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Huh. I haven't personally tried the game (yet), but from what you've said of the experience, I can't imagine walking away feeling any different about the implications or metaphors. Lying to yourself is, in my opinion also, much easier than true and accurate self-awareness/assessment for pretty much the reasons you already stated.
Note: It's hard to find a way of saying "I agree" while also being uninformed of the first-hand experience.
Note: It's hard to find a way of saying "I agree" while also being uninformed of the first-hand experience.
What Sentry said.
With a message based-game like this, the gameplay mechanics has to match the message trying to be delivered. I, too, have not played this yet, but it sounds like they're working against each other here. Still, it's nice to see someone attempt to represent concepts like memory repression in gameplay. Even if it's not entirely successful, it's good that they tried.
I'll try to play this soon, to see if it makes me feel the same way.
With a message based-game like this, the gameplay mechanics has to match the message trying to be delivered. I, too, have not played this yet, but it sounds like they're working against each other here. Still, it's nice to see someone attempt to represent concepts like memory repression in gameplay. Even if it's not entirely successful, it's good that they tried.
I'll try to play this soon, to see if it makes me feel the same way.
So they based a game around a minor game mechanic from Half Life and just forced meaning into it?
I feel like we've witnessed the gaming equivalent of a Pitchfork band here.
I feel like we've witnessed the gaming equivalent of a Pitchfork band here.
"The fact is: I'm critiquing Handle With Care not on the basis of its graphics or fun factor, but in terms of what it is trying to say."
Isn't that sort of how critiquing should be? Not to bring up the whole "game critic vs. game reviewer" thing...
Isn't that sort of how critiquing should be? Not to bring up the whole "game critic vs. game reviewer" thing...
Huh. So the game mechanic works opposite of reality, at least in the sense of how we repress our memories. I definitely agree to some degree that the concept is sort of flawed, but maybe there's some excuse to be made there that since the character that you're trying to help is at his/her therapist, those usually strongly barricaded 'boxes' of memory are at a more vulnerable state - and thus it makes a little more sense that repressing them in the face of self-contemplation and honesty is a whole lot harder than finally just letting them break free of their moorings and explode.
I know from going to therapy myself throughout my life - both for myself and couples therapy when my partner and I were going through a particularly rough patch - that with a professional therapist and the right kind of environment, those memories you've blocked off become that much more raw and fragile and being honest about things doesn't take nearly as much work as trying to keep the deluge from bursting forth.
Anyhow, I'd definitely want to check out this game if I had a PC and could play with HL2 mods but alas, I only own the Orange Box on the 360 and a MacBook Pro.
I know from going to therapy myself throughout my life - both for myself and couples therapy when my partner and I were going through a particularly rough patch - that with a professional therapist and the right kind of environment, those memories you've blocked off become that much more raw and fragile and being honest about things doesn't take nearly as much work as trying to keep the deluge from bursting forth.
Anyhow, I'd definitely want to check out this game if I had a PC and could play with HL2 mods but alas, I only own the Orange Box on the 360 and a MacBook Pro.
Dexter:
Yeah. I'm just trying to point out (poorly, I guess) that the game is actually good at conveying ideas which can then be debated, rather than something like Grand Theft Auto or Assassin's Creed or whatever where the critic generally has to do a bunch of mental gymnastics to come to a likely unintended theme, which only then can they debate.
Yeah. I'm just trying to point out (poorly, I guess) that the game is actually good at conveying ideas which can then be debated, rather than something like Grand Theft Auto or Assassin's Creed or whatever where the critic generally has to do a bunch of mental gymnastics to come to a likely unintended theme, which only then can they debate.
Not offering a "statement of intent" here, but just responding to your lovely write-up: I wanted to avoid a generic "therapy is good" message. I had actually gone as far as writing a monologue for the Therapist to argue in support of repression, but then I couldn't fit it in anywhere, so that's where you get random sound-bites at the beginning of orange memories (assuming you even noticed them) - they're randomized lines from the opposing monologues.
Plus, I'd argue that lying to yourself is REALLY HARD - ever talk to any gay friends about staying closeted? Ever read Crime and Punishment? Paradise Lost? (... and in other news, I just compared gay people to murderers / Satan.)
Plus, I'd argue that lying to yourself is REALLY HARD - ever talk to any gay friends about staying closeted? Ever read Crime and Punishment? Paradise Lost? (... and in other news, I just compared gay people to murderers / Satan.)
I definitely noticed the pro-repression soundbytes, and as I tried to get across in the writeup, I really dug the game's courage to say that neither therapy or repression, divorce nor the status quo, are unquestionably good or bad things. I don't consider any of the three endings any "better" than any of the other ones, which I really dig.
I guess I just have a wholly different opinion regarding self-deception: Crime and Punishment, if nothing else, struck me as a story about how ridiculously hard it is to give up your own self-delusions (I'm a Superman and even though I feel intense guilt, I'm not willing to face the truth of my actions) in favor of painful honesty. Plus, most of my gay friends (as they tell it to me, anyway) had more trouble lying to others than lying to themselves. Accepting their actual homosexuality sounded like the scariest part of the whole ordeal.
I guess I just have a wholly different opinion regarding self-deception: Crime and Punishment, if nothing else, struck me as a story about how ridiculously hard it is to give up your own self-delusions (I'm a Superman and even though I feel intense guilt, I'm not willing to face the truth of my actions) in favor of painful honesty. Plus, most of my gay friends (as they tell it to me, anyway) had more trouble lying to others than lying to themselves. Accepting their actual homosexuality sounded like the scariest part of the whole ordeal.
You've gotta review Harpooned, Anthony! (I found a link to it in the "about us" part of Radiator's website)
Indie games try this far too often: convey a "deep" message and premise, but absolutely fail in the "game" department. And that's exactly why Indie games don't get the attention others think they deserve.
This is so good it's so deep and it's very interesting to play. I like Polaris message and I love HWC's message even more.
HWC is soooo freaking deep, like you might want to stay together but lieing to yourself is also bad. There is no good or wrong here. Also the memory's are very poetic and they made me feel emotions (for like the first time ever xD, no but seriously they were deep too). And what I love more is the ending, I'm not sure if other people noticed this but whether you break all the boxes or stash them away it will always give you one last box. And it was perfect timing for me because I was JUST about to leave before the last box dropped.
Now my favorite part is the very ending where it's labeled X9 and of course there is no X9 so it kind of symbolizes that you can never truly keep all of your emotions bottled up. So if you decide to brake that last box it will take you to one last map where it's like a movie set and it's all props and everything and is has all the memories and emotions there. And I'm not sure about this but I THINK that's to symbolizes that whether you stay together or get divorced the relationship was still one big act or play.
Very deep and very symbolic, I'm not sure if the creator meant for all that stuff to mean what I said but even if he didn't I think he's a genius and deserves to be praised.
Also I learned how to find North with the stars :D
OH and one last thing, did anyone notice that once you come out of that first room into the big stashing room that if you look left and up you'll see a window and someone is looking down on you. It's almost like Gman from half life.
HWC is soooo freaking deep, like you might want to stay together but lieing to yourself is also bad. There is no good or wrong here. Also the memory's are very poetic and they made me feel emotions (for like the first time ever xD, no but seriously they were deep too). And what I love more is the ending, I'm not sure if other people noticed this but whether you break all the boxes or stash them away it will always give you one last box. And it was perfect timing for me because I was JUST about to leave before the last box dropped.
Now my favorite part is the very ending where it's labeled X9 and of course there is no X9 so it kind of symbolizes that you can never truly keep all of your emotions bottled up. So if you decide to brake that last box it will take you to one last map where it's like a movie set and it's all props and everything and is has all the memories and emotions there. And I'm not sure about this but I THINK that's to symbolizes that whether you stay together or get divorced the relationship was still one big act or play.
Very deep and very symbolic, I'm not sure if the creator meant for all that stuff to mean what I said but even if he didn't I think he's a genius and deserves to be praised.
Also I learned how to find North with the stars :D
OH and one last thing, did anyone notice that once you come out of that first room into the big stashing room that if you look left and up you'll see a window and someone is looking down on you. It's almost like Gman from half life.
I've only just played this now. I don't know where Anthony got David from, the guy is called James.
I think maybe the difficultly of lying vs truth may be to do with context. Perhaps at this point, the relationship has put so much strain on James that it has become so hard to repress his feelings any longer. However James still loves Dylan hence the player is encouraged to repress the feelings in order to keep the relationship alive.
As for the gameplay. It isn't too hard if you take a different approach. I manage to complete it without using boxes for steps or throwing them.
I think maybe the difficultly of lying vs truth may be to do with context. Perhaps at this point, the relationship has put so much strain on James that it has become so hard to repress his feelings any longer. However James still loves Dylan hence the player is encouraged to repress the feelings in order to keep the relationship alive.
As for the gameplay. It isn't too hard if you take a different approach. I manage to complete it without using boxes for steps or throwing them.
and indignation. I longed to speak out, and I dared not whisper. His buy feldene
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