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http://sunil-rao.com/wp-content/uploads/Inner-Vision.swf

http://kotaku.com/5987048/a-game-where-you-have-to-talk-characters-out-of-committing-suicide

It sounds like a really terrible idea, but it's actually a really well made game. It was made by someone dealing with suicidal thoughts, and I think it gives a really good look into the thoughts of someone who's so unhappy they don't feel like living anymore.

How accurate is it? I'd figure that experts in psychology would have to do a lot of work on it in order for that to be the case.

I don't know exactly what you mean by that, but it's presented in the context that three strangers approach you with plans of suicide, and you have to talk them out of it. Obviously the psychological depth is limited, since it wasn't made by an expert in the field, but I think it's still profound.

Gotta' say, that was a cool game. Music might have been a bit more intense to set a mood, but that's just me. Liked the themes, though. Don't give up, don't lose hope, have an idea of what you want to do and have someone to talk to. Oh and that drugs are bad. Nice stuff, Teh Brawler, thanks.

Actually… Confession of mine--but I've actually been pretty suicidal, on multiple occasions. I can't even begin to express how much I relate to all three scenarios.

In short, this is a fantastic idea. It could be a great tool to help train people on how to better handle when someone is having suicidal thoughts.

Also, props to the retro/pixel art and beautiful music.

Hmm, reminds me of Depression Quest. It's a textual game with choices that simulates the experience of having depression, and it does it extremely well. Music's great too. I'll check the game out now.

Edit: Sweet christ this music is amazing

Edit 2: The writing is well-done and very believable/relatable, but what the writer deems the "correct" choice is kinda arbitrary. Although it might be to point out that what might seem like the right thing to say to one person is completely the opposite of what another would like to hear.

Edit 3: Oh, so the Asian guy's worried about shaming his famiry. Stay crassy.

Edit 4: Got the hang of the creator's rationale for choices after messing up a bunch of times on the first person, did the other two without messing up at all. Many of the choices still seem arbitrary though.

Edit 5: Wat.

Tried to edit, but it's been too long. This is the song featured in the game, for anyone else who finds it as awesome as I do.

If you struggled with this--your sense of empathy and sympathy needs some work. That's the point. Notice how the antagonist actually calls you out on simply preventing someone's suicide, rather than actually caring (regardless of whether it's a simulation or not).

And yes. There's a typo. All the antagonist is saying is that he hates humans simply being human. He's being sarcastic. Notice his expression and how ridiculous his comment is.

I do have a somewhat diminished/conditional sense of empathy, but that still wouldn't have helped me complete the game more easily. In fact, it might have made it more difficult, because I would have been tempted to choose the generic "feel good" responses like " Don't give up! ", which were almost always pitfalls. Most of the answers had to be thought out logically, considering the person's position and the information they had already given about themselves before you draw the proper conclusion. Also, it's not easy to make people feel for digital characters, especially when they're rendered in a more abstract style and you only have a few minutes with each. It makes them seem like facades instead of real, fleshed-out characters, and that's harder to empathize with.

And "I love people trying to express their pathetic fucking lives." still makes no sense. How do you express your life? Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the game and its purpose, it's just that that line threw me off.

I actually completed it with no problem, I only made a single mistake.

I also felt a genuine sense of accomplishment coming out of it.

The technical side of the game, i.e. the gameplay, really isn't supposed to be the main thing here. The game isn't that challenging. That's not what it's about. The real challenge, similar to real life, is to connect or bond with people you know very little about. And that's something pressing buttons will never help you do. It's something you have to make yourself do.

I know, but gameplay mechanics often have narrative implications where they aren't expected to. Here, it takes both the stance that there's always a 'right answer' in situations like this, and that saying something even slightly wrong, like for instance saying "Do what makes you happy." can be considered the wrong thing to say. Saying that's not going to drive a person over the edge, and it will likely facilitate discussion around what the person would find fulfilling as a job. But now I'm just ranting.

Going back to the emphasis on connections: I understand that's the focus of the game, but I don't think it's something that can be forced. I've never tried obviously, but I get the feeling that you can't forge a connection to a person out of sheer will. It seems like something far more organic and involuntary to me.

Thank-you….. Thank-you.