"Adventures with Anxiety!" New story-game demo
Added 2019-05-07 15:47:11 +0000 UTCIn this story-game, there is a human with anxiety disorder. You play *as* the anxiety disorder.
😱ADVENTURES WITH ANXIETY (demo) 😱
🐺 browser, 7 min playtime 🐺
Also, thank you all so much for your kind responses to my last post, where I admitted I was feeling stuck, project- and life-wise. Your tips on strategies for getting "un-stuck" were clearly helpful, because soon afterwards, I was able to finish this demo in a couple weeks!
(A few specific strategies that helped me: 1. Pomodoro technique, 2. Doing 5 min of work before leaving the house in the morning, and 3. writing down – at the end of each day – what worked, what didn't, and what to try tomorrow)
The next month is going to involve a lot of big changes for me. Other than trying to get a healthier work/life & main/side project balance, I'm also moving to a different country this week! Back to Canada. Gonna miss my friends in the states, gonna try to make new friends back up here. Gonna practice mon terrible français.
Anyway, thank you again so much for your support & encouragement! I really mean it. <3
[screaming],
~ Nicky
Comments
YES WE CANADA
Nicky Case
2019-07-23 20:14:32 +0000 UTCyou're moving to canada? yay! we are happy to have you join us again!!! <3 <3
canadapirate
2019-07-22 03:12:24 +0000 UTCI had mine split equally between the three categories, which also surprised me
Rebecca Thomas
2019-05-09 00:47:08 +0000 UTCIt was thought provoking for me to play as the anxiety monster, and I was surprised all my anxieties fell into one category!
Dianna Xu
2019-05-08 18:02:37 +0000 UTCWow, just wow. Keep doing what you do man. ♥️
Marie-Noelle Wurm
2019-05-08 12:37:39 +0000 UTCWow. Although I don't fall under that much anxiety either, I'm impressed by how the game is both hilarious and relatable as it oscillates between the "must protect human!" good doggie anxiety (the Pokemon theme song just killed me) and how it reproduces accurately this mental state of invasive thoughts overthinking everything. I love it, and I know friends to who this game could speak a lot... Side remark: in some sense, it reminds me of a French comic book I read recently, Goupil ou Face, by Lou Lubie (don't know if there's any English translation, alas), a very touching book that represents cyclothimia (a case of bipolarity) as an invasive fox. Not the same topic per se but some of its depictions of panic attacks and auto-deprecation phases felt rather similar to your game... (I wouldn't know how to translate the title in English, since it's based on a pun between "goupil" (fox in old French) and "pile ou face" (heads or tails). Probably something like Heads or Fox Tails. But it's less smooth.)
Voyage Goya
2019-05-08 08:50:22 +0000 UTCI definitely don't fall under that high of an anxiety, but I relate with it all, I love the character design and would like to see the game come to fruition, I really the upside down cake for roles as playing anxiety, I love the design as well. I'll be around, kinda feeling like drawing our inseparable duo as well :)
Hayzee
2019-05-08 05:29:33 +0000 UTCJust a little thing: I think it would be nice to have a bit more visual cue that the options at the bottom of the screen are options for me, the anxiety, to say. Maybe if each one was a black bubble like the anxiety's speech. <3
Will Harris-Braun
2019-05-08 04:44:18 +0000 UTCaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah be my friend!!! (will I have terrible anxiety after sending this. yes, yes i will. lol) I missed last week's post, i was having a funk week too, glad you got a lot of helpful tips! for the game: i thought it was really interesting to see how many times i used each fears at the end, but i also found it brought up a lot of anxious feels so i wouldn't necessarily play it again/more than once. I did like the I'm playing as the anxiety - i think it will stay with me in a positive way, like as a way to de-internalise it (yes i know i should probably use externalise, but it doesn't feel like the same thing lol ANYWAY) THANKS FOR YOUR WORK KBYYYE
Shey
2019-05-07 23:39:15 +0000 UTCAlso I do think there’s gonna be a lot of hard passes on this game. It’s gonna hit close to home for a lot of folks.
Sean Riley
2019-05-07 20:54:21 +0000 UTCI would somewhat agree with Piotr; the decisions don’t feel quite intentional enough with the command to “go with what would hurt you most”. I know my anxiety is all based on “you’re a bad person” but I wouldn’t instinctively connect that to “hey a cat gif”.
Sean Riley
2019-05-07 20:53:22 +0000 UTCI really like tropes from Red Riding Hood (did you play The Path?), and so many subtle combinations (red cloak = wolf; wolf = (over)protective dog companion) and mesh of it with a fighter game (with finish it). This 15 cigarettes stuff, and shaking wolf was pure awesomeness! What could be better is the interactivity. I played it once but had a feeling that my choices didn't matter. I mean, all sentences were similar (just attacking from a different angle), and her reactions were always hurt.
Piotr Migdal
2019-05-07 19:45:46 +0000 UTCSeems like a novel way to poll the internet... Is that what's going on....? ;-) Separately, can't really draw the connection but somehow I'm thinking about Westworld.
Iggy C
2019-05-07 19:27:24 +0000 UTCI.. love it? It feels weird to say I like a game about anxiety, but it is scarily accurate and very well done. The Pokemon/choose your own adventure feel is very fitting for this style! I’m not sure how I feel about the mobile look, I think it fits, but it’s a little annoying that it doesn’t register clicks outside the small window (I played it on a laptop). I can’t wait to see the finished game!
Daniel Delaney
2019-05-07 16:23:48 +0000 UTCI think something really next-level could include not only interactions with other people, but recognition of how their anxiety creatures are influencing them as well.
Matt Hughes
2019-05-07 16:21:46 +0000 UTCOH MY GOD THAT theme song cover <3 <3 <3
Olive Perry
2019-05-07 16:19:38 +0000 UTCI found myself not using any "fear of being unloved" options, I think because the scenario had no other people in it. I certainly do experience this kind of anxiety, and think a lot of it comes from me running simulations in my head of how others will react to me. "Don't (make yourself vulnerable / express yourself genuinely / show warmth of any kind), it will somehow hurt this person and then they will hate youuuu" kind of thing. What's helped is trying these things anyway and seeing that the outcome is almost never the horrible reaction I'd imagined. I'm hoping that this game will feature some way to experiment with outcomes in a way that makes it clear that being vulnerable with trusted friends is good, and even that it's okay to make mistakes.
Matt Hughes
2019-05-07 16:17:41 +0000 UTCThis is coming together really well. Love the characters, sounds and relatable story.
Matt Hughes
2019-05-07 16:06:02 +0000 UTCLooks good. I'll pass it around to some of my friends Nicky.
Sableshade
2019-05-07 16:02:42 +0000 UTC
