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Coming Out Simulator 2014

by Nicky Case

Slice of life
2014

Web Site

(based on 38 ratings)
4 reviews

About the Story

A half-true game about half-truths.
You play as a semi-fictional version of me, on a night that changed my life forever. Choose your (my?) words wisely. Every character will remember everything you say - or don't say - as you figure out how to approach my (your?) hyper-conservative Asian parents. And if all that seems confusing or awkward... well, that's the gist of coming out as queer, isn't it? [Author's annotation]


Game Details


Awards

Nominee, Best Use of Multimedia - 2014 XYZZY Awards

Finalist, Excellence in Narrative - Independent Games Festival 2015

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Member Reviews

5 star:
(14)
4 star:
(15)
3 star:
(6)
2 star:
(1)
1 star:
(2)
Average Rating:
Number of Reviews: 4
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Most Helpful Member Reviews


4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
Touching and funny, November 20, 2014

This is a highly personal (indeed, overtly autobiographical) piece, which I found touching and credible. It retraces the evening of a young man coming out to his strict Asian parents as bi. It very nicely captures the way we look back on this sort of "crisis" in retrospect, with a combination of real pain, but also elements of nostalgia and a keen ear for the absurdity of it. Exchanges like:
(Spoiler - click to show)"Which one of you is the woman?" "OH COME ON! That's like asking which chopstick is the spoon ..." made me smile.

Despite this humour, the game touches real issues facing young (or older) people about the circumstances and time in which they can come out to close family, and the support (or lack of support) they will get for it. It does so in a measured way, with a certain dry and wry humour and not too much angst. Although I'm not sure the game gives you enormous freedom of choice, the interactivity seemed to me to serve its purpose, and the interface is appropriate and slick. I think it repays the short time it takes.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
New Genre: "IF My Life", November 21, 2014
by Hanon Ondricek (United States)

This is probably the most fun I've had with a choice-based game. Despite the serious themes, the interactions - as if you are text messaging with the author - are brilliant. There are moving sketch comic illustrations. This game gives me the same warm fuzzy "I'm the author's best friend" sincerity that I got with Deirdra Kiai's I'm Really Sorry About That Thing I Said When I Was Tired and/or Hungry. This is like the IF equivalent of "Draw My Life". I want to be this author's best friend now as well.

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A very unique CYOA, November 21, 2014

Well, I have to admit, I never thought CYOA games can be this good. I usually looked down on them, thinking parser commanded games were the best, till I saw this game. The story and interface are great, something that you can't really find in these type of games.

In this game, the main story is about (Spoiler - click to show)a homosexual/bisexual person trying to tell his parents the truth about himself, which is of course, really hard for anyone to do, especially if they are really conservative Asian parents (no racism intended).

The story really touches me, and it shows that not everyone is the same. Some are... unlucky enough to get the Klinefelter syndrome (look it up on the internet!). Conversations are really interesting and really shows what happens in real life if you encounter those situations. (Spoiler - click to show)The mother puking just made me laugh!

Overall, this is a very well made game and is recommended to everyone who loves these slice of life games. I really hope to see more unique and interesting games by the author soon!

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Coming Out Simulator 2014 on IFDB

Polls

The following polls include votes for Coming Out Simulator 2014:

Father-Son Relationships by matt w (Matt Weiner)
Going along with the Mother-Daughter poll, any games that touch on father-son relationships? Again, not necessarily the center of the work.

IF about human beings by namekuseijin
I'm looking for IF about human beings and human struggles in a more or less common setting. No zombies, vampires, orcs, demons, robots, slimy aliens, gods or monsters of any kind; just plain human beings please. Yes, I know many works...

For Your Consideration: Games from 2014 that should be nominated for the XYZZY Awards by Molly
There were a lot of great games released in the past year, and now that the XYZZYs are coming up, it seems like a very good idea to take a poll of all the games from last year people would like to see nominated. The management has asked...

See all polls with votes for this game




This is version 6 of this page, edited by IFforL2 on 26 March 2021 at 7:58am. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item - Delete This Page