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Thanks for making this! This is extremely well written. I think it's important that a game like this is out there, even for people who haven't gone through something like this, so that there's an example to look at and be able to identify the red flags. The developer commentary breaking down all the abusive tactics is extremely good. Out of curiosity, how do you get the good ending?

Well the game was inspired by a tweet thread by Scott Benson, and Scott tweeted about this game which is what brought me here. Here's the thread if you're interested: https://twitter.com/bombsfall/status/1200447389552779265

My takeaway from the game was that people often view the "tender emotional" type of indie game as risky and avant-garde when in actuality they have become their own genre and marketable under capitalism. I thought it was funny that there was a "wholesome direct" showcasing indie games not long after this game was released: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwCNzOPR8Ck

I don't think this game is trying to discount people who feel impacted by those games though, but it is critical of how everything exists under capitalism and there's no escaping it unless we change it. Like one of the examples it brings up is how people writing about their mental illness are simultaneously expected to have their work defined by their mental illness, but also aren't allowed to have it be a defining part of them, they have to view it as something they were saddled with to overcome. And it's expected to be portrayed as very individualistic rather than dealing with the societal pressures of capitalism. One of the things Scott Benson says in his thread is that it's what you do with it beyond the cute twee aesthetic that really counts, because that's where the meaning comes in, if it's just the aesthetic then it's just kind of marketable but hollow. And then it ends (at least where I crashed) with labor going to help labor survive bourgeois neglect, because dealing with the system is really the most important thing to helping people.

Loved the game :)

I keep getting this error when they go down the mine shaft, is that supposed to happen or...help?