How Games are Supposed to be Made

[Horseman]

FTR: I am playing on GamePass, but I really wanted to share my thoughts on this since I see such low numbers on folks in-game.

THIS is how games should be made. Not only is it a great game in and of itself, it also ticks the other boxes in which gamers are accused of being and -ist about. That one thing I wanna get out of the way first.

Strong female lead, person of color - gamers get accused all the time, that we hate women, and that we won't be happy unless it's just another generic white person. False and false. We don't care. This is a great example of what a well-written character is. We don't care what they look like... we care about how well they're written! This is the example to follow, among many others that people tend to forget about.

This game also is an example of what it means to create a great adventure game AND tie in some seriously personal/emotional symbolism in it to not only challenge our ability to PLAY (platforming, combat, puzzles) but challenges our own mental states and how we process things like grief, trauma, sadness, loss, etc. This is the theme of the game and it does it so incredibly well. The bottle tree sequence is one such example that just really tugs at the heart strings.

I've lost my brother to suicide, lost my grandfather a couple months later, lost my father a few months after that and now awaiting the inevitable loss of my uncle all within 2 years. 3 years will add a few more to that list that hurt me deeply. This game has been an emotional rollercoaster for me and the way they tie in some of the music in with the gameplay is done so incredibly well that I've had to pause for a second and collect myself.

Voice cast did such an exceptional job with their characters... it's unreal. Artwork really speaks to me, but I don't like some of the intentional frame rate decreases in character animations. I know it's supposed to mimic how Spider-Man into the spiderverse did things, but it wasn't done very well and it just feels like a choppy mess. Otherwise the game runs exceptionally smooth on my rig on max settings even with a 3080.

The setting of the game is not something that we see too often,or at all. That american south, cajun, bayou traversing setting with a sprinkle of some real life stuff and a heavy hand of southern folklore to bring it home. Like a modern Alice in Wonderland. I feel that it was done really well overall and I can't wait to play more.

If you're on the fence about it... give it a go, because it's a wonderful journey into self reflection that may help you process something you didn't even know you needed help with.

[Disgruntled Democracy Officer]

HARD pass.

[Vaein]

this game is fantastic, enjoyable story, great art direction, amazing sound and music. i hope it gets a more fleshed out sequal as this is a good proof of concept, i hope it sells well.

[VaniKa]

Originally posted by Horseman:

Strong female lead, person of color - gamers get accused all the time, that we hate women, and that we won't be happy unless it's just another generic white person. False and false. We don't care. This is a great example of what a well-written character is. We don't care what they look like... we care about how well they're written!

Originally posted by Ele:

Sweet Baby Inc in the final credits. HARD pass x2.

@Horseman: You might notice that not all are like you. There are people who actually hate women and who don't care about how "well written" a female (or black) character is. People like you should realize who you're helping when you think it's actually about the stuff you wrote about. You help hateful bigoted people, actual incels, mysogynists and racists. If they see "sweet baby inc" somewhere, they don't care at all about what that actually influenced in a game and how "well written" the characters might be, despite or because of "sweet baby inc". For them it's a culture war. It's about their cultural dominance. And diversity means losing for them. Plain and simple. That's the brainwash they have been getting for years now. Don't defend them if you still think you aren't like them. Don't treat them as if they are the same as you and you would represent them.

[Horseman]

See here's the thing, i celebrate good games. So... that is what matters most to me. This game does not feel like SBI is pushing any sort of agenda. If they are, they hid it well, and additionally, it doesn't feel forced fed like Dragon Age Veilguard. So.. it's a win in my book. I didn't even know about SBI until you said something about it. So there's that too.

[burlymatt]

Originally posted by VaniKa:

Originally posted by Horseman:

Strong female lead, person of color - gamers get accused all the time, that we hate women, and that we won't be happy unless it's just another generic white person. False and false. We don't care. This is a great example of what a well-written character is. We don't care what they look like... we care about how well they're written!

Originally posted by Ele:

Sweet Baby Inc in the final credits. HARD pass x2.

@Horseman: You might notice that not all are like you. There are people who actually hate women and who don't care about how "well written" a female (or black) character is. People like you should realize who you're helping when you think it's actually about the stuff you wrote about. You help hateful bigoted people, actual incels, mysogynists and racists. If they see "sweet baby inc" somewhere, they don't care at all about what that actually influenced in a game and how "well written" the characters might be, despite or because of "sweet baby inc". For them it's a culture war. It's about their cultural dominance. And diversity means losing for them. Plain and simple. That's the brainwash they have been getting for years now. Don't defend them if you still think you aren't like them. Don't treat them as if they are the same as you and you would represent them.

This. A thousand times this.
No one is going on to games they approve of and endlessly spamming discussion with 'Ugh, this looks like a mid, early 2000s game' or telling people they're stupid or not a real gamer for liking the games that they like.
But they do. All the time.

Chheck out the profiles that show things like 'Sweet Baby Inc Detected. and 'DEI Detected' groups.
Cross reference with - if you can stomach it - the Kotakuinaction Reddit thread.
Same folks, same copy-pasted nonsense.

Then they have the gall to accuse people leaving genuine positive comments of being bots and/or insincere.

I really wish these folks hadn't been given the thumbs up after GamerGate and after 2016 to become so emboldened but here we are.

[kung_fusion]

Originally posted by VaniKa:

Originally posted by Horseman:

Strong female lead, person of color - gamers get accused all the time, that we hate women, and that we won't be happy unless it's just another generic white person. False and false. We don't care. This is a great example of what a well-written character is. We don't care what they look like... we care about how well they're written!

Originally posted by Ele:

Sweet Baby Inc in the final credits. HARD pass x2.

@Horseman: You might notice that not all are like you. There are people who actually hate women and who don't care about how "well written" a female (or black) character is. People like you should realize who you're helping when you think it's actually about the stuff you wrote about. You help hateful bigoted people, actual incels, mysogynists and racists. If they see "sweet baby inc" somewhere, they don't care at all about what that actually influenced in a game and how "well written" the characters might be, despite or because of "sweet baby inc". For them it's a culture war. It's about their cultural dominance. And diversity means losing for them. Plain and simple. That's the brainwash they have been getting for years now. Don't defend them if you still think you aren't like them. Don't treat them as if they are the same as you and you would represent them.

It is also a $40 game with 12 hours of content. I imagine it will sell well over time, but most of the sales will come when it goes on discount in the future. I suspect the people who reject it based on the character are a very small percent of potential customers.

[John Hayabusa]

You guys need to stop engaging with those bigots and trolls. They are all acting in bad faith and there is nothing of value to be had by paying any attention. You WILL NOT change their minds by debating. Just ignore them, enjoy and discuss games like its supposed to. Leave them to their own stupid threads and read past them if they spew their bigot nonsense in your threads. Ignorance hurts them the most.

Kudos to the moderators of this title's forum, it is rare to see mods take action and lock threads on Steam nowadays.

[LyaranTirel]

This game is such a sucess and clearly made for the modern audience. Why arent the modern audience buying and playing it?

Does the modern audience HATES WOMEN? ARE THEY BIGOTS?

[Rod]

"THIS is how games should be made. Not only is it a great game in and of itself, it also ticks the other boxes in which gamers are accused of being and -ist about. That one thing I wanna get out of the way first.

Strong female lead, person of color"


That represents not even 1% of gamers. And the sales will prove your statement innaccurate. Nearly all this games players are game pass tourists thats how they are funded by Microsofts subscription model. If they had to stand on thier own it would be a Dustborn/Concord scenario.