My game is about abusive friendships. Growing up, I have been very selective with my friends and the people I keep close to me, and allow into my life. This is because, by living unfortunate experiences, observing others, and listening to other people’s experiences, I have noticed time after time that there is a struggle to find genuine friends, and in a world where technology has penetrated societies, changed standards, behavior, and ways of thinking, it is hard to achieve loyalty, find someone trustworthy, and maintain close friendships with people who truly value you with no hidden agenda or harmful intentions. The events of the game are all based on real life events of two different people, one of which is myself, which I have combined into one full experience. I chose these events because I felt like they were the most symbolic of what it truly means to be in an abusive friendship, out of all I have seen, heard, and experienced till this day. All experiences, other than the case with the cyberbullying due to jealousy, are my own and I have lived them and learned so much from them, so I hope by writing about them, I am able to prevent others from living something similar. The events which I have lived hurt me a lot in my life, and they have had a very negative impact on my mental and emotional health, and I don’t wish them upon anyone else.

Since the very first draft of the game, my scenarios have improved significantly. After the feedback from the professor and my classmates, I worked hard to modify my scenarios according to what everyone said. Dr. Bali said that my scenarios were not detailed enough, and included too many possible actions in one scenario, and that I had to divide them into separate ones. So, I did exactly that. I worked to make sure that I didn’t make any decisions in the place of the players, and that I gave them full control. I tried hard to convey the feelings and emotions associated with the events through the details and wording of the scenarios, so that the players could feel exactly as though they were in the story, living it in reality. My classmates said that I should include more visuals, so I worked hard to find images which would help in creating a wilder roller-coaster of a journey for players. Also, to make the game more engaging, visually appealing, and with a smoother flow, we decided to redo our game on google slides, using an appropriate template, rather than what we had previously completed on google forms. A classmate said that my scenarios were too long, but that he felt the details were necessary to creating the image and the feelings, so he didn’t know how I would fix that. So, in an attempt to rectify the situation, I places the scenarios in a way that doesn’t make them as full as they did on google fonts, and I made an effort to use fonts, colors and font size that would make the size of the text acceptable. Moreover, I divided the scenarios into separate smaller parts, so that they aren’t in one big chunky paragraph, and so they look easier to read.

If I had more time, I don’t think I would have done anything differently. I feel like I put so much effort into perfecting the game, that I am content enough with it to say that I wouldn’t change anything. The only thing I would have hoped to do with more time is to let more people play the game so that I am able to ensure that there are no errors along the way. I would have liked to receive more feedback, but nevertheless, I don’t feel it would have changed much.

While making this game, I learned the importance of having visuals which keep the players engaged and help them better comprehend the events, and experience their emotions deeper. Also, I learned that the placement of the words, the font, colors, and the way text is displayed (in a paragraph, in parts, etc.) all have an influence on the engagement of the player and whether or not they find the game enjoyable, and choose to follow through till the end. While obtaining feedback from peers, I learned that people like to play a game to which they relate, and that it is crucial to include details which portray and send across the feelings which would achieve relatability and compassion from those playing the game.

https://reflect.creativitycourse.org/published/digital-narrative-game-phases-23/ https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfR30xI6AOYPZ7E_DqeLuhxUnVVKMJ3cn0u4WbskrHV3TMrEg/viewform?usp=sf_link https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/151Qas6efrGDkac2zXeH11M7FrshJIAjtGalJgrzkvO4/edit?usp=sharing