsu
commented
10 months ago
Look and listen in the game: What features (or assets) are helping to create an illusion of exploring a world? How simple or complex are the graphics and media?
The portraits and simple graphics make it seem like an enclosed room, so very claustrophobic. The cool color palette also helps it feel like a late night session
How simple or complex are the settings in the game? How far can you explore and what makes the settings distinctive?
The settings are very basic and mostly for accessibility things
What kind(s) of character(s) are you invited to control? Are you invited to be multiple characters? Or just one character type?
You’re just one character who lives in the G2 sector of the city.
How do you get to know the character(s) you are playing? What details make them distinctive, quirky, memorable, etc?
The main character is the most normal person in the entire game, the therapist dr kreugar is also very eccentric and morbid
What kinds of interactions do you have with NPC characters?
Theres only one npc in the game so its all seemingly random minigames disguised as therapy
How are you challenged as a game player in this game? What are you being asked to investigate, where do you get stuck, and how do you make progress in the game?
When replaying the game, I repeatedly got the bad ending and never really figured out how to get a different one. You're supposed to investigate the actual motives of the therapist but its very cryptic
What kinds of objects do you interact with in the game? Do you pick up written messages, do you ever need to consume food in the game, do you pick up functional things you need to get other things work?
As for objects, the protagonist interacts exclusively with index cards. Its all multiple choice so it makes sense.
Comment on sounds and music in your game. How are sounds built into the game, and is it effective, supportive of game play? Do the sounds in the game provide clues of what is happening, or have a particular function in the game?
The sounds in the game are very subtle but once you hear them you sort of get a feel for what's about to happen next (suspense, reveal, etc). The actual music is a part of the environment, with the therapist turning up the music every time theres a break
Where (if ever) do you see the game comment on itself in a meta way as a fictional, constructed system (as a game)?
The game is very meta. When in a session, I was told I could save and load my answers, to which the therapist responded “sounds like cheating” another instance of this was my first death and seeing the ending, so I pressed skip only for the therapist to tell me its rude to ignore what he says.
Where and how do you see the game respond to or comment on our reality? Or what cultural issues from our world do you see reflected in this game?
I don’t really see any comment on the real world, except maybe how therapy could be anxiety inducing for people who are inexperienced and poor.