Holy crap.

Warning: This is a profoundly affecting game about a serious topic. Theres even a "trigger warning" because if you have had a traumatic experience, this could be bad for you to play. Its a very powerful experience for allot of people. So that said, its here:

The Day the Laughter Stopped

And in the interests of not spoiling more than with tags, I'll continue below.



























Cheery name, isn't it? Holy crap that's an effective game. I'm not trying to be callous about the topic, of course; its an important statement about an important and horrible problem. The maker talks more deeply about it here and continues here, and I would recommend both of them, if you have the time. I'm not going to be able to add a lot to all the consideration he's given it and expounded upon there.

But I felt like I had to share it somewhere, because its such a work of art, a powerful piece of communication, as I said, such an effective game. After the initial reactions to the narrative, I was struck by that part of it. Its so simple, but so moving, and that's so impressive. Its very clearly conveying a certain idea about this horrible thing, and that's why people have such strong reactions to it.

Ok, let me stop gushing for a minute though and point out some things this highlights, upon reflection. I was just talking again  about "what is a game" with some other academics the other day, so I'm in a philosophical frame of mind. Two things that are very interesting looking at this game compared to others are how "your choices don't matter" and "you can't select some options".  Now, those quotes are there because, within the narrative of the game, those may be correct, but for the experience of the player they are not. In Rules of Play, theres that talk about the game being the interaction between the players and the rules, not the trappings; two chess masters can play chess by speaking moves to each other and its as much chess as playing with a board. But here is an entirely different example of that idea; the game is not just the story, but your experience going through it. Even if you can't resist, your clicking it and experience of that lack of ability is an important part of the game.

Now there may still be some confusion about "interactive fiction" vs "a game", or how one choice makes something a game or whatever. But if theres a discussion about two designs that are mechanically equivalent, but the player experience differs, and someone asks if the players' experience of them matters as long as the outcome's the same...this is the over-the-top answer to drive home just how important player experience is. Its so much more affecting that just reading the story, and the reactions people have when the "choice" doesn't work shows just how much the experience matters, not just the on-screen/in-game outcome. Man. Its a hell of a thing.

Just wanted to share.

(Again, I'm not trying to be callous by not talking about the content, but A) Hypnotic Owl covers it really well, B) I too have closely known people hurt by this so, unfortunately, just how horrible, rapes (and things surrounding them) are was not a revelation or new idea to me. But how effective the design was was something new, hence my rambling about that.)