I Found You

Hello again! Another day, another cool game developed for me! (I'm your number one fan because I'm the only one here! But seriously, I'm trying to spread the word, these games are great and they're free to play!) This one had a major change in tone from "When did This Happen?" Don't mind if I do a deep dive analysis on your work! (Spoilers ahead)

Dropped into a sea of faceless people without clear instructions on how to succeed? Story of my life! I don't share this with others often, but I have enochlophobia, the irrational fear of crowds. This game really played into everything that deeply disturbs me.

After stumbling around, you get a feel for how to navigate the world. If you move slowly and listen carefully, it's like music. If you let the rhythm guide you, the game gets a lot more interesting and options start to open up to you as you roam and explore. But nobody tells you how to do that from the start, you have to work hard and learn some hard lessons before you figure that out.

Oddly enough, the first major experience I had after getting the swing of things was encountering the Loving Person. After trying so hard to get my feet under me, it was refreshing to see someone different from the rest, and I was immediately drawn to them. And then they were replaced by a Troll, shattering everything I found interesting and beautiful about them. They turned into just another face in the crowd, except they hated and laughed at me and everything I did to be with them. I tried starting over, I tried exploring my options, but it just happened to me again and again.

I decided that if I was going to look for anyone, it would be someone who felt like I did, who didn't want someone to draw them in with a trap and just wanted someone to be close to, to get closer to the world with. Unfortunately, the only people who feel this way are those who have been hurt just as badly, or are too afraid of getting hurt to get close to people. So they avoid you and push you away, if you can even manage to find the Sad Person in the first place.

So I had the idea to make a sacrifice. I would expose myself to the Loving Person, just long enough to get pulled in close to the world but leave before I could get Trolled. With some experimenting, skill, and luck, I moved quickly and found the Sad Person and drew close. Then I was pushed away, while the Troll laughed in the background. Damn.

Beautiful, awkward, and deeply unsettling game with a cute style! It definitely helped me manage my phobia better, maybe someday I'll cure it because of this game.  I would never share this much about myself, but even without telling anyone you already knew the entire story. "Catcher in the Rye" came to mind, and that made me push away pretty hard. But then I stopped and thought about it for a while. Funny that my first reaction was to react like the Sad Person, afraid of getting trolled by getting too close to someone, even through a computer screen. I thought a lot about what that reflected about me, about what I felt. It DID feel nice to think that someone was different from the other faces, and they understood what I felt in pictures and games even if they couldn't explain it in words. I know they weren't speaking to me personally, but it did help me personally. It occurred to me that I could draw people closer without hurting them or getting hurt, and I can enjoy life if I stand clear of the trolls and don't become one myself. Just be a Loving Person. Thanks for helping me realize this, I look forward to the next in the series!