I was thrown for loop for how the game unfolded itself but ohh the sweet moments in between opening up to Kalei and wondering about Geist's intentions. It made me recount moments in my university life and still that dreading voice trying to reach me.
Great selection of voice actors, the 2D was beautiful to see, I am getting the art book as well.
I really relished in confronting Geist, I just had relief for the MC and how the endings played out the changes bit by bit.
AHHH thank you so much for playing (and for getting the artbook, gosh) and taking the time to record a playthrough π₯Ή I'm bookmarking it to watch later, but the editing in the first few minutes is SO good (it would make such a good game trailer! π your delivery of the MC's lines is haunting!) And aww, thank you so much for your kind words! I'm glad to hear that it resonated with you (and hopefully that voice is quieter now, even if it's not gone for good)! And I'm so happy to hear that the endings were satisfying; I imagine that the game itself might be stressful for some, so I hope that the conclusion does at least leave a sense of empowerment/satisfaction!
Thank you again, you're too kind! π₯Ή I really appreciate it; this comment really made my day!
Later note, LOVED the art book. I'm really enjoying reading the progress, the concept art pieces plus the reality of making background art is jarring in an impressive way.
How lighting changes the feel of a scene and how it displays the view for the player as well.
I just had to build up the phrase (Is it okay..I'm a mess) it hit me in a thoughtful wonder in how I could visually present the questioning and isolation.
AHHHH GOSH you bought and read the artbook πππ I'm so touched, thank you! Haha, when I was putting it together (and moreso for other artbooks that I'm preparing), I looked at the "base colors" vs "rendered" stages and thought, "This is really giving me 'draw the rest of the owl'" π
GOSH the buildup was SO excellently done! It really hammered home how horrific and isolating those final lines were π₯Ή Thank you again for doing such a fantastic edit and showing me!
It was pretty slow at first, and I honestly almost gave up on it, but after about 45 minutes of gameplay it really picks up! The art and voice acting is outstanding, and the themes of the game are really reassuring. It's the kind of game you could write an analysis about for a freestyle English assingment.
FGJJHGG You kept at it for 45 minutes π thank you for giving it so much of your time! It's definitely a difficult game to describe, I'd say "slice of life if it was only stress???" is probably accurate π€£ Thank you for the kind words π₯Ήπ "the kind of game you could write an analysis about for English" - no one has ever said anything like that to me before, I'm very flattered π« thank you again for playing! βΊοΈ
I am usually do not like that much some dating games neither I get to identify with them, but with this one I get how the MC feels and I hated Geist guts too, but I was sad because he just wanted to help, in a really bad way, but the intention is good.
Too I loved Kalei! so kind, caring, attentive, in other green flags. He is such a cutie! And it made me to fall in love with the game with the meaning of it. Just a work of art.
Thank you so much for giving MindMindMind a try even though it's not typically in your wheelhouse! π₯Ή I'm so touched and glad you enjoyed it LOL Geist just needs to learn that maybe not helping is the best way to help...and I'm so happy you liked Kalei! π₯Ή A WORK OF ART, you're too kind π Thank you again for taking the time to play and comment!
ilove both geist and kalei!! KALEIIII hes such an adorable mf,,, he gives off golden retriever vibes hhahaha (pls i need a kalei rn, where to buy one??) hes such a green flag!! AHHH loves movies too?? sign me up RNN
geist tho.. hes lovely but i want to punch him sometimes,, a sick and twisted love he has the mc, i get his intentions but sometimes its fun to punch a brit in the face :3 - this is a joke for legal reasons,, pls dont go punching random brits tyyyy<3 (or do, its great if its a certain mf called geist)
THANK YOUUU, I'm glad that you liked them both π€ man same, I really want a kalei that will listen to me ramble about all of my nerdy hobbies π I really did want kalei to be a super "green flag" kinda guy to contrast with how toxic Geist is LOL
And that was EXACTLY what I wanted with Geist - that sick twisted love...with good intentions and horrible results! Honestly yes, punching brits called Geist is perfectly legal π his fault for having a German name while being British...
Thank you again for playing and taking the time to comment! π₯Ή
I'm still in the process of playing and recording my playthrough but I have to say right now that your writing is amazing!! I don't think a character has ever made me more ACTUALLY mad and then another character just melts my heart!! It's almost comical how quickly I go from slightly simping for Geist to googling the phone number for the ghostbusters! And your art is beautiful, Kalei's smile could stop natural disasters!β₯
I really am enjoying this story and hope you'll like the video (and how salty I get) when it's done. This is an excellent game that I'm sure will resonate with a lot of people!!
AHHHHHH thank you so much for taking the time to play and leave this comment!! π₯Ήπ GOSH the writing, I'm flattered!! And π€£ I'll send you the number of a good exorcist π and your comments about the art are too kind!
I'm looking forward to the video!! I'm glad you're enjoying π€ Thank you for taking the time to leave your thoughts!
I just finished playing MindMindMind and maaan, Chatter, you are such an inspiration! All the hard work you put into this project is just astounding; the amazing and sheer amount of artwork, the writing, multiple endings, choices AND the GUI - mmmhh-hm! Top-Notch, 10/10, legendary.
To get all of this done within the limited timeframe of a month?! In this quality?! It's no wonder why this project is getting its deserved attention and feedback!
I'm so proud of you! Thank you so much for delivering this masterpiece and making it for us! β₯οΈ
#Spoiler Section
To get the most important question out of the way: I'm #TeamGeist ALL THE WAY. - I love my men toxic and unbearably insufferable (Teehee, yes I'm down bad.)
ANYWAYS, back to the story; I really love and appreciate the writing and especially the topic: social anxiety and mental illnesses. The dealing of topics, personifying the negative thoughts that come with social anxiety and various mental illnesses; the personification in form of Geist, clinging to us like a desperate lover, stalking narcissist, who thinks he knows what's best for you, whispering your worst fears in your ears (teehee, stop Geist, that tickles uwu).
And then the introduction of Kalei, the soft sweetheart, who grounds you and helps you getting out of your shell, showing you a world beyond what Geist tries to picture for you.
I especially love the ending in Kalei's rout (he has two btw - didn't know that until Butter pointed that out to me; WHERE ARE GEIST'S TWO ENDINGS, HUH CHATTER?!?!? I WON'T STAND FOR THIS INJUSTICE!) because it isn't like "Oh Geist and with him all my negative thoughts disappeared; happily ever after." but a realistic portrayal that he still lingers around, still trying to seduce you with his fear inducing whispers, trying to drag you into your past patterns - that it just isn't as bad anymore. I really love this depiction of such a realistic character portrayal and development.
All in all, thank you so so much for bringing this amazing experience to us and especially thank you for bringing Geist to me. He is very delicious indeed.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO PLAY and leaving such a thoughtful comment, Anna π DGFDGD YOU'RE TOO SWEET, I'd be tempted to hit you with the "no u" uno reverse card but I'll restrain myself... I definitely think that I'm getting more into the "swing" of things with making VNs so hopefully the production of my future games goes as smoothly as this one (okay, this is probably false, but I can dream...)
=====SPOILER BELOW=====
Of course you would be a Geist simp...but I AM GLAD THAT YOU LIKED THE CONCEPT! I did think that using a "toxic relationship" (particularly with a yandere) would be a good way to explore this topic in an engaging way π though I hope there weren't too many people hoodwinked by the promise of a sexy British yandere... (describing Geist as a desperate lover and narcissist is VERY apt)
WELL it was honestly because Geist's ending is only romantic, he doesn't even give you the option to be "friends"...you get a marriage end or NOTHING. And I'm glad!! I did want the ending to feel cathartic, but at the same time not "magically fixed" - since real life isn't as clean as that; things don't end up in neatly tied bows at the end.
Thank you again for playing and I'm glad you enjoyed it π And you can have Geist, he's all yours π
TLDR: THIS GAME IS AMAZING AND U ALL SHOULD 1000000% CHECK IT OUT WAYYYY TOO ACCURATE AND RELATABLE AND BRILLIANT
OK IM BACK AFTER PLAYING BOTH ENDINGS AND OH MY GOD I'M ACTUALLY CRYING THIS WAS SO AMAZING I'VE NEVER FELT SO SEEN BEFORE THE WAY YOU PORTRAYED SOCIAL ANXIETY AND EVERY ASPECT OF IT FROM IT JUST SUDDENLY APPEARING ONE DAY IN MIDDLE SCHOOL TO THE CRIPPING SELF LOATHING AND SELF DOUBTS AND WORRIES AND FEARS. EVERYTHING IS JUST. UGH, I DON'T EVEN HAVE THE WORDS IK I MAY SOUND A BIT OVERLY EXCITED AND SO SORRY FOR THE ESSAY BUT IDC CUZ I DON'T SEE SOCIAL ANXIETY BEING PORTRAYED VERY OFTEN IN MEDIA, AND WHEN IT IS HALF THE TIME IT NEVER TO THE POINT WHERE IT LEAVES ME SPEECHLESS LIKE THIS. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THE WAY U PORTRAYED SOCIAL ANXIETY/GEIST IN THIS SORT OF ABUSIVE TOXIC RELATIONSHIP BC ITS SO TRUE JUST WITHOUT ANOTHER PERSON. I ALSO ABSOLUTELY LOVED EVERY INTERACTION THAT THE MC HAD WITH EVERYONE ESPECIALLY WHEN (SPOILER WARNING)
THEY CONFRONTED GEIST AB EVERYTHING IN THAT SCENE WAS JUST AMAZING SAME WITH THE ENDING CREDIT (?) PART IN KALEI'S ENDING SEEING THE MC BEING ABLE TO GET BETTER AND HAVE THE CRIPPING ANXIETY GRADUALLY GO AWAY WAS JUST. JDGFHGJFDG NOT ONLY THAT BUT THIS GAME JUST FILLED ME WITH A LOT OF HOPE SINCE I'VE NOTICED THAT I'VE BEEN GETTING SLIGHTLY BETTER MYSELF, NOT ALOT THE SOCIAL ANXIETY IS DEF STILL THERE, BUT STILL IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY KNOWING THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO BE FREE OF ALL THIS SO I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING THIS THIS IS OFFICIALLY ONE OF MY NEW ALL TIME FAV GAMES AND A NEW HYPERFIXATION U ARE AMAZING FOR MAKING THIS I MOST DEF HAVE TO PLAY UR OTHER GAMES AND I CANT WAIT TO SEE WHAT OTHER ONES U MAKE IN THE FUTURE! <33333
DFGDFGDSFDSF I'M SPEECHLESS THANK YOU FOR LEAVING THIS SWEET (AND INCREDIBLY ENTHUSIASTIC) COMMENT??? AND NOOOO DON'T BE SORRY I ABSOLUTELY LOVE READING ESSAYS!
I'm really touched that you found this so relatable πππ When I was scripting I was quite worried since I based it so heavily on my own past experience - "What if everyone just finds the MC annoying?? What if they can't relate??" So to hear that it touched you so deeply and made you feel seen means SO MUCH to me, you really have no idea π And while I didn't feel this way so much when I was developing, after release I was wondering "Oh no, I hope this isn't just a stressful/triggering game for people..." since I do know that the depiction of anxiety goes quite hard (as opposed to simply being shy/awkward). So dfgdfgdfgfgd I'm just tearing up knowing that it gave you hope and was empowering, I'm so happy to hear that!! I'm so glad to hear that you're getting better!!! It's a process - and not always a smooth one, but I'm rooting for you!!! π₯Ήβ€οΈ
DGFGHFFGHF ALL OF MY GAMES ARE QUITE DIFFERENT SO FAR DFGDFGD But I try to make them all interesting/enjoyable!! I hope you have fun! Thank you again for playing and leaving your thoughts πππ They're truly so motivating!!!
Ofc no problem, I'm so happy to hear that my comment and many others are making your day bc I truly mean every word of it!! I'm genuinely really really impressed by all this game has to offer, from the BG art/effects and character design to the amazing voice acting to the subtle but brilliant animation details, especially considering that you're solo dev. I also really appreciate the support, you're right the process is nowhere near smooth or quick, but it's progress nonetheless. Btw the way I got way too invested in Detective Dog's lore if only it was an actual series/show irl π also the Dog plushies in the BG stole my heart, forget ab Geist or Kalei Dog is my bbg now <333
OK I HAVENT ACTUALLY PLAYED THIS GAME YET BUT WHEN I SAW IT I THOUGHT IT LOOKED GOOD AND JUST THOUGHT ID SAVE IT FOR LATER BUT WHEN I TELL U I SQUEALED WHEN I SAW THAT THIS GAME FOCUSED ON SOCIAL ANXIETY I SWEAR IVE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER AS SOMEONE WHO STRUGGLE ALOT WITH SOCIAL ANXIETY SO I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH I LOVE U (/p obvi) I AM GOING TO PLAY THIS GAME AS SOON AS I CAN
I really loved this! I love the concept of personifying your inner demons and think it was executed really well here. The performances were brilliant as well, I got chills almost every time Geist spoke haha.
AHH I'M VERY HONORED, thank you so much for taking the time to play! I was proud of this concept, although admittedly it turned out a lot softer in the end than I expected! (I was thinking it would be more horror...I was very wrong...) and YES, both of them did fantastic! I really wanted VA for this one for Geist in particular, and Shaun just knocked it out of the park with the performance!
Thank you again for playing and leaving such a kind comment π₯Ή
This was so cute!!! Also I had to snicker pretty hard at Geist reading The Bell Jar. HE WOULD, WOULDN'T HE?
Loved the art and the animations in this one! The message about fighting against about your inner demons (or inner blonde british boy-s) was very sweet and I especially liked how in the end (SPOILER) it didn't go completely away.
OHHH HEIDEN, thank you so much for playing and taking the time to leave your thoughts!! AND YOU CAUGHT IT, I believe that you're the first one who noticed/was familiar with "The Bell Jar" (or at least the first person who's told me, haha!) Aww I'm glad; this was a pretty personal story for me so I'm happy that it's resonated with so many people.
Thank you again for your sweet comment, I really appreciate it π₯Ή
This was great! I really like what a good dude Kalei is because I think it's kind of necessary for him to be a walking green flag for this particular story.
Spoilers
Him being the one to inform you that you've probably been having panic attacks this entire time, as well as being able to help manage them (and of course my immediate reaction was, okay, who does he know who has panic attacks--so it was a good touch to get into that.) really works in the games favor with such a limited cast.
I also really like Geist. I think you can tell he actually does care about you, but his way of caring about you is toxic bordering on malicious. That's why I love the bit where you call him out like 'It seems like YOU'RE the one who hates me.' It's also why I like that, in the 'good' endings, he keeps judging you but in a slightly less toxic way. Worrying about your lack of exercise, or how much TV you're watching without doing other things. At the same time, I enjoy the bad ending where you clearly are having a depressive episode without realising it.
It also kind of gave me vibes of that one brain parasite game.
Overall, I think the game was well done, I would have liked more endings (I got three, I think that's probably it since there were approximately two answers per question and one about friendship or romance.) just because I always like moar ending, but it's not because I felt the story was incomplete.
The ArtBook is also cute, and I appreciated having the artistic intent for Geist in there.
Lastly, as this is my second game of yours that I'm playing (I plan to play the other one this weekend, if I have time!) I want to say that I appreciate your use of language in all of your stories! It's cool.
AHHHHH thank you so much for playing and taking the time to comment π₯Ή and for even buying the artbook, gosh! (You're too kind π) I'm really flattered that you played multiple games of mine! I hope you enjoy the last one! And thank you so much for the comment on the writing fghfh they're really encouraging to hear!
==========
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====Spoilers below!===
Yes, it was very important that Kalei was just a walking ball of sunshine, haha! (To emphasize that it wasn't that social interactions themselves were scary - but just the MC's reactions to them.) And I'm glad that you liked the handling of the panic attack episode - that was a part I was worried about, since it is a fairly sensitive topic!
And haha, you really hit the nail on the head with Geist! And I think that you're also the first person who caught (or at least told me) that the MC is having a depressive episode during his ending! I did end up enjoying writing Geist's ending myself, although it's clearly not as empowering as Kalei's π€ it's a satisfying conclusion to me, although it is a sad one (and ohh, Parasite in Love! I still need to play that~)
Ohh yes! You got all of them! In future games I do want to incorporate more endings/more complex branching for sure (I've gone relatively simple in my games so far), but alas fghgfhf I need to practice writing those! I'm glad that the story didn't feel incomplete despite the simplistic structure, though.
Anxiety is just like having a toxic relationship with yourself fr ππβ¨
Eyyo! Finally got to the game! Feeling quite burnt out, so decided to get some rest and here I am! I came out hella inspired instead! MMM is so good, I don't even know where to start, seriously π₯³β¨π
First of all, I really love how simple yet effective the story is! Through show don't tell alone, you know that Geist is a manifestation of the MC's self-doubt, but... Is he really? He is an LI and all! Who's to say! I like the ambiguity of his existence, which is about the only thing that keeps him save from my "fck you" punches and yandere bug sprays πβ¨ Lol, JK! I do like that in Kalei's route Geist undergoes development too, just as the MC does! That's a really nice attention to detail of how anxiety doesn't really go away, but it does get better. I've been in both sides of the routes, so yeh, safe to say you portrayed anxiety perfectly π₯°π€²π»β¨
As for the art! It's real nice to the eye and everything has this artsy charm to it, which I enjoy~ And I finally saw what the animation fuss is all about! Def neat πππ»π I also love the contrast of Geist's coldness and Kalei's warmth in the gallery. Love that detail πβ¨
But yeah, really enjoyed it overall! Great job, Chatter! Big inspo fr π₯³β¨π Tbh, I am going through self-doubts myself too lately, so yeah, Kalei's route is def a much needed oasis to experience π₯°π₯°
Anyways! Probably won't happen, but I'd really like to see more Kalei! A guy can dream ππ
AHHHHH L., THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO PLAY! Haha I was honestly expecting this to be a fairly stressful experience for people, but I found a lot of them commented saying it was comforting/inspiring instead, so I'm really glad that it helped you get over your burnout a bit!
Haha, I didn't want to tell people how to interpret the story, so I did leave Geist's existence a bit ambiguous! To me he's a bit of both, his own character and a metaphor. And WAIT did you not end up using your yandere bug sprays after all??? NOOOO!!! And aww thank you so much, I wrote this pretty heavily based on my own experience dfgdf so I'm glad that a lot of people have said that it was accurate to their experience as well!
Aww thank you!! And you got it exactly right, I wanted Geist to appear very "cold" and almost alien while Kalei is very warm and grounded - I'm glad this came across!
AHHH KALEI IS MY FAVORITE TOO, I'm glad you liked him!! Let us push Geist to the side and appreciate him...
Thank you again for taking the time to play and leave such a thoughtful comment!! I'm glad that it could be a bit of comfort to you~ hopefully things get better soon! (Alas I've gone back to the yandere side LOL it's more Karamu for the time being...)
i already wrote a review but i wanted to come here and say once again how much I enjoyed this game, and how I'm looking forward to any other projects that you create in the future!!!
AHHH I READ YOUR REVIEW, thank you so much for your kind words, I'm so honored that you would say that about my game π₯Ί I'm so glad that you had fun, and thank you again for taking the time to comment!
I really want to play the game ! But for some reason when I downloaded the PC version the text is completely obscured so I can't see anything. Is there anything I could do to fix it ???? thank u sm ur game looks super interesting and I'm uber excited to play it when I fix the issue
Oh gosh, I'm sorry you're having that problem (this is the first time I've heard of this!) After doing some research it seems like a compatibility problem between the engine and certain integrated Intel graphics cards. Some more info here:
One proposed solution is to switch from "Best Battery Life"to "Best Performance" in your "Power and sleep" settings, as well to make sure that your graphics driver is updated. I hope that fixes it, but it seems to be a general engine problem; I'll update the game if/when Godot issues a fix for it, but unfortunately I don't have any other suggestions...
Ugh this was so good!! I love Kalei and his puppy energy. And this felt so personal, some words Geist used were,,,stingy but it hits so close to home, you did an impeccable job with his remarks!
ALSO i have to talk about his design, my man sure is gaslight monologuer, but he is handsome. very handsome. also the animation?? like their subtle expression changes? chef's kiss!!
another thing i liked a lot is the UI! i loved the glitchy hover effects, and the eye necklace on Geist and the top right kept me on my toes lol. Also detective dog plushie. I love him. I worship him.
This was a super cool game, and seeing it come to life was very epic! Everyone did such a great job! Thank you for your hard work >< -A
AHHH YOU PLAYED IT, thank you π and you took the time to leave such a sweet comment, I'm incredibly touched!! Geist's remarks were pretty heavily based on my own experience, so they're personal/relatable for others π₯Ή And DFGDFG I'm glad that he's handsome, I did want to make him charming! I was very proud of the detective dog plushie~
Thank you very much for playing and leaving your thoughts dfgfdgdf I appreciate it so much!! ππ
Thank you so much for this amazing game! As many people here already said - it really hit me right at mah feels because al my life I have struggle with little "Geist" in my head too and its only been recently when I started to "tune" out all negative self talk I can have with mysef. Also that part about being quiet and not kmwoiung what to say when conversations dies down was really really relatable and its not something many of any people can understand about me so I am glad I am not alone at having moments like this. Idk it makes me reassured about myself and really people like us really need someone as good hearted as Kalei lol (or maybe I am projecting too much here)- Also I am all for niche interests I could have whole hour long conservations with my online friend about my fav anime or movie or even game we both like but irl there are rarely people who would understand that which also doesnt help with my self confidence in general. Eithe way nce again thank you so much for all your work on this game - theme, characters, VAs - everything is amazing and i cant wait to see what you come up with next.
AHH THANK YOU for leaving such a sweet comment! I'm very lucky to have so many people who took the time to leave their thoughts dgdf I'm really flabbergasted, honestly! π₯Ί I'm very glad; I wrote this pretty heavily based on my own past experience, so I'm so happy that other people have "Geists" of their own and found it relatable. Tuning out the negative self talk is a struggle πͺ but we can do it! Truly we all need a pocket Kalei π and haha, I can definitely relate - it's really hard to find someone you really "click" with, particularly IRL. It's always so heartwarming when you do find someone you can talk with so deeply π₯Ί Thank you again for taking the time to play and comment, I really enjoyed reading it!
(My review and personal thoughts contain SPOILERS! Please play the game before reading. TY!)
Review of the game in general: When I first read the description, I assumed that Geist would truly be a creepy stalker love interest and Kalei would be there to be the green flag option. I'm really happy and I LOVE your interpretation on this, using this medium and genre to tackle about mental health especially the negative thoughts in our heads which Geist embodies. I really like how the game started and introduce who Geist truly is to the player and what this game is truly about. Kalei is truly adorable and I'm glad he's not just this happy-go-lucky character that is there to help MC and make them feel "better" but he's a fleshed out character and there is a history or reason as to why does the things he does like how he likes Detective Dog, not just because the developer decided to give him the same interests as the MC for the sake of the story but because he, as we find out through the story, watches a lot of films and deeply thinks and appreciates the movies he watches and also the scene where he comforted the MC, he has someone he knows who experiences panic attacks and learned how to help them. In short, I adore Kalei, the writing, and theme (I talk more about the theme in my personal thoughts below)!! The art and animation of the 2 LIs is chef's kiss and It's great to see these different takes on the UI of visual novels now! I also LOVE the voice actors and admire their talent and effort on voicing the characters, they really brought them to life! I'm really excited to see more from you and I'll be sure to check out your other games! Thank you so much for your hard work!
Personal thoughts: This one felt targeted and too close to home for me especially before playing this game I was out with my friends and just got home and everything Geist said is what I am EXACTLY thinking to myself right now and unfortunately my current state of is similar to how Geist's ending goes. For me, I honestly never thought of Geist's words (those kind of thoughts) in a negative light until now, I thought I was just lazy, trying to not burden others, and protecting myself. Playing this gave me a new perspective that I've been denying to realize and made me finally see through the mist of "I'm just saving myself the trouble" that I've put around those kind of thoughts and see it for what it truly is and how it's affecting me and my relationship with others. I've lost opportunities and friendships due to this and what the MC said when they confronted Geist really stuck with me, that even though it might not work out with Kalei. We'll just move on, find new friends, no matter what happens the world and our life will go on. These days I've been realizing that it's better to just think about things you can control rather than worrying about the future and trying to grasp at the strings of things that are out of your control like what other people think about you or the success and failure in life. The only thing you can really control is your decisions that lead to those outcomes.
(Sorry if this is kind of long, messy, and too much, I just really wanted to share my thoughts and praise the developer and everyone who worked on this for their hard work. Also this game resonated with me and I cried far too much just to go on with my day and not leave a review. Thank you for reading and stay safe always!)
πππ Thank you for playing and taking the time to leave such a long and thoughtful comments, there are tears in my eyes reading this!
I do feel like I hoodwink people a bit with the marketing π but hey, if that's what it takes to trick people into playing a game about mental health...jokes aside, I didn't want to explicitly "tell" people what Geist is or what the game is about, since I do want people to be able to play through the lens of their own life experience! So I'm really glad that I've gotten so many players who undestood it, took the time to play, and found it relatable, I'm very lucky π₯Ή I do find something very charming and scary about yanderes, and I thought this was the perfect game for one - truly a toxic "love" story. I'm glad you liked Kalei dfgdf while he is there to be a "connection" for the player, I did want to make him fleshed out with his own interests and worries of his own - so I'm happy that came across! And YES the voice actors did such a fantastic job! I was so lucky to work with them! Haha, all of my games are quite different dfgdg but I do hope you enjoy them!
(Personal talk)
π₯Ή Thank you for taking the time to write about your personal experience; it means a lot to know how close the game hit for you. I used to be in a similar situation, and I missed out on a lot because of it...at the time, Geist was comforting - I truly thought that I was "happy." It's only now that I've gotten some distance that I realize how truly scary my line of thinking was. And you're completely right; sometimes you'll lose friendships and get hurt, sometimes things won't work out - and that's okay. One step at a time π I tell myself this often too!
(No no, it was perfect, thank you so much for taking the time to leave this review! I'm truly tearing up π I'm so happy it resonated with you so much!)
Even though I insulted Geist the whole time I was playing, I weirdly didn't actually hate him. It's because without him the MC wouldn't make good decisions, like without him, MC wouldn't think about what they might get themself into. But at the same time, he does need to chill. I nearly cried. I hate him but love him. I realized that only once he said to look up at the sky, when MC was crying. It's not like he was all bad, he cares, just doesn't show it very nicely. Also, funnily, I kept trying to give him pointers of how to actually get to me. Because he barely did damage to my mental health. I would say something like, "If you really want to hurt me, wait until I have a good day and when a small inconvenience happens, ATTACK ME FULL FORCE!" Not saying that what he said didn't hurt, I defiantly kept yelling at him to shut up because what he said was too real.
Anyways, I also love Kalei, I loved how he stuck up for MC and made them feel happy. His childish attitude made me feel calm. When he first showed up, my immediate thought was how he was like the sun. And when he showed up during the party scene (which actually made me feel shakey cause I understood how scary that feels) I felt so relieved.
Thank you so much for taking the time to play and leave such a thoughtful comment! π₯Ή When I was first concepting this project, I was originally envisioning a much more horrific game, with Geist being a much more villainous antagonist (I even played with the idea of giving him an eldritch form to communicate how horrible he was). But as I was writing the script I realized that you were right - he's hateable and loveable at the same time. He crushes your self-esteem and tries to make you feel worthless - but at the same time his words ARE tinged with that persistent affection for you, that belief that what he's doing is in your best interest. I'm really glad that he roused such conflicting feelings in you; I definitely know that he did that to me, haha!
And AWW I'm glad that you felt that way about Kalei! "Sunshine" was 100% the vibe that I wanted to give with him (his color scheme is actually based on a "sun and sky" theme!) We all need a Kalei...
Thank you again for playing and leaving the kind review π I'm very glad you enjoyed it!!
Oh no, that's very strange - I wonder if the game files got corrupted somehow? Could you try deleting and reinstalling it, then starting a new game and skipping to the point (as opposed to continuing the same game file?) If that doesnt work let me know and I can give you a save file that continues from this point (if you are on Windows)!
Just tried that but π It is still stuck on that text. If it's not much of a problem, could you give me a safe file? ( I am on Windows but I've never tried this kind of thing so...)
And put the file there; make sure to overwrite the previous file and don't change the filename. The name is Otaku with they/them pronouns; I hope that's okay! The player has 2 KP in this file, so you can access both endings using it; if you need any help consult the guide linked in the devlogs!
(Edit: I think you've had a chance to download the file if you need, so I've deleted this to clean up my drive!)
ugh I LOVED THIS!!! I feel like I could sense the amount of care and attention put into this VN, the UI was wonderful to use, the backgrounds and character designs fun to look at, the animated sprites, the voice acting... all of it!! Especially for a game jam, this is so well put together and super fun (and lowkey personal but we don't talk about that...) to play through! Thank you so much for the game, I loved it! <33
YOU'RE SO KIND, I'm so touched! You're too sweet dfgdf I'm so glad that you enjoyed it (and dw it's personal for me too, we can mutually agree not to talk about it...) Thank you for playing and taking the time to comment! :)
Geist sure is taking gaslight gatekeep guyboss to a new level lmao His poisonous remarks weren't very fun to read (though I suppose that is the point haha), but I do like his VA a lot. I love both fo the VAs for this VN, actually; they both did a really great job!
The UI for this VN was impeccable, and I really liked the filtered photo BGs. I'm a big fan of them: they help root the story in the 'real world' so it feels even more immersive. The animated sprites/CGs look gorgeous too; it's clear a lot of work went into this.
For a free VN, it's very polished! You did a great job putting it together in a month!
Oh, and Kalei is such a sweetheart. I'm glad my MC ended up with him in my playthrough; it was really nice seeing Kalei get the MC to open to him by being so patient and understanding. It was very charming!
AHHH EBI thank you so much for playing, I'm honored you took the time to check it out! Haha, honestly I was afraid that people would be annoyed that they didn't get "affectionate yan British ghost" and instead they got "irritating man that makes you want to slap him," but it seems like everyone seems to understand the conceit so I'm glad π The VAs really did a fantastic job for this one; I was worried about getting people who could fit the part (on relatively short notice) considering that this game is so dialogue heavy, but they knocked it out of the park! I was so lucky to work with them!
Ohh I'm so glad that you thought that way about the BGs! I'll be honest I did it mainly due to time constraints, but I did think they really ended up suiting the story/vibe in the end! I think that we could all use a friend like Kalei π As an introvert I really wish I had a pocket extrovert that I could keep around...he would be so useful...
Thank you so much for playing and for taking the time to leave such kind comments! I really appreciate it!
I realllyyyy loveeeddd thisss. I like the art style , voice acting and everything.. It is kinda relatable too. In one of my school event I collapsed and i panicked so much.. I enjoyed thiss gamee so muchh.
AWW I'm so happy, thank you for playing and for taking the time to leave such a kind comment! π₯Ί I'm really glad that this story of mine is relatable for a lot of people π Thank you again!
I LOVE THISSS!!! I had a whole bunch of fun playing this :D
The animated CGs, the way their facial expressions change, the story, the voice acting, everything, it really pieces the game together.
And oml this perfectly captured my thoughts whenever I have to be social. I am a HUUUGEEE overthinker and this MC is exactly how I would think in those situations. π
THANK YOU FOR THE KIND WORDS, I'm really glad you enjoyed it!! This is based so heavily on my own experience that I'm glad that others have found it to be relatable too! It's very validating, haha!
Thank you for playing and for taking the time to leave this comment! :)
Wow, this game makes you think so much, and also appreciate the VA and the beauty of the characters lol But really, the metaphor of Geist being that toxic voice in our anxious mind, always putting us down, and then trying to justify the act, accepting that we're fine alone and away from everything and everyone, always in our little bubble... It couldn't have been done better, it really is a toxic relationship, but with ourselves - at least that's what I think of the whole game.
Kalei is the famous extrovert who adopts an introvert, I feel like that with my best friend lmao Him helping the mc is a really cute thing, although at the same time he talks in such a light and relaxed way about the panic attack that it irritates me, and at other times I agreed with things Geist said. It's simply a game that makes you think a lot, and when some details fit with you irl, it cuts deep but damn, I don't regret it. Simply fucking awesome!
AHH thank you so much for your thoughtful comment, I'm so touched! The VAs were simply FANTASTIC - they really sold the whole thing, imo! You hit the nail on the head with your analysis; I really wanted to describe how "toxic" your relationship with yourself can be - and how scary it can become.
Your comments on Kalei are interesting, and honestly I'm glad to hear them! He's a real ball of sunshine, but at the same time I wanted to portray him as not perfect. He tries his best but he doesn't really understand what the MC is going through, and his lack of understanding can be irritating/frustrating. On the other hand, Geist understands you COMPLETELY, which is why his words, as toxic as they are, are also understandable in a lot of ways.
Thank you again for taking the time to leave a review; honestly "a game that makes you think a lot" is one of the BEST compliments that I've eve received on a project! I'm glad you enjoyed! :D
WEEP CHATTER, THIS WAS WONDERFUL AHHHHHHH ππ
(SOME VAGUE SPOILERS THO I TRY TO AVOID SAYING ANYTHING TOO DIRECTLY BUT JUST A WARNING)
This one hit so close to home... As someone who also struggles in conversations and is constantly worried about either saying too much or not saying enough or zoning out when talking to people or that I'm being a bother, etc., this was... extremely hard-hitting for me. And I found myself at first kinda agreeing instinctively with the things Geist was saying, but as the game progressed, I started to realize what was going on, and I began feeling more confident in pushing back and being able to tell the difference between his mangled false version of reality he kept whispering and what was actually happening. It made me feel both happy in that, like, I was pushing back against so many of my own inner thoughts I've struggled with for a long time, while also a bit sad, because even though I could get myself to do so in the game, I knew that I wouldn't always be so successful in my own version of Geist... π¦
I really really loved how seamlessly the story handled that slow revelation of who Geist really is without even actually saying it??? Like it was brilliantly done. You set everything up, with the build-up, and the structure, and then the lead-in to that final main confrontation with him, so well that like... before you even knew it, you realized what was going on. It was just so fantastic lkdjfads And honestly that made it even more powerful because, like, in reality, we can't always tell the difference between truth and our own minds trying to sabotage us, and there never will be a grand reveal showing us that our thoughts were never true. We always will still have that voice nagging at us, trying to pull us back down, and the only thing we can do is attempt to get better at fighting it off (and perhaps seeking out support in others, as well).
Overall this was such a brilliant game, Chatter ahhHHHHHHHH. Why do your games always do this to me LKDJFASDFA I love so much how playing your games feels even more like being immersed into a novel than any other games I've played. Perhaps because of how you set everything up, with the animations and how you handle your CGs and art, to especially the GUI and how naturally it makes the narration and dialogue flow across the screen in-sync with the images. I swear it always makes the game feel so much faster than it actually is because I end up just getting so immersed in it that it makes the time fly kjdfad In this game in particular I loved the switching between the different types of framing, from the sprites and sprite expression cut-aways, to the BG narration, to the CGs, to the NVL parts that usually were either a flashback or other detail-oriented part. Every choice on when to switch to a different type of screen composition felt so natural, always carrying me to the next line, to the next scene, keeping the story constantly moving forward in a way that felt like I was watching a movie at times.
The art and animations were fantastic as always. That's such a key element of a Chatter VN at this point, and it never disappoints. Kalei was absolutely adorable and I loved him immediately, and the little animations and expressions and like the excited and sweatdrops animations and all of those just made him even more irresistible he's just so sweet???? ππAnd he was so caring ahhhHHHHHHH I want a friend like Kalei SOB. I loved how there wasn't a single interaction with him that felt awkward or uncomfortable -- AT LEAST FROM HIS SIDE. Because of course we have Geist in there telling us things are going wrong even though they aren't, and instead Kalei is just there being a big dorky sweetie the whole time. It really made my heart squish jfldkajfdsf
And ofc Geist himself. WHAT A LOOK FOR THE PERSONFICATION OF OUR INNER SELF-SABOTAGING VOICE LMAO. As smooth and persuasive as you might expect from someone who's able to so easily convince us of our own ineptitude. I loved just the sheer presence that he has. Always there. Just watching. Making snide comments about every little thing we do. The way he truly feels like a "geist" that's just constantly haunting us and our thoughts. However still somehow "charming" in the way that he can still twist our mind into seeing things his way no matter how we may want to resist. Just a stellar design choice there for not only his look and voice but also just how every scene frames him and how even when he's not mentioned you can still somehow feel his presence tingling on the back of your neck.
I found the MC's feeling of embarrassment over their interests to be incredibly relatable. Even though my interests have never been an animated detective dog (LOL) I've had my own fair share of interests that I've felt weird bringing up to people all throughout my life. And though I used to be a lot more open with them when I was younger, unable to stop talking about them or referencing them, over the years as people would find them weird or my obsessions annoying, I became more and more afraid to ever bring them up, which only ever made me feel more embarrassed when talking to people. I still can barely bring up my game dev stuff to anyone in RL because I feel like they would all think it's "silly" or "weird." But if someone were to show genuine interest like Kalei maybe I would actually be able to open up and ramble on about my hobbies like I actually want to deep inside without feeling like I'm being annoying and monopolizing the conversation. Sob. Once again proving that Kalei is too sweet and wonderful for this world LKDJALDFAD ππ
God there were just so many relatable parts to this entire thing and I feel like it's going to be sitting with me for a while now HHHHHH. CHATTER YOUR GAMES TRULY NEVER DISAPPOINT. And yet they're all so vastly different! Despite the consistent look and feel in the way you do your art and UI, each game has such a different vibe and tackles such different themes and subjects that I still never know what I'm getting myself into whenever I start up another one. Yet I always know that by the end I'm just gonna be sitting there in my chair like AHHHHHHHHHHHH because of its brilliance. AND THE FACT THAT YOU MADE THIS IN ONLY ONE MONTH?? LITERALLY RIGHT AFTER PUTTING OUT KANAU??? WHICH WAS ALSO RIGHT AFTER PUTTING OUT THE DEEPWATCH WITCH DEMO???? CHATTER ARE YOU OK???? ARE YOU RESTING???? HOW DO YOU KEEP CHURNING OUT ALL THESE ABSOLUTE BANGERS??????
OK I'll stop now LKDFJAFSD but seriously. Every single one of your games is so absolutely polished and written SO WELL and just transports me instantly into another world where its characters and stories grab me by the collar and refuse to let me go. SO THANK YOU FOR DOING IT AGAIN AND MAKING ME FALL IN LOVE WITH ANOTHER OF YOUR GAMES π
Just all in all wonderful and insightful and beautifully done and cutting STRAIGHT TO THE CORE OF ME AND MY OWN THOUGHTS. I shall attempt to utilize the practice I had with Geist in pushing back against my own intrusive thoughts....... maybe......... we'll see π€£π¦
I was really curious about what you would think about this one in particular since I know that you've touched on anxiety quite a bit in your games in ways that I found EXTREMELY relatable. So now we can be....anxiety devs π€
AHH I'm really glad that it struck a chord with you, I mostly wrote it based off my own experience tbh dfgdf so a part of me wondered "Do other people think this way, or am I just crazy?" And actually that reaction is EXACTLY what I heard from one of my beta testers! I think that, when you've gone through similar things but have come out of it, it's easier to recognize what Geist is and push back against him. dfgdfgfdgd "I was pushing back against so many of my own inner thoughts" dfgdfg I'm so honored, I really DID want that to be the experience for people! And it's a process πͺ sometimes you can tell him to get lost, and sometimes you just want to lie in his cold, lifeless arms...I'm sure you have your own successes against him πͺ
I'M GLAD, I had a very clear "vision" of what Geist was, but I didn't really want to say it or give a definitive answer, since I think that he'll mean different things for different people based on your life experience. So I'm happy that his identity wasn't just painfully obtuse LOL
DFGDFGDFG THANK YOU I feel like I didn't really go "out of the box" with the presentation this time (gosh every time I pick up one of your games it seems like I'm screenshotting inspo), but I'm glad that you felt so immersed!! If nothing else...I want my games to be easy to read π (AND DFGDF I only wish that I could reach OW levels of cinema...someday....)
I DID HAVE SO MUCH FUN WITH KALEI'S ANIMATIONS, I really went full "shoujo" with him and it made me want to make lighter-hearted games where I can add more shoujo effects...(I also want a friend like Kalei ngl). And DFGDFGD I WONT LIE originally geist was gonna be a real slimeball, a shut-in lookin dude, but then I thought, "but wait, wouldn't anxiety be kind of attractive actually? And charming?" and then I decided to go full British gentleman LOL and Shaun DELIVERED
ngl the embarrassment over your niche hobbies is pretty relatable to me too; there are a lot of interests that I won't bring up to people unless I've 100% confirmed "yes you are a comrade, you are also interested in this very niche thing..." And aww carrot π₯Ί I'd say that I've gone a fairly similar route, but mostly because I was really desperate to connect/share my passions when I was younger, and nowadays I'm just like "my passions are my own, and I'll enjoy them solo..." I also barely bring up my game dev stuff to people RL (not in small part because over half of my games are yan games at this point LOL), so I'm really glad to have a kind community online to gush about this niche interest with π y'all are my kalei...
AND DFGDFGDF YES I'M RESTING I'M OK (I MIGHT DO THE FULL VERSION OF TDW THIS MONTH BUT I'M OK) somehow I feel like I've been on a roll π I was really burnt out after Karamu and tdw for some reason but MMM and Kanau have been good π«‘ if I stop I'll probably hibernate for half a year LOL
THANK YOU FOR LEAVING SUCH A THOUGHTFUL COMMENT I'm tearing up, I'm glad that it was goodπ (I was kinda worried about this one ngl..."what if everyone just finds it annoying?? or not what they were expecting??") And best of luck πͺ if you slap your Geist I'll slap mine π€
I absolutely love the voice acting; it adds such depth and immersion to the game. Furthermore, I'm thoroughly impressed by the intricate detail and high level of polish evident throughout every aspect of the game.
Good stuff, I do love 'Be degraded by a British man and befriend the human version of a Golden Retriever' simulator!!
And I also loved how accurate Geist felt if we go by the interpretation that he is just representing anxiety, and it's kind off sad to say that I once relied on a 'Geist' of my own, believing if I never approached that nothing could harm me again.. Really well written!!! Go into my favorite game collection NOW!!!
I live to serve only the nichest of gaming niches π and thank you so much for the kind words! I'm honestly glad to hear that; I based a lot of this game off my own (embarrassing) experiences so I'm glad that it struck a chord with you! π₯Ήπ¦ Thank you for playing!
i honestly think that geist is like us, giving ourselves negative comments such as: you cant even do something so easy... and after that you get sp nervous that you give up, so what if geist is just in our mind? telling us things? and also how only we can see him.
Ohhh what is Geist indeed...I'll leave it up to the player's interpretation (it's no fun if I tell you WHAT he is, and I think that everyone's perception of him will be a little different), but that is indeed a very real possibility~
oh this was excellent omg.. for some reason i really liked geist HAHA but kalei was such a nice dude!! the artwork in this was stunning and the plot unfolded so nicely;;
AHHH I'm glad you could find another device to play it on!! Yes hhhkkkj unfortunately it doesn't seem to work on MacOS Monterey specifically, and I have no idea why π and Detective Dog is surprisingly plot relevant dw π€£
I reached the two endings! Feels so satisfying to ignore Geist aha! Even if heβs misguidedly trying to protect me in his own toxic, suffocating way
The helplessness of being constantly talked down to hit hard. Damn, this was painful to go through but also empowering to see how untrue the negative self-talk is. Feels relatable to all the fears and paranoia immigrant parents can sometimes unleash on their kids, unknowingly wearing them down and crippling their growth
I also enjoyed the eye necklace staring at me all the time aha
Ahh I'm glad you enjoyed it! π I think that this game will probably hit different depending on your life experience; I'm really interested to see different people's takes on it! The immigrant experience is actually not an interpretation I considered but it is SO true (dang what I wouldn't have given to have a British man with a sexy voice talk down to me instead of my parents...)
AHH I'm glad you found it empowering π₯Ή
LOL the eye necklace was fun πππ I would've animated the menu one too but I thought it would be too distracting...
LMAO yeah I was like, this is an interesting way to package the negative self-talk in your mind XD Too bad what he was saying turned me off from him haha, but at least he has a nice voice.
It also reminded me of SILENZIO BRUNO from Luca for silencing that voice in your head. Not too bad to have Geist's voice remind you to stretch your legs after couch potatoing too long though ;)
Oh, strange! What OS are you using? I've gotten reports that it doesn't work on Monterey, and unfortunately I don't have a good way to debug it since I don't have access to a Monterey Mac. Otherwise, have you tried launching it through the official itch app? That can fix some of the security issues.
yes I usually launch my games on the official app. but alas, i actually am using a monterey LOL it is what it is. If you happen to fix it I'll be on the look out!! thanks so much.
Geist is enough of a good reason to play this game, I don't care what the haters will say!!
Okay, first and foremost, CONGRATULATIONS for making such a game in less than a month, and still managing to slide in a VERY HIGH-QUALITY artbook everyone should buy!! *points guns at the readers*
More seriously, MindMindMind is an excellent visual novel on the technical aspect: the coding is very smooth and the GUI very intuitive. The writing, and we're used to it with Chattercap, is nothing short of excellent. This is the first time that, in this dev's work, that we get a first-person narration, and the balance between making things sound natural and yet still very elegantly written. The art is CHEF'S KISS and I havea particular fondness for GEIST'S SPRITE and I swear I am not biased in any sort. More seriously, the little additions for Kalei's expressions were adorable, and the CG work was absolutely gorgeous. The backgrounds were for the most part very nice photographs edited beautifully, and the way the backgrounds changed to indicate mood shifts at several instances in the game was great. One of the backgrounds, however, was hand-drawn: the bedroom. It was beautifully rendered.
The voice-acting too was excellent and I cannot highlight it enough. I found both voice actors extremely warm-sounding, and yet, so different: while Kalei sounds friendly and warm, Geist's warmness is meant to lure you into staying with him. The voice actors did a great job, congrats to them!
The story is a very interesting one. The premise of being followed by a ghost is naturally quite alluring, but he manages to be a very interesting and nuanced threat to the protagonist's personal arc. The other love interest, Kalei, was a perfect contrast: if Geist will try everything he can to "lock you up", Kalei, on the other hand, opens the protagonist's perspectives, making them discover a part of the world they could never had otherwise.
Long story short: PLAY THIS GAME AND DATE THIS GHOST. And the pretty classmate too. This game is definitely worh your time.
#### ----- OH MY GOD SPOILERS ----- ####
The main theme of MindMindMind is piΓ±ata-crafting... okay, I'm kidding, it is social anxiety, and it is portrayed wonderfully through the character of Geist and his relationship with the protagonist.
Whether Geist is mostly metaphorical or not is up to you, but there is no doubt he is a metaphor to some extent: he represents all the anxious thoughts one can have, these paralysing, daunting slabs we throw at ourselves, preventing us from experimenting, experiencing life because... what if we failed? What if we looked ridiculous? What if we bothered others? What if, what if, what if. Geist is the incarnation of what these "what ifs" can be in their most toxic incarnation. The thought is seductive, and it's difficult to keep them away: they are always here, somehow.
Geist is therefore the incarnation of the protagonist's social anxiety. A very good idea from the game is to represent him as warm, coaxingly so, because anxiety is comfortable: after all, what is wrong with not going out if you'd rather stay home? And that's where the game strikes very hard, and that's where the trigger warnings have to be considered fully: Geist is very convincing. I do not suffer from social anxiety myself, although I did at some point in my life: so, although his words couldn't reach me, I still found them convincing to some extent. Geist will tell you there is nothing wrong with you, that you not being sociable is just part of your personality, not necessarily a problem. In reality, the line is thin: there is a difference between choosing to stay in your dormroom because you want to rest, and choosing to do so because you are afraid of seeing others. The writing has enough finesse to exploit this ambiguity and portray Geist as an immense threat to the protagonist's well-being: he is certainly one of the most frightening yandere characters I've ever encountered in fiction, because he is indeed very charming, and manages to convince you of something working against you.
The game, however, wants to be more than the narration of a character giving in to their anxiety: it wants to be an empowering story, showing that these thoughts, if they might not completely disappear, can be defeated. The subversion is interesting: Geist is a threat to the protagonist only because they give in; but refusing to believe his toxic words is enough to overcome him and turn him into a much less threatening antagonist. However, this salutary refusal is complicated, and is progressively built upon during the game, when you choose to spend time with Kalei. Kalei respects the protagonist's boundaries; Kalei tries to introduce them to new things, while still caring for them, which isn't a burden for him. More than that, Kalei mirrors the protagonist slightly. He indeed mentions being told that he talks too much, gets in an argument with his friends, isn't a fan of parties... Despite being an extrovert and not suffering from social anxiety, he still has sometimes a hard time to navigate through everything, which is fine and fairly realistic. Coming from an extrovert: even we have social batteries! I truly appreciated this take.
The two endings of the game are very interesting: Geist is a classical "cage" ending for yandere stories, but the cage is metaphorical and even subverted: it is a place crafted for and by the protagonist, since Geist is just a reflection of their own anxiety. It is therefore natural that they find a sense of comfort. This ending is the triumph of Geist as a villain: he is seen as sweet, soft by the protagonist, he managed to gaslight us into trusting his words and believing he is what we need.
Kalei's ending, however, is very strong: the protagonist has a confrontation with Geist, finally actively fighting their own anxious thoughts, and the game sends a lot of very healthy and positive messages, while remaining very realistic: sometimes, meeting people will indeed go wrong and as predicted by the anxious thoughts. But if it happens, it's okay, life isn't over. And it is worth trying anyway to find the people with whom things will go smoothly. Life is made of experiences, not all of them will be positive, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be explored nonetheless.
It's on this note that the game then has one of the most beautiful scenes I've seen in a visual novel: Geist lets the protagonist go. He accepts their determination, wishing them good luck in a world that goes beyond him and what he can comprehend. Not that he completely leaves: the anxious thoughts don't leave. But he slowly accepts the protagonist's new life, letting them heal. And similarly, and reciprocally, the protagonist acknowledges that Geist will always be there and that... that's okay. I cannot emphasise how gorgeous and emotional it was in game, it almost made me tear up. The maturity with which the topic is tackled is nothing short of impressive: yes, anxiety is difficult and no, it won't magically leave because you start hanging out with a classmate. Sometimes things will be amazing, sometimes they will be horrible. But that's okay. That doesn't mean we're not healing: just that healing isn't a straight line.
Congrats on releasing this game, Chatter, and thanks for having me as a beta-tester, it was an honour! I had a blast playing it and it really was magnificent!
Thank you for your submission, here is your trophy π
More seriously, WOW, you wrote a lot (surely powered by your love for your new husbando...) Thank you for the comments on the writing and the art dfgdfgfd I honestly feel like it wasn't nearly as good as previous projects (I feel like my writing/art both peaked with TDW), but alas, time constraints! It was a big help being able to use edited photos for the backgrounds!
I agree with you that the voice acting was absolutely top notch, and I do like how you touched on the different types of "warmth" that both actors have (and indeed, in certain parts I actually gave them similar/identical lines - to highlight this difference in delivery!)
==========SPOILERS==========
I honestly don't have much to say, you touched on basically everything that I wanted to communicate with the game quite comprehensively LOL Indeed, as you know, I originally imagined Geist to be quite a gloomy, creepy individual. But such an individual would be easy to dismiss and ignore - no, instead Geist had to be VERY charming and convincing, hence why he dresses like an academic/university professor (and also why I was pretty much dead set on voice acting for this project in particular, as I knew that Geist's dialogue was quite key to creating a full experience).
I think that, when suffering from anxiety (or a variety of other "life problems," I suppose) - it is easy to make up excuses for yourself so that you feel better about your inability to do something. "I can't make friends, so I don't really want any." "I can't find anyone to date, so I don't really want to date." "I'm bad at cooking, so I'm just not a cook." And this is actually the most frightening thing of all. Because if you languish in discomfort, then perhaps that discomfort will eventually push you to change yourself - but if you start becoming comfortable in your inadequacies, then you will never change. However, at the same time Geist is not an "evil" entity to me (and why I feel comfortable giving him a "sympathetic" backstory, despite his egregious behavior) - because that desire to be comfortable as who you are, to be accepted without needing to change - is completely natural. And, arguably, it's something that should be EMBRACED. But I think that it's quite a fine line between being "comfortable" and being "complacent." I'm glad that you thought that I navigated that ambiguity well, since I do know it's quite a blurry line LOL and I was a bit worried about the clarity of the point!
I'm glad that you noted the parallels between Kalei and the MC as well! I did intend Kalei to be the MC's "opposite" in many ways, but actually more similar to them than he first appears. After all, everyone has social difficulties, not just people suffering from noticeable anxiety. And I think that as the MC grows to realize this, then they realize that their own problems are not as catastrophic as they first appear.
Of course, how could it be a yandere game without a CAGE ending? But indeed, this cage ending is special - one crafted from the MC's own mind, in which they freely lock themselves. I'm glad to read your comments on Kalei's ending, your compliments are too kind dfgdfgdf When writing the story, it was important to me that the various "outings" the MC has with Kalei didn't go perfectly well. When they meet up for lunch, the conversation peters out and becomes awkward. The MC (though through no fault of their own) does end up "embarrassing" themself in front of Kalei at the Halloween party. And when they get together with Kalei's friends, it goes catastrophically (at least from the MC's perspective). And yet, the MC lives, and the friendship continues on in spite of the hiccups. And, after facing these (admittedly minor) difficulties, the MC finally gains the courage to initiate the friendship on their own.
I'm glad that you commented on the "reciprocity" of Kalei's end! I did want that kind of mutual understanding between Geist and the MC - the MC does not banish Geist, they do not attack him. They have an open dialogue and come to an understanding - because that's what dealing with anxiety is, it's coming to an understanding with yourself. It's accepting yourself for who you are AND vowing to better your life in spite of that. You summarized it all quite beautifully!
Thank you for playing and reading and leaving such a wonderful comment! I'm very lucky to have you :)
β Return to game
Comments
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I was thrown for loop for how the game unfolded itself but ohh the sweet moments in between opening up to Kalei and wondering about Geist's intentions. It made me recount moments in my university life and still that dreading voice trying to reach me.
Great selection of voice actors, the 2D was beautiful to see, I am getting the art book as well.
I really relished in confronting Geist, I just had relief for the MC and how the endings played out the changes bit by bit.
AHHH thank you so much for playing (and for getting the artbook, gosh) and taking the time to record a playthrough π₯Ή I'm bookmarking it to watch later, but the editing in the first few minutes is SO good (it would make such a good game trailer! π your delivery of the MC's lines is haunting!) And aww, thank you so much for your kind words! I'm glad to hear that it resonated with you (and hopefully that voice is quieter now, even if it's not gone for good)! And I'm so happy to hear that the endings were satisfying; I imagine that the game itself might be stressful for some, so I hope that the conclusion does at least leave a sense of empowerment/satisfaction!
Thank you again, you're too kind! π₯Ή I really appreciate it; this comment really made my day!
Later note, LOVED the art book. I'm really enjoying reading the progress, the concept art pieces plus the reality of making background art is jarring in an impressive way.
How lighting changes the feel of a scene and how it displays the view for the player as well.
I just had to build up the phrase (Is it okay..I'm a mess) it hit me in a thoughtful wonder in how I could visually present the questioning and isolation.
AHHHH GOSH you bought and read the artbook πππ I'm so touched, thank you! Haha, when I was putting it together (and moreso for other artbooks that I'm preparing), I looked at the "base colors" vs "rendered" stages and thought, "This is really giving me 'draw the rest of the owl'" π
GOSH the buildup was SO excellently done! It really hammered home how horrific and isolating those final lines were π₯Ή Thank you again for doing such a fantastic edit and showing me!
It was pretty slow at first, and I honestly almost gave up on it, but after about 45 minutes of gameplay it really picks up! The art and voice acting is outstanding, and the themes of the game are really reassuring. It's the kind of game you could write an analysis about for a freestyle English assingment.
FGJJHGG You kept at it for 45 minutes π thank you for giving it so much of your time! It's definitely a difficult game to describe, I'd say "slice of life if it was only stress???" is probably accurate π€£ Thank you for the kind words π₯Ήπ "the kind of game you could write an analysis about for English" - no one has ever said anything like that to me before, I'm very flattered π« thank you again for playing! βΊοΈ
Aw of course! If I have another project before graduation, I might just do it on this hehe
FHJKJGFFF I would be honored π
I am usually do not like that much some dating games neither I get to identify with them, but with this one I get how the MC feels and I hated Geist guts too, but I was sad because he just wanted to help, in a really bad way, but the intention is good.
Too I loved Kalei! so kind, caring, attentive, in other green flags. He is such a cutie! And it made me to fall in love with the game with the meaning of it. Just a work of art.
Thank you so much for giving MindMindMind a try even though it's not typically in your wheelhouse! π₯Ή I'm so touched and glad you enjoyed it LOL Geist just needs to learn that maybe not helping is the best way to help...and I'm so happy you liked Kalei! π₯Ή A WORK OF ART, you're too kind π Thank you again for taking the time to play and comment!
ilove both geist and kalei!! KALEIIII hes such an adorable mf,,, he gives off golden retriever vibes hhahaha (pls i need a kalei rn, where to buy one??) hes such a green flag!! AHHH loves movies too?? sign me up RNN
geist tho.. hes lovely but i want to punch him sometimes,, a sick and twisted love he has the mc, i get his intentions but sometimes its fun to punch a brit in the face :3 - this is a joke for legal reasons,, pls dont go punching random brits tyyyy<3 (or do, its great if its a certain mf called geist)
THANK YOUUU, I'm glad that you liked them both π€ man same, I really want a kalei that will listen to me ramble about all of my nerdy hobbies π I really did want kalei to be a super "green flag" kinda guy to contrast with how toxic Geist is LOL
And that was EXACTLY what I wanted with Geist - that sick twisted love...with good intentions and horrible results! Honestly yes, punching brits called Geist is perfectly legal π his fault for having a German name while being British...
Thank you again for playing and taking the time to comment! π₯Ή
I'm still in the process of playing and recording my playthrough but I have to say right now that your writing is amazing!! I don't think a character has ever made me more ACTUALLY mad and then another character just melts my heart!! It's almost comical how quickly I go from slightly simping for Geist to googling the phone number for the ghostbusters! And your art is beautiful, Kalei's smile could stop natural disasters!β₯
I really am enjoying this story and hope you'll like the video (and how salty I get) when it's done. This is an excellent game that I'm sure will resonate with a lot of people!!
AHHHHHH thank you so much for taking the time to play and leave this comment!! π₯Ήπ GOSH the writing, I'm flattered!! And π€£ I'll send you the number of a good exorcist π and your comments about the art are too kind!
I'm looking forward to the video!! I'm glad you're enjoying π€ Thank you for taking the time to leave your thoughts!
#Non-Spoiler Section
I just finished playing MindMindMind and maaan, Chatter, you are such an inspiration! All the hard work you put into this project is just astounding; the amazing and sheer amount of artwork, the writing, multiple endings, choices AND the GUI - mmmhh-hm!
Top-Notch, 10/10, legendary.
To get all of this done within the limited timeframe of a month?! In this quality?! It's no wonder why this project is getting its deserved attention and feedback!
I'm so proud of you! Thank you so much for delivering this masterpiece and making it for us! β₯οΈ
#Spoiler Section
To get the most important question out of the way: I'm #TeamGeist ALL THE WAY. - I love my men toxic and unbearably insufferable (Teehee, yes I'm down bad.)
ANYWAYS, back to the story; I really love and appreciate the writing and especially the topic: social anxiety and mental illnesses. The dealing of topics, personifying the negative thoughts that come with social anxiety and various mental illnesses; the personification in form of Geist, clinging to us like a desperate lover, stalking narcissist, who thinks he knows what's best for you, whispering your worst fears in your ears (teehee, stop Geist, that tickles uwu).
And then the introduction of Kalei, the soft sweetheart, who grounds you and helps you getting out of your shell, showing you a world beyond what Geist tries to picture for you.
I especially love the ending in Kalei's rout (he has two btw - didn't know that until Butter pointed that out to me; WHERE ARE GEIST'S TWO ENDINGS, HUH CHATTER?!?!? I WON'T STAND FOR THIS INJUSTICE!) because it isn't like "Oh Geist and with him all my negative thoughts disappeared; happily ever after." but a realistic portrayal that he still lingers around, still trying to seduce you with his fear inducing whispers, trying to drag you into your past patterns - that it just isn't as bad anymore. I really love this depiction of such a realistic character portrayal and development.
All in all, thank you so so much for bringing this amazing experience to us and especially thank you for bringing Geist to me. He is very delicious indeed.
THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO PLAY and leaving such a thoughtful comment, Anna π DGFDGD YOU'RE TOO SWEET, I'd be tempted to hit you with the "no u" uno reverse card but I'll restrain myself... I definitely think that I'm getting more into the "swing" of things with making VNs so hopefully the production of my future games goes as smoothly as this one (okay, this is probably false, but I can dream...)
=====SPOILER BELOW=====
Of course you would be a Geist simp...but I AM GLAD THAT YOU LIKED THE CONCEPT! I did think that using a "toxic relationship" (particularly with a yandere) would be a good way to explore this topic in an engaging way π though I hope there weren't too many people hoodwinked by the promise of a sexy British yandere... (describing Geist as a desperate lover and narcissist is VERY apt)
WELL it was honestly because Geist's ending is only romantic, he doesn't even give you the option to be "friends"...you get a marriage end or NOTHING. And I'm glad!! I did want the ending to feel cathartic, but at the same time not "magically fixed" - since real life isn't as clean as that; things don't end up in neatly tied bows at the end.
Thank you again for playing and I'm glad you enjoyed it π And you can have Geist, he's all yours π
TLDR: THIS GAME IS AMAZING AND U ALL SHOULD 1000000% CHECK IT OUT WAYYYY TOO ACCURATE AND RELATABLE AND BRILLIANT
OK IM BACK AFTER PLAYING BOTH ENDINGS AND OH MY GOD I'M ACTUALLY CRYING THIS WAS SO AMAZING I'VE NEVER FELT SO SEEN BEFORE THE WAY YOU PORTRAYED SOCIAL ANXIETY AND EVERY ASPECT OF IT FROM IT JUST SUDDENLY APPEARING ONE DAY IN MIDDLE SCHOOL TO THE CRIPPING SELF LOATHING AND SELF DOUBTS AND WORRIES AND FEARS. EVERYTHING IS JUST. UGH, I DON'T EVEN HAVE THE WORDS IK I MAY SOUND A BIT OVERLY EXCITED AND SO SORRY FOR THE ESSAY BUT IDC CUZ I DON'T SEE SOCIAL ANXIETY BEING PORTRAYED VERY OFTEN IN MEDIA, AND WHEN IT IS HALF THE TIME IT NEVER TO THE POINT WHERE IT LEAVES ME SPEECHLESS LIKE THIS. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THE WAY U PORTRAYED SOCIAL ANXIETY/GEIST IN THIS SORT OF ABUSIVE TOXIC RELATIONSHIP BC ITS SO TRUE JUST WITHOUT ANOTHER PERSON. I ALSO ABSOLUTELY LOVED EVERY INTERACTION THAT THE MC HAD WITH EVERYONE ESPECIALLY WHEN (SPOILER WARNING)
THEY CONFRONTED GEIST AB EVERYTHING IN THAT SCENE WAS JUST AMAZING SAME WITH THE ENDING CREDIT (?) PART IN KALEI'S ENDING SEEING THE MC BEING ABLE TO GET BETTER AND HAVE THE CRIPPING ANXIETY GRADUALLY GO AWAY WAS JUST. JDGFHGJFDG NOT ONLY THAT BUT THIS GAME JUST FILLED ME WITH A LOT OF HOPE SINCE I'VE NOTICED THAT I'VE BEEN GETTING SLIGHTLY BETTER MYSELF, NOT ALOT THE SOCIAL ANXIETY IS DEF STILL THERE, BUT STILL IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY KNOWING THAT IT IS POSSIBLE TO BE FREE OF ALL THIS SO I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING THIS THIS IS OFFICIALLY ONE OF MY NEW ALL TIME FAV GAMES AND A NEW HYPERFIXATION U ARE AMAZING FOR MAKING THIS I MOST DEF HAVE TO PLAY UR OTHER GAMES AND I CANT WAIT TO SEE WHAT OTHER ONES U MAKE IN THE FUTURE! <33333
DFGDFGDSFDSF I'M SPEECHLESS THANK YOU FOR LEAVING THIS SWEET (AND INCREDIBLY ENTHUSIASTIC) COMMENT??? AND NOOOO DON'T BE SORRY I ABSOLUTELY LOVE READING ESSAYS!
I'm really touched that you found this so relatable πππ When I was scripting I was quite worried since I based it so heavily on my own past experience - "What if everyone just finds the MC annoying?? What if they can't relate??" So to hear that it touched you so deeply and made you feel seen means SO MUCH to me, you really have no idea π And while I didn't feel this way so much when I was developing, after release I was wondering "Oh no, I hope this isn't just a stressful/triggering game for people..." since I do know that the depiction of anxiety goes quite hard (as opposed to simply being shy/awkward). So dfgdfgdfgfgd I'm just tearing up knowing that it gave you hope and was empowering, I'm so happy to hear that!! I'm so glad to hear that you're getting better!!! It's a process - and not always a smooth one, but I'm rooting for you!!! π₯Ήβ€οΈ
DGFGHFFGHF ALL OF MY GAMES ARE QUITE DIFFERENT SO FAR DFGDFGD But I try to make them all interesting/enjoyable!! I hope you have fun! Thank you again for playing and leaving your thoughts πππ They're truly so motivating!!!
Ofc no problem, I'm so happy to hear that my comment and many others are making your day bc I truly mean every word of it!! I'm genuinely really really impressed by all this game has to offer, from the BG art/effects and character design to the amazing voice acting to the subtle but brilliant animation details, especially considering that you're solo dev. I also really appreciate the support, you're right the process is nowhere near smooth or quick, but it's progress nonetheless. Btw the way I got way too invested in Detective Dog's lore if only it was an actual series/show irl π also the Dog plushies in the BG stole my heart, forget ab Geist or Kalei Dog is my bbg now <333
OK I HAVENT ACTUALLY PLAYED THIS GAME YET BUT WHEN I SAW IT I THOUGHT IT LOOKED GOOD AND JUST THOUGHT ID SAVE IT FOR LATER BUT WHEN I TELL U I SQUEALED WHEN I SAW THAT THIS GAME FOCUSED ON SOCIAL ANXIETY I SWEAR IVE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER AS SOMEONE WHO STRUGGLE ALOT WITH SOCIAL ANXIETY SO I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH I LOVE U (/p obvi) I AM GOING TO PLAY THIS GAME AS SOON AS I CAN
LDKFFJDK I'M SO GLAD THEN, I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT!!! π«ππ¦
I really loved this! I love the concept of personifying your inner demons and think it was executed really well here. The performances were brilliant as well, I got chills almost every time Geist spoke haha.
Incredible job, thank you for making this!
AHH I'M VERY HONORED, thank you so much for taking the time to play! I was proud of this concept, although admittedly it turned out a lot softer in the end than I expected! (I was thinking it would be more horror...I was very wrong...) and YES, both of them did fantastic! I really wanted VA for this one for Geist in particular, and Shaun just knocked it out of the park with the performance!
Thank you again for playing and leaving such a kind comment π₯Ή
This was so cute!!! Also I had to snicker pretty hard at Geist reading The Bell Jar. HE WOULD, WOULDN'T HE?
Loved the art and the animations in this one! The message about fighting against about your inner demons (or inner blonde british boy-s) was very sweet and I especially liked how in the end (SPOILER) it didn't go completely away.
Thank you so much for making this!!! :D
OHHH HEIDEN, thank you so much for playing and taking the time to leave your thoughts!! AND YOU CAUGHT IT, I believe that you're the first one who noticed/was familiar with "The Bell Jar" (or at least the first person who's told me, haha!) Aww I'm glad; this was a pretty personal story for me so I'm happy that it's resonated with so many people.
Thank you again for your sweet comment, I really appreciate it π₯Ή
This was great! I really like what a good dude Kalei is because I think it's kind of necessary for him to be a walking green flag for this particular story.
Spoilers
Him being the one to inform you that you've probably been having panic attacks this entire time, as well as being able to help manage them (and of course my immediate reaction was, okay, who does he know who has panic attacks--so it was a good touch to get into that.) really works in the games favor with such a limited cast.
I also really like Geist. I think you can tell he actually does care about you, but his way of caring about you is toxic bordering on malicious. That's why I love the bit where you call him out like 'It seems like YOU'RE the one who hates me.' It's also why I like that, in the 'good' endings, he keeps judging you but in a slightly less toxic way. Worrying about your lack of exercise, or how much TV you're watching without doing other things. At the same time, I enjoy the bad ending where you clearly are having a depressive episode without realising it.
It also kind of gave me vibes of that one brain parasite game.
Overall, I think the game was well done, I would have liked more endings (I got three, I think that's probably it since there were approximately two answers per question and one about friendship or romance.) just because I always like moar ending, but it's not because I felt the story was incomplete.
The ArtBook is also cute, and I appreciated having the artistic intent for Geist in there.
Lastly, as this is my second game of yours that I'm playing (I plan to play the other one this weekend, if I have time!) I want to say that I appreciate your use of language in all of your stories! It's cool.
AHHHHH thank you so much for playing and taking the time to comment π₯Ή and for even buying the artbook, gosh! (You're too kind π) I'm really flattered that you played multiple games of mine! I hope you enjoy the last one! And thank you so much for the comment on the writing fghfh they're really encouraging to hear!
==========
==========
====Spoilers below!===
Yes, it was very important that Kalei was just a walking ball of sunshine, haha! (To emphasize that it wasn't that social interactions themselves were scary - but just the MC's reactions to them.) And I'm glad that you liked the handling of the panic attack episode - that was a part I was worried about, since it is a fairly sensitive topic!
And haha, you really hit the nail on the head with Geist! And I think that you're also the first person who caught (or at least told me) that the MC is having a depressive episode during his ending! I did end up enjoying writing Geist's ending myself, although it's clearly not as empowering as Kalei's π€ it's a satisfying conclusion to me, although it is a sad one (and ohh, Parasite in Love! I still need to play that~)
Ohh yes! You got all of them! In future games I do want to incorporate more endings/more complex branching for sure (I've gone relatively simple in my games so far), but alas fghgfhf I need to practice writing those! I'm glad that the story didn't feel incomplete despite the simplistic structure, though.
Thank you again πππ
Raise your hand if you like being insulted for just existing? ππΏββοΈ
(Just to be clear this only applies to fiction not in real life.
............βββ (I'm sorry to say....)
(LMAO THANK YOU FOR THE ADDITION)
Anxiety is just like having a toxic relationship with yourself fr ππβ¨
Eyyo! Finally got to the game! Feeling quite burnt out, so decided to get some rest and here I am! I came out hella inspired instead! MMM is so good, I don't even know where to start, seriously π₯³β¨π
First of all, I really love how simple yet effective the story is! Through show don't tell alone, you know that Geist is a manifestation of the MC's self-doubt, but... Is he really? He is an LI and all! Who's to say! I like the ambiguity of his existence, which is about the only thing that keeps him save from my "fck you" punches and yandere bug sprays πβ¨ Lol, JK! I do like that in Kalei's route Geist undergoes development too, just as the MC does! That's a really nice attention to detail of how anxiety doesn't really go away, but it does get better. I've been in both sides of the routes, so yeh, safe to say you portrayed anxiety perfectly π₯°π€²π»β¨
As for the art! It's real nice to the eye and everything has this artsy charm to it, which I enjoy~ And I finally saw what the animation fuss is all about! Def neat πππ»π I also love the contrast of Geist's coldness and Kalei's warmth in the gallery. Love that detail πβ¨
For me, the highlight of this VN is def Kalei. I've survived an especially messy toxic relationship and it really took me a long while to heal, so Geist really doesn't appeal to me and his bullshit just plinks off me like harmless bullets, lol. But I enjoyed giving him the finger and smirking fck yous at him as I focus on the precious that is Kalei ππ€²π»β¨ππ Kept awing at his smiles, like gawd! How can he be so cute?! It's illegal π©ππ
But yeah, really enjoyed it overall! Great job, Chatter! Big inspo fr π₯³β¨π Tbh, I am going through self-doubts myself too lately, so yeah, Kalei's route is def a much needed oasis to experience π₯°π₯°
Anyways! Probably won't happen, but I'd really like to see more Kalei! A guy can dream ππ
AHHHHH L., THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO PLAY! Haha I was honestly expecting this to be a fairly stressful experience for people, but I found a lot of them commented saying it was comforting/inspiring instead, so I'm really glad that it helped you get over your burnout a bit!
Haha, I didn't want to tell people how to interpret the story, so I did leave Geist's existence a bit ambiguous! To me he's a bit of both, his own character and a metaphor. And WAIT did you not end up using your yandere bug sprays after all??? NOOOO!!! And aww thank you so much, I wrote this pretty heavily based on my own experience dfgdf so I'm glad that a lot of people have said that it was accurate to their experience as well!
Aww thank you!! And you got it exactly right, I wanted Geist to appear very "cold" and almost alien while Kalei is very warm and grounded - I'm glad this came across!
AHHH KALEI IS MY FAVORITE TOO, I'm glad you liked him!! Let us push Geist to the side and appreciate him...
Thank you again for taking the time to play and leave such a thoughtful comment!! I'm glad that it could be a bit of comfort to you~ hopefully things get better soon! (Alas I've gone back to the yandere side LOL it's more Karamu for the time being...)
Haha, you're welcome and thank you! Best of luck with Karamu and all your yandere endeavors ππ€²π»β¨π
i already wrote a review but i wanted to come here and say once again how much I enjoyed this game, and how I'm looking forward to any other projects that you create in the future!!!
AHHH I READ YOUR REVIEW, thank you so much for your kind words, I'm so honored that you would say that about my game π₯Ί I'm so glad that you had fun, and thank you again for taking the time to comment!
HI!!!
I really want to play the game ! But for some reason when I downloaded the PC version the text is completely obscured so I can't see anything. Is
there anything I could do to fix it ???? thank u sm ur game looks super interesting and I'm uber excited to play it when I fix the issue
Oh gosh, I'm sorry you're having that problem (this is the first time I've heard of this!) After doing some research it seems like a compatibility problem between the engine and certain integrated Intel graphics cards. Some more info here:
https://github.com/godotengine/godot/issues/79955
One proposed solution is to switch from "Best Battery Life"to "Best Performance" in your "Power and sleep" settings, as well to make sure that your graphics driver is updated. I hope that fixes it, but it seems to be a general engine problem; I'll update the game if/when Godot issues a fix for it, but unfortunately I don't have any other suggestions...
Ugh this was so good!! I love Kalei and his puppy energy. And this felt so personal, some words Geist used were,,,stingy but it hits so close to home, you did an impeccable job with his remarks!
ALSO i have to talk about his design, my man sure is gaslight monologuer, but he is handsome. very handsome. also the animation?? like their subtle expression changes? chef's kiss!!
another thing i liked a lot is the UI! i loved the glitchy hover effects, and the eye necklace on Geist and the top right kept me on my toes lol. Also detective dog plushie. I love him. I worship him.
This was a super cool game, and seeing it come to life was very epic! Everyone did such a great job! Thank you for your hard work >< -A
AHHH YOU PLAYED IT, thank you π and you took the time to leave such a sweet comment, I'm incredibly touched!! Geist's remarks were pretty heavily based on my own experience, so they're personal/relatable for others π₯Ή And DFGDFG I'm glad that he's handsome, I did want to make him charming! I was very proud of the detective dog plushie~
Thank you very much for playing and leaving your thoughts dfgfdgdf I appreciate it so much!! ππ
Ohh thank you very much for taking the time to play! I'm looking forward to watching it! :)
Man, anxEYEty really sucks.
LMAO this pun π brilliant! It really does...
Thank you so much for this amazing game! As many people here already said - it really hit me right at mah feels because al my life I have struggle with little "Geist" in my head too and its only been recently when I started to "tune" out all negative self talk I can have with mysef. Also that part about being quiet and not kmwoiung what to say when conversations dies down was really really relatable and its not something many of any people can understand about me so I am glad I am not alone at having moments like this. Idk it makes me reassured about myself and really people like us really need someone as good hearted as Kalei lol (or maybe I am projecting too much here)- Also I am all for niche interests I could have whole hour long conservations with my online friend about my fav anime or movie or even game we both like but irl there are rarely people who would understand that which also doesnt help with my self confidence in general. Eithe way nce again thank you so much for all your work on this game - theme, characters, VAs - everything is amazing and i cant wait to see what you come up with next.
AHH THANK YOU for leaving such a sweet comment! I'm very lucky to have so many people who took the time to leave their thoughts dgdf I'm really flabbergasted, honestly! π₯Ί I'm very glad; I wrote this pretty heavily based on my own past experience, so I'm so happy that other people have "Geists" of their own and found it relatable. Tuning out the negative self talk is a struggle πͺ but we can do it! Truly we all need a pocket Kalei π and haha, I can definitely relate - it's really hard to find someone you really "click" with, particularly IRL. It's always so heartwarming when you do find someone you can talk with so deeply π₯Ί Thank you again for taking the time to play and comment, I really enjoyed reading it!
(My review and personal thoughts contain SPOILERS! Please play the game before reading. TY!)
Review of the game in general:
When I first read the description, I assumed that Geist would truly be a creepy stalker love interest and Kalei would be there to be the green flag option. I'm really happy and I LOVE your interpretation on this, using this medium and genre to tackle about mental health especially the negative thoughts in our heads which Geist embodies. I really like how the game started and introduce who Geist truly is to the player and what this game is truly about. Kalei is truly adorable and I'm glad he's not just this happy-go-lucky character that is there to help MC and make them feel "better" but he's a fleshed out character and there is a history or reason as to why does the things he does like how he likes Detective Dog, not just because the developer decided to give him the same interests as the MC for the sake of the story but because he, as we find out through the story, watches a lot of films and deeply thinks and appreciates the movies he watches and also the scene where he comforted the MC, he has someone he knows who experiences panic attacks and learned how to help them. In short, I adore Kalei, the writing, and theme (I talk more about the theme in my personal thoughts below)!! The art and animation of the 2 LIs is chef's kiss and It's great to see these different takes on the UI of visual novels now! I also LOVE the voice actors and admire their talent and effort on voicing the characters, they really brought them to life! I'm really excited to see more from you and I'll be sure to check out your other games! Thank you so much for your hard work!
Personal thoughts:
This one felt targeted and too close to home for me especially before playing this game I was out with my friends and just got home and everything Geist said is what I am EXACTLY thinking to myself right now and unfortunately my current state of is similar to how Geist's ending goes. For me, I honestly never thought of Geist's words (those kind of thoughts) in a negative light until now, I thought I was just lazy, trying to not burden others, and protecting myself. Playing this gave me a new perspective that I've been denying to realize and made me finally see through the mist of "I'm just saving myself the trouble" that I've put around those kind of thoughts and see it for what it truly is and how it's affecting me and my relationship with others. I've lost opportunities and friendships due to this and what the MC said when they confronted Geist really stuck with me, that even though it might not work out with Kalei. We'll just move on, find new friends, no matter what happens the world and our life will go on. These days I've been realizing that it's better to just think about things you can control rather than worrying about the future and trying to grasp at the strings of things that are out of your control like what other people think about you or the success and failure in life. The only thing you can really control is your decisions that lead to those outcomes.
(Sorry if this is kind of long, messy, and too much, I just really wanted to share my thoughts and praise the developer and everyone who worked on this for their hard work. Also this game resonated with me and I cried far too much just to go on with my day and not leave a review. Thank you for reading and stay safe always!)
πππ Thank you for playing and taking the time to leave such a long and thoughtful comments, there are tears in my eyes reading this!
I do feel like I hoodwink people a bit with the marketing π but hey, if that's what it takes to trick people into playing a game about mental health...jokes aside, I didn't want to explicitly "tell" people what Geist is or what the game is about, since I do want people to be able to play through the lens of their own life experience! So I'm really glad that I've gotten so many players who undestood it, took the time to play, and found it relatable, I'm very lucky π₯Ή I do find something very charming and scary about yanderes, and I thought this was the perfect game for one - truly a toxic "love" story. I'm glad you liked Kalei dfgdf while he is there to be a "connection" for the player, I did want to make him fleshed out with his own interests and worries of his own - so I'm happy that came across! And YES the voice actors did such a fantastic job! I was so lucky to work with them! Haha, all of my games are quite different dfgdg but I do hope you enjoy them!
(Personal talk)
π₯Ή Thank you for taking the time to write about your personal experience; it means a lot to know how close the game hit for you. I used to be in a similar situation, and I missed out on a lot because of it...at the time, Geist was comforting - I truly thought that I was "happy." It's only now that I've gotten some distance that I realize how truly scary my line of thinking was. And you're completely right; sometimes you'll lose friendships and get hurt, sometimes things won't work out - and that's okay. One step at a time π I tell myself this often too!
(No no, it was perfect, thank you so much for taking the time to leave this review! I'm truly tearing up π I'm so happy it resonated with you so much!)
Even though I insulted Geist the whole time I was playing, I weirdly didn't actually hate him. It's because without him the MC wouldn't make good decisions, like without him, MC wouldn't think about what they might get themself into. But at the same time, he does need to chill. I nearly cried. I hate him but love him. I realized that only once he said to look up at the sky, when MC was crying. It's not like he was all bad, he cares, just doesn't show it very nicely. Also, funnily, I kept trying to give him pointers of how to actually get to me. Because he barely did damage to my mental health. I would say something like, "If you really want to hurt me, wait until I have a good day and when a small inconvenience happens, ATTACK ME FULL FORCE!" Not saying that what he said didn't hurt, I defiantly kept yelling at him to shut up because what he said was too real.
Anyways, I also love Kalei, I loved how he stuck up for MC and made them feel happy. His childish attitude made me feel calm. When he first showed up, my immediate thought was how he was like the sun. And when he showed up during the party scene (which actually made me feel shakey cause I understood how scary that feels) I felt so relieved.
SO yeah I really liked this :3
Thank you so much for taking the time to play and leave such a thoughtful comment! π₯Ή When I was first concepting this project, I was originally envisioning a much more horrific game, with Geist being a much more villainous antagonist (I even played with the idea of giving him an eldritch form to communicate how horrible he was). But as I was writing the script I realized that you were right - he's hateable and loveable at the same time. He crushes your self-esteem and tries to make you feel worthless - but at the same time his words ARE tinged with that persistent affection for you, that belief that what he's doing is in your best interest. I'm really glad that he roused such conflicting feelings in you; I definitely know that he did that to me, haha!
And AWW I'm glad that you felt that way about Kalei! "Sunshine" was 100% the vibe that I wanted to give with him (his color scheme is actually based on a "sun and sky" theme!) We all need a Kalei...
Thank you again for playing and leaving the kind review π I'm very glad you enjoyed it!!
this game is ridiculously good, thank you for putting the time and effort into doing it alone!
Thank you so much for playing and for taking the time to leave such a kind comment π₯Ήπ I'm glad you enjoyed!
Heyy sorry for bothering you but the game gets stuck on here
i tried to delete and start the game again but it didnt work. What should I do?
Oh no, that's very strange - I wonder if the game files got corrupted somehow? Could you try deleting and reinstalling it, then starting a new game and skipping to the point (as opposed to continuing the same game file?) If that doesnt work let me know and I can give you a save file that continues from this point (if you are on Windows)!
Just tried that but π It is still stuck on that text. If it's not much of a problem, could you give me a safe file? ( I am on Windows but I've never tried this kind of thing so...)
Of course! I've uploaded a file here for you:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rO9u32LI8HXgyXgXBw-9kQ2UyKjghEQy/view?usp=shari...
What you're going to want to do is go to
C:\Users\"username"\AppData\Roaming\Chattercap\MINDMINDMIND
And put the file there; make sure to overwrite the previous file and don't change the filename. The name is Otaku with they/them pronouns; I hope that's okay! The player has 2 KP in this file, so you can access both endings using it; if you need any help consult the guide linked in the devlogs!
(Edit: I think you've had a chance to download the file if you need, so I've deleted this to clean up my drive!)
ugh I LOVED THIS!!! I feel like I could sense the amount of care and attention put into this VN, the UI was wonderful to use, the backgrounds and character designs fun to look at, the animated sprites, the voice acting... all of it!! Especially for a game jam, this is so well put together and super fun (and lowkey personal but we don't talk about that...) to play through! Thank you so much for the game, I loved it! <33
YOU'RE SO KIND, I'm so touched! You're too sweet dfgdf I'm so glad that you enjoyed it (and dw it's personal for me too, we can mutually agree not to talk about it...) Thank you for playing and taking the time to comment! :)
Geist sure is taking gaslight gatekeep guyboss to a new level lmao
His poisonous remarks weren't very fun to read (though I suppose that is the point haha), but I do like his VA a lot. I love both fo the VAs for this VN, actually; they both did a really great job!
The UI for this VN was impeccable, and I really liked the filtered photo BGs. I'm a big fan of them: they help root the story in the 'real world' so it feels even more immersive. The animated sprites/CGs look gorgeous too; it's clear a lot of work went into this.
For a free VN, it's very polished! You did a great job putting it together in a month!
Oh, and Kalei is such a sweetheart. I'm glad my MC ended up with him in my playthrough; it was really nice seeing Kalei get the MC to open to him by being so patient and understanding. It was very charming!
AHHH EBI thank you so much for playing, I'm honored you took the time to check it out! Haha, honestly I was afraid that people would be annoyed that they didn't get "affectionate yan British ghost" and instead they got "irritating man that makes you want to slap him," but it seems like everyone seems to understand the conceit so I'm glad π The VAs really did a fantastic job for this one; I was worried about getting people who could fit the part (on relatively short notice) considering that this game is so dialogue heavy, but they knocked it out of the park! I was so lucky to work with them!
Ohh I'm so glad that you thought that way about the BGs! I'll be honest I did it mainly due to time constraints, but I did think they really ended up suiting the story/vibe in the end! I think that we could all use a friend like Kalei π As an introvert I really wish I had a pocket extrovert that I could keep around...he would be so useful...
Thank you so much for playing and for taking the time to leave such kind comments! I really appreciate it!
This game is amazing, although I don't know very well English I found it quite entertaining, I loved it!!
Aww thank you so much, I'm so touched that you played it even though English isn't your native language π₯Ί I'm glad you enjoyed!!
I realllyyyy loveeeddd thisss. I like the art style , voice acting and everything.. It is kinda relatable too. In one of my school event I collapsed and i panicked so much.. I enjoyed thiss gamee so muchh.
AWW I'm so happy, thank you for playing and for taking the time to leave such a kind comment! π₯Ί I'm really glad that this story of mine is relatable for a lot of people π Thank you again!
I LOVE THISSS!!! I had a whole bunch of fun playing this :D
The animated CGs, the way their facial expressions change, the story, the voice acting, everything, it really pieces the game together.
And oml this perfectly captured my thoughts whenever I have to be social. I am a HUUUGEEE overthinker and this MC is exactly how I would think in those situations. π
Bravo for accuracy. Loved this game!
THANK YOU FOR THE KIND WORDS, I'm really glad you enjoyed it!! This is based so heavily on my own experience that I'm glad that others have found it to be relatable too! It's very validating, haha!
Thank you for playing and for taking the time to leave this comment! :)
Wow, this game makes you think so much, and also appreciate the VA and the beauty of the characters lol But really, the metaphor of Geist being that toxic voice in our anxious mind, always putting us down, and then trying to justify the act, accepting that we're fine alone and away from everything and everyone, always in our little bubble... It couldn't have been done better, it really is a toxic relationship, but with ourselves - at least that's what I think of the whole game.
Kalei is the famous extrovert who adopts an introvert, I feel like that with my best friend lmao Him helping the mc is a really cute thing, although at the same time he talks in such a light and relaxed way about the panic attack that it irritates me, and at other times I agreed with things Geist said. It's simply a game that makes you think a lot, and when some details fit with you irl, it cuts deep but damn, I don't regret it. Simply fucking awesome!
AHH thank you so much for your thoughtful comment, I'm so touched! The VAs were simply FANTASTIC - they really sold the whole thing, imo! You hit the nail on the head with your analysis; I really wanted to describe how "toxic" your relationship with yourself can be - and how scary it can become.
Your comments on Kalei are interesting, and honestly I'm glad to hear them! He's a real ball of sunshine, but at the same time I wanted to portray him as not perfect. He tries his best but he doesn't really understand what the MC is going through, and his lack of understanding can be irritating/frustrating. On the other hand, Geist understands you COMPLETELY, which is why his words, as toxic as they are, are also understandable in a lot of ways.
Thank you again for taking the time to leave a review; honestly "a game that makes you think a lot" is one of the BEST compliments that I've eve received on a project! I'm glad you enjoyed! :D
WEEP CHATTER, THIS WAS WONDERFUL AHHHHHHH ππ
(SOME VAGUE SPOILERS THO I TRY TO AVOID SAYING ANYTHING TOO DIRECTLY BUT JUST A WARNING)
This one hit so close to home... As someone who also struggles in conversations and is constantly worried about either saying too much or not saying enough or zoning out when talking to people or that I'm being a bother, etc., this was... extremely hard-hitting for me. And I found myself at first kinda agreeing instinctively with the things Geist was saying, but as the game progressed, I started to realize what was going on, and I began feeling more confident in pushing back and being able to tell the difference between his mangled false version of reality he kept whispering and what was actually happening. It made me feel both happy in that, like, I was pushing back against so many of my own inner thoughts I've struggled with for a long time, while also a bit sad, because even though I could get myself to do so in the game, I knew that I wouldn't always be so successful in my own version of Geist... π¦
I really really loved how seamlessly the story handled that slow revelation of who Geist really is without even actually saying it??? Like it was brilliantly done. You set everything up, with the build-up, and the structure, and then the lead-in to that final main confrontation with him, so well that like... before you even knew it, you realized what was going on. It was just so fantastic lkdjfads And honestly that made it even more powerful because, like, in reality, we can't always tell the difference between truth and our own minds trying to sabotage us, and there never will be a grand reveal showing us that our thoughts were never true. We always will still have that voice nagging at us, trying to pull us back down, and the only thing we can do is attempt to get better at fighting it off (and perhaps seeking out support in others, as well).
Overall this was such a brilliant game, Chatter ahhHHHHHHHH. Why do your games always do this to me LKDJFASDFA I love so much how playing your games feels even more like being immersed into a novel than any other games I've played. Perhaps because of how you set everything up, with the animations and how you handle your CGs and art, to especially the GUI and how naturally it makes the narration and dialogue flow across the screen in-sync with the images. I swear it always makes the game feel so much faster than it actually is because I end up just getting so immersed in it that it makes the time fly kjdfad In this game in particular I loved the switching between the different types of framing, from the sprites and sprite expression cut-aways, to the BG narration, to the CGs, to the NVL parts that usually were either a flashback or other detail-oriented part. Every choice on when to switch to a different type of screen composition felt so natural, always carrying me to the next line, to the next scene, keeping the story constantly moving forward in a way that felt like I was watching a movie at times.
The art and animations were fantastic as always. That's such a key element of a Chatter VN at this point, and it never disappoints. Kalei was absolutely adorable and I loved him immediately, and the little animations and expressions and like the excited and sweatdrops animations and all of those just made him even more irresistible he's just so sweet???? ππAnd he was so caring ahhhHHHHHHH I want a friend like Kalei SOB. I loved how there wasn't a single interaction with him that felt awkward or uncomfortable -- AT LEAST FROM HIS SIDE. Because of course we have Geist in there telling us things are going wrong even though they aren't, and instead Kalei is just there being a big dorky sweetie the whole time. It really made my heart squish jfldkajfdsf
And ofc Geist himself. WHAT A LOOK FOR THE PERSONFICATION OF OUR INNER SELF-SABOTAGING VOICE LMAO. As smooth and persuasive as you might expect from someone who's able to so easily convince us of our own ineptitude. I loved just the sheer presence that he has. Always there. Just watching. Making snide comments about every little thing we do. The way he truly feels like a "geist" that's just constantly haunting us and our thoughts. However still somehow "charming" in the way that he can still twist our mind into seeing things his way no matter how we may want to resist. Just a stellar design choice there for not only his look and voice but also just how every scene frames him and how even when he's not mentioned you can still somehow feel his presence tingling on the back of your neck.
I found the MC's feeling of embarrassment over their interests to be incredibly relatable. Even though my interests have never been an animated detective dog (LOL) I've had my own fair share of interests that I've felt weird bringing up to people all throughout my life. And though I used to be a lot more open with them when I was younger, unable to stop talking about them or referencing them, over the years as people would find them weird or my obsessions annoying, I became more and more afraid to ever bring them up, which only ever made me feel more embarrassed when talking to people. I still can barely bring up my game dev stuff to anyone in RL because I feel like they would all think it's "silly" or "weird." But if someone were to show genuine interest like Kalei maybe I would actually be able to open up and ramble on about my hobbies like I actually want to deep inside without feeling like I'm being annoying and monopolizing the conversation. Sob. Once again proving that Kalei is too sweet and wonderful for this world LKDJALDFAD ππ
God there were just so many relatable parts to this entire thing and I feel like it's going to be sitting with me for a while now HHHHHH. CHATTER YOUR GAMES TRULY NEVER DISAPPOINT. And yet they're all so vastly different! Despite the consistent look and feel in the way you do your art and UI, each game has such a different vibe and tackles such different themes and subjects that I still never know what I'm getting myself into whenever I start up another one. Yet I always know that by the end I'm just gonna be sitting there in my chair like AHHHHHHHHHHHH because of its brilliance. AND THE FACT THAT YOU MADE THIS IN ONLY ONE MONTH?? LITERALLY RIGHT AFTER PUTTING OUT KANAU??? WHICH WAS ALSO RIGHT AFTER PUTTING OUT THE DEEPWATCH WITCH DEMO???? CHATTER ARE YOU OK???? ARE YOU RESTING???? HOW DO YOU KEEP CHURNING OUT ALL THESE ABSOLUTE BANGERS??????
OK I'll stop now LKDFJAFSD but seriously. Every single one of your games is so absolutely polished and written SO WELL and just transports me instantly into another world where its characters and stories grab me by the collar and refuse to let me go. SO THANK YOU FOR DOING IT AGAIN AND MAKING ME FALL IN LOVE WITH ANOTHER OF YOUR GAMES π
Just all in all wonderful and insightful and beautifully done and cutting STRAIGHT TO THE CORE OF ME AND MY OWN THOUGHTS. I shall attempt to utilize the practice I had with Geist in pushing back against my own intrusive thoughts....... maybe......... we'll see π€£π¦
AHHHHHH CARROT THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU'RE TOO KIND
I'M GLAD YOU ENJOYED
(again vague spoilers for anyone else be warned)
I was really curious about what you would think about this one in particular since I know that you've touched on anxiety quite a bit in your games in ways that I found EXTREMELY relatable. So now we can be....anxiety devs π€
AHH I'm really glad that it struck a chord with you, I mostly wrote it based off my own experience tbh dfgdf so a part of me wondered "Do other people think this way, or am I just crazy?" And actually that reaction is EXACTLY what I heard from one of my beta testers! I think that, when you've gone through similar things but have come out of it, it's easier to recognize what Geist is and push back against him. dfgdfgfdgd "I was pushing back against so many of my own inner thoughts" dfgdfg I'm so honored, I really DID want that to be the experience for people! And it's a process πͺ sometimes you can tell him to get lost, and sometimes you just want to lie in his cold, lifeless arms...I'm sure you have your own successes against him πͺ
I'M GLAD, I had a very clear "vision" of what Geist was, but I didn't really want to say it or give a definitive answer, since I think that he'll mean different things for different people based on your life experience. So I'm happy that his identity wasn't just painfully obtuse LOL
DFGDFGDFG THANK YOU I feel like I didn't really go "out of the box" with the presentation this time (gosh every time I pick up one of your games it seems like I'm screenshotting inspo), but I'm glad that you felt so immersed!! If nothing else...I want my games to be easy to read π (AND DFGDF I only wish that I could reach OW levels of cinema...someday....)
I DID HAVE SO MUCH FUN WITH KALEI'S ANIMATIONS, I really went full "shoujo" with him and it made me want to make lighter-hearted games where I can add more shoujo effects...(I also want a friend like Kalei ngl). And DFGDFGD I WONT LIE originally geist was gonna be a real slimeball, a shut-in lookin dude, but then I thought, "but wait, wouldn't anxiety be kind of attractive actually? And charming?" and then I decided to go full British gentleman LOL and Shaun DELIVERED
ngl the embarrassment over your niche hobbies is pretty relatable to me too; there are a lot of interests that I won't bring up to people unless I've 100% confirmed "yes you are a comrade, you are also interested in this very niche thing..." And aww carrot π₯Ί I'd say that I've gone a fairly similar route, but mostly because I was really desperate to connect/share my passions when I was younger, and nowadays I'm just like "my passions are my own, and I'll enjoy them solo..." I also barely bring up my game dev stuff to people RL (not in small part because over half of my games are yan games at this point LOL), so I'm really glad to have a kind community online to gush about this niche interest with π y'all are my kalei...
AND DFGDFGDF YES I'M RESTING I'M OK (I MIGHT DO THE FULL VERSION OF TDW THIS MONTH BUT I'M OK) somehow I feel like I've been on a roll π I was really burnt out after Karamu and tdw for some reason but MMM and Kanau have been good π«‘ if I stop I'll probably hibernate for half a year LOL
THANK YOU FOR LEAVING SUCH A THOUGHTFUL COMMENT I'm tearing up, I'm glad that it was goodπ (I was kinda worried about this one ngl..."what if everyone just finds it annoying?? or not what they were expecting??") And best of luck πͺ if you slap your Geist I'll slap mine π€
I absolutely love the voice acting; it adds such depth and immersion to the game. Furthermore, I'm thoroughly impressed by the intricate detail and high level of polish evident throughout every aspect of the game.
Thank you very much for the kind words!! The voice actors did such a fantastic job! And I'm honored that you did a playthrough π₯Ήπ Thank you!
Good stuff, I do love 'Be degraded by a British man and befriend the human version of a Golden Retriever' simulator!!
And I also loved how accurate Geist felt if we go by the interpretation that he is just representing anxiety, and it's kind off sad to say that I once relied on a 'Geist' of my own, believing if I never approached that nothing could harm me again.. Really well written!!! Go into my favorite game collection NOW!!!
I live to serve only the nichest of gaming niches π and thank you so much for the kind words! I'm honestly glad to hear that; I based a lot of this game off my own (embarrassing) experiences so I'm glad that it struck a chord with you! π₯Ήπ¦ Thank you for playing!
the more i played the more im convinced geist isnt even real and just the voices in my head that cause my social anxiety
Hmm what is he, indeed...I'll leave it up to player interpretation LOL but I'll say that interpreting him as real and not real are both very valid!
i honestly think that geist is like us, giving ourselves negative comments such as: you cant even do something so easy... and after that you get sp nervous that you give up, so what if geist is just in our mind? telling us things? and also how only we can see him.
Ohhh what is Geist indeed...I'll leave it up to the player's interpretation (it's no fun if I tell you WHAT he is, and I think that everyone's perception of him will be a little different), but that is indeed a very real possibility~
oh this was excellent omg.. for some reason i really liked geist HAHA but kalei was such a nice dude!! the artwork in this was stunning and the plot unfolded so nicely;;
Aww thank you so much!! And I don't blame you, it's the accent....thank you for the kind comments and I'm glad you enjoyed!!
I just started (yay it's working on mac on my partner's 2021 M1!) and I'm already hoping we get to see more of Detective Dog XD
GEIST IS A PRICK! And Kalei seems soooo sweet ^^
AHHH I'm glad you could find another device to play it on!! Yes hhhkkkj unfortunately it doesn't seem to work on MacOS Monterey specifically, and I have no idea why π and Detective Dog is surprisingly plot relevant dw π€£
I reached the two endings! Feels so satisfying to ignore Geist aha! Even if heβs misguidedly trying to protect me in his own toxic, suffocating way
The helplessness of being constantly talked down to hit hard. Damn, this was painful to go through but also empowering to see how untrue the negative self-talk is. Feels relatable to all the fears and paranoia immigrant parents can sometimes unleash on their kids, unknowingly wearing them down and crippling their growth
I also enjoyed the eye necklace staring at me all the time aha
Ahh I'm glad you enjoyed it! π I think that this game will probably hit different depending on your life experience; I'm really interested to see different people's takes on it! The immigrant experience is actually not an interpretation I considered but it is SO true (dang what I wouldn't have given to have a British man with a sexy voice talk down to me instead of my parents...)
AHH I'm glad you found it empowering π₯Ή
LOL the eye necklace was fun πππ I would've animated the menu one too but I thought it would be too distracting...
Thank you again for playing!! π€ππ
LMAO yeah I was like, this is an interesting way to package the negative self-talk in your mind XD
Too bad what he was saying turned me off from him haha, but at least he has a nice voice.
It also reminded me of SILENZIO BRUNO from Luca for silencing that voice in your head.
Not too bad to have Geist's voice remind you to stretch your legs after couch potatoing too long though ;)
is it just me or is the game not launching? (i'm on a mac!) it says that the game quit unexpectedly
Oh, strange! What OS are you using? I've gotten reports that it doesn't work on Monterey, and unfortunately I don't have a good way to debug it since I don't have access to a Monterey Mac. Otherwise, have you tried launching it through the official itch app? That can fix some of the security issues.
yes I usually launch my games on the official app. but alas, i actually am using a monterey LOL it is what it is. If you happen to fix it I'll be on the look out!! thanks so much.
Ack I'm sorry π Hopefully I can find a fix in the future!
WOW. Seriously I just played through and followed your advice and I could not wait to tell Geist to take a hike. I adored Kalei soooo much.
This was an amazing game and I can't wait for more of your work!
TAKE A HIKE, honestly that's perfect for him, he deserves it...take a long hike and come back much, much later...or maybe not at all...
Thank you so much!! I'm so glad that you enjoyed it! :)
This is a really good gameπ
Thank you!! I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
Geist is enough of a good reason to play this game, I don't care what the haters will say!!
Okay, first and foremost, CONGRATULATIONS for making such a game in less than a month, and still managing to slide in a VERY HIGH-QUALITY artbook everyone should buy!! *points guns at the readers*
More seriously, MindMindMind is an excellent visual novel on the technical aspect: the coding is very smooth and the GUI very intuitive. The writing, and we're used to it with Chattercap, is nothing short of excellent. This is the first time that, in this dev's work, that we get a first-person narration, and the balance between making things sound natural and yet still very elegantly written. The art is CHEF'S KISS and I havea particular fondness for GEIST'S SPRITE and I swear I am not biased in any sort. More seriously, the little additions for Kalei's expressions were adorable, and the CG work was absolutely gorgeous. The backgrounds were for the most part very nice photographs edited beautifully, and the way the backgrounds changed to indicate mood shifts at several instances in the game was great. One of the backgrounds, however, was hand-drawn: the bedroom. It was beautifully rendered.
The voice-acting too was excellent and I cannot highlight it enough. I found both voice actors extremely warm-sounding, and yet, so different: while Kalei sounds friendly and warm, Geist's warmness is meant to lure you into staying with him. The voice actors did a great job, congrats to them!
The story is a very interesting one. The premise of being followed by a ghost is naturally quite alluring, but he manages to be a very interesting and nuanced threat to the protagonist's personal arc. The other love interest, Kalei, was a perfect contrast: if Geist will try everything he can to "lock you up", Kalei, on the other hand, opens the protagonist's perspectives, making them discover a part of the world they could never had otherwise.
Long story short: PLAY THIS GAME AND DATE THIS GHOST. And the pretty classmate too. This game is definitely worh your time.
#### ----- OH MY GOD SPOILERS ----- ####
The main theme of MindMindMind is piΓ±ata-crafting... okay, I'm kidding, it is social anxiety, and it is portrayed wonderfully through the character of Geist and his relationship with the protagonist.
Whether Geist is mostly metaphorical or not is up to you, but there is no doubt he is a metaphor to some extent: he represents all the anxious thoughts one can have, these paralysing, daunting slabs we throw at ourselves, preventing us from experimenting, experiencing life because... what if we failed? What if we looked ridiculous? What if we bothered others? What if, what if, what if. Geist is the incarnation of what these "what ifs" can be in their most toxic incarnation. The thought is seductive, and it's difficult to keep them away: they are always here, somehow.
Geist is therefore the incarnation of the protagonist's social anxiety. A very good idea from the game is to represent him as warm, coaxingly so, because anxiety is comfortable: after all, what is wrong with not going out if you'd rather stay home? And that's where the game strikes very hard, and that's where the trigger warnings have to be considered fully: Geist is very convincing. I do not suffer from social anxiety myself, although I did at some point in my life: so, although his words couldn't reach me, I still found them convincing to some extent. Geist will tell you there is nothing wrong with you, that you not being sociable is just part of your personality, not necessarily a problem. In reality, the line is thin: there is a difference between choosing to stay in your dormroom because you want to rest, and choosing to do so because you are afraid of seeing others. The writing has enough finesse to exploit this ambiguity and portray Geist as an immense threat to the protagonist's well-being: he is certainly one of the most frightening yandere characters I've ever encountered in fiction, because he is indeed very charming, and manages to convince you of something working against you.
The game, however, wants to be more than the narration of a character giving in to their anxiety: it wants to be an empowering story, showing that these thoughts, if they might not completely disappear, can be defeated. The subversion is interesting: Geist is a threat to the protagonist only because they give in; but refusing to believe his toxic words is enough to overcome him and turn him into a much less threatening antagonist. However, this salutary refusal is complicated, and is progressively built upon during the game, when you choose to spend time with Kalei. Kalei respects the protagonist's boundaries; Kalei tries to introduce them to new things, while still caring for them, which isn't a burden for him. More than that, Kalei mirrors the protagonist slightly. He indeed mentions being told that he talks too much, gets in an argument with his friends, isn't a fan of parties... Despite being an extrovert and not suffering from social anxiety, he still has sometimes a hard time to navigate through everything, which is fine and fairly realistic. Coming from an extrovert: even we have social batteries! I truly appreciated this take.
The two endings of the game are very interesting: Geist is a classical "cage" ending for yandere stories, but the cage is metaphorical and even subverted: it is a place crafted for and by the protagonist, since Geist is just a reflection of their own anxiety. It is therefore natural that they find a sense of comfort. This ending is the triumph of Geist as a villain: he is seen as sweet, soft by the protagonist, he managed to gaslight us into trusting his words and believing he is what we need.
Kalei's ending, however, is very strong: the protagonist has a confrontation with Geist, finally actively fighting their own anxious thoughts, and the game sends a lot of very healthy and positive messages, while remaining very realistic: sometimes, meeting people will indeed go wrong and as predicted by the anxious thoughts. But if it happens, it's okay, life isn't over. And it is worth trying anyway to find the people with whom things will go smoothly. Life is made of experiences, not all of them will be positive, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be explored nonetheless.
It's on this note that the game then has one of the most beautiful scenes I've seen in a visual novel: Geist lets the protagonist go. He accepts their determination, wishing them good luck in a world that goes beyond him and what he can comprehend. Not that he completely leaves: the anxious thoughts don't leave. But he slowly accepts the protagonist's new life, letting them heal. And similarly, and reciprocally, the protagonist acknowledges that Geist will always be there and that... that's okay. I cannot emphasise how gorgeous and emotional it was in game, it almost made me tear up. The maturity with which the topic is tackled is nothing short of impressive: yes, anxiety is difficult and no, it won't magically leave because you start hanging out with a classmate. Sometimes things will be amazing, sometimes they will be horrible. But that's okay. That doesn't mean we're not healing: just that healing isn't a straight line.
Congrats on releasing this game, Chatter, and thanks for having me as a beta-tester, it was an honour! I had a blast playing it and it really was magnificent!
Thank you for your submission, here is your trophy π
More seriously, WOW, you wrote a lot (surely powered by your love for your new husbando...) Thank you for the comments on the writing and the art dfgdfgfd I honestly feel like it wasn't nearly as good as previous projects (I feel like my writing/art both peaked with TDW), but alas, time constraints! It was a big help being able to use edited photos for the backgrounds!
I agree with you that the voice acting was absolutely top notch, and I do like how you touched on the different types of "warmth" that both actors have (and indeed, in certain parts I actually gave them similar/identical lines - to highlight this difference in delivery!)
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I honestly don't have much to say, you touched on basically everything that I wanted to communicate with the game quite comprehensively LOL Indeed, as you know, I originally imagined Geist to be quite a gloomy, creepy individual. But such an individual would be easy to dismiss and ignore - no, instead Geist had to be VERY charming and convincing, hence why he dresses like an academic/university professor (and also why I was pretty much dead set on voice acting for this project in particular, as I knew that Geist's dialogue was quite key to creating a full experience).
I think that, when suffering from anxiety (or a variety of other "life problems," I suppose) - it is easy to make up excuses for yourself so that you feel better about your inability to do something. "I can't make friends, so I don't really want any." "I can't find anyone to date, so I don't really want to date." "I'm bad at cooking, so I'm just not a cook." And this is actually the most frightening thing of all. Because if you languish in discomfort, then perhaps that discomfort will eventually push you to change yourself - but if you start becoming comfortable in your inadequacies, then you will never change. However, at the same time Geist is not an "evil" entity to me (and why I feel comfortable giving him a "sympathetic" backstory, despite his egregious behavior) - because that desire to be comfortable as who you are, to be accepted without needing to change - is completely natural. And, arguably, it's something that should be EMBRACED. But I think that it's quite a fine line between being "comfortable" and being "complacent." I'm glad that you thought that I navigated that ambiguity well, since I do know it's quite a blurry line LOL and I was a bit worried about the clarity of the point!
I'm glad that you noted the parallels between Kalei and the MC as well! I did intend Kalei to be the MC's "opposite" in many ways, but actually more similar to them than he first appears. After all, everyone has social difficulties, not just people suffering from noticeable anxiety. And I think that as the MC grows to realize this, then they realize that their own problems are not as catastrophic as they first appear.
Of course, how could it be a yandere game without a CAGE ending? But indeed, this cage ending is special - one crafted from the MC's own mind, in which they freely lock themselves. I'm glad to read your comments on Kalei's ending, your compliments are too kind dfgdfgdf When writing the story, it was important to me that the various "outings" the MC has with Kalei didn't go perfectly well. When they meet up for lunch, the conversation peters out and becomes awkward. The MC (though through no fault of their own) does end up "embarrassing" themself in front of Kalei at the Halloween party. And when they get together with Kalei's friends, it goes catastrophically (at least from the MC's perspective). And yet, the MC lives, and the friendship continues on in spite of the hiccups. And, after facing these (admittedly minor) difficulties, the MC finally gains the courage to initiate the friendship on their own.
I'm glad that you commented on the "reciprocity" of Kalei's end! I did want that kind of mutual understanding between Geist and the MC - the MC does not banish Geist, they do not attack him. They have an open dialogue and come to an understanding - because that's what dealing with anxiety is, it's coming to an understanding with yourself. It's accepting yourself for who you are AND vowing to better your life in spite of that. You summarized it all quite beautifully!
Thank you for playing and reading and leaving such a wonderful comment! I'm very lucky to have you :)