In a society where different is a synonym for wrong and in which male identity is considered “normal” for men and female one “normal” for women, the decision of coming out is, in lots of cases, ascribable to a frustrating experience. Those who already lived through this moment know how difficult it is to explain, and how hard it is to comprehend others’ reactions. Everyone has their own story, and this is Nicky Case’s, game developer of Coming Out Simulator 2014.
This short (15-20min) and free HTML5 adventure uses simple design and interactive texts to tell when, how and why Nicky decided to speak about his sexual orientation.
“Your every choice influences the story, and you’ve got to carefully navigate between lies, truths and halt-thruths.”
Nicky writes from his blog.
Basing on the answers and the sentences that the player will select, the actions of the characters will have more or less dramatic consequences.
In the description of the game you’re already advised: “You have to be careful with what you say”, altough actually none of the three endings can be considered “the right one”. Like in real life, even in the game the moment of coming out is traumatic in some sense, but it is necessary and liberating. Unfortunately the parents’ reactions are more common than we may think: according to a recent survey, out of 200 relatives of homosexuals, 53% of fathers and 44% of mothers have judged as unexpected their daughter/son ‘s coming out. In 52% of cases the mother comes to know first, and acts as a “filter” towards the father.
Just a few lines for a “technical review”: the graphics is essential (but you can see it in the images), the sound almost doesn’t exist, the dialogues suprise us with tones that range between the tragic and the comic, and this made me smile; at a gameplay level it is nothing more than a point-and-clic. The truth is, tough, we can easily forget about all this if we are quite involved into the story.
In my gamer experience, I’ve taken notice of a really poor list of titles that made me feel under pressure, that moved me and that gave me food for thought; COS 2014 has been a bit like walking on glass, with a bandage over my eyes and with no shoes. I think it may be impossible for anyone not to empathize with the fear of being judged by their own family, partner or friends…
“Coming Out Simulator 2014 isn’t about being queer […] People are in the closet about their religious beliefs, their politics, or odd little hobbies they have”.
This is not a videogame only; it is a means through which the author wishes to send his message: be yourself, don’t be ashamed, and like Nicky (don’t worry, no spoilers) get your strength and advantage from adversities.
Sources | Reddit |
