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Reviews for "Social Dysphoria The Game"

All right, before I get started with this, I just want to say that I think making a game based around the struggles transgendered people face is great. It's a concept you don't see too often. So I'll give you props for that.

With that said, I don't think the concept was executed well. In fact, at first I wondered if this was satire, because it actually seemed to be REINFORCING negative stereotypes of transgendered people, and social justice bloggers in particular (obsession with pronouns, for one, not to mention "Cisbot"... without reading the disclaimer in the description, that could easily be taken the wrong way). Instead of trying to communicate what trans people have to go through on a daily basis, which is what I expected, it felt like a guide on how not to be offensive. Unless the player is taking notes, I don't think it's going to have much of an impact on anyone.

As for the game itself, it's your average vertical shooter, with the main gimmick being that you're shooting and collecting words instead of more generic objects, like ships and powerups. It actually plays pretty well. My issue is that it feels like the game exists solely to drive the message, resulting in a somewhat barebones experience. Also, I don't understand the artstyle. What does imitating a Game Boy add to the game? Not much, really. It's just sort of... there.

Overall, this could've been thought out better. The concept is good, but there are some serious flaws in the execution.

VOEC responds:

A fair review. Thank you. I wnat to comment on a view things though.

You're right that the game could have been a lot better designed and the are major flaws with its gameplay and story. It could have been also a bit broader at shoing the player how it is to be transgender.
But I still think that there was some interesting value in the original idea from the tumblr-post. Because being misgendered and insulted is a thing that trans people have to go through on a daily basis. I've seen lots of my friends get shit like this every day. I think it's an important part about being transgender.
(But in case you're interested in a game that really shows what transgender people have to go through in their lifes I recommend Dys4ria from Anna Anthropy, also here on Newgrounds, if you haven't played it yet)

Regarding the artstyle. I choose it because it is simple and quick. I could have made it black and white or Atari-like, but I like the colors of the Gameboy. 4 shades, pretty easy. And honestly I didn't want to spend a lot of time on the graphics, since I was just trying out this idea, and wanted to get back on working on my "proper" game-projects.

"Are you a boy? Or are you a girl?"

Well, the game is about dysphoria, I supposeā€¦

You know what would be neat? A mechanic where you could shoot letters from improper pronouns to turn them into proper pronouns. So, like, for a trans man character, being able to shoot the "wo" out of "woman" to turn it into "man." It would add to the whole idea of having words shot at you. As it stands, they're just kinda basic projectiles.

There is absolutely nothing inherently bigoted in cisgendered people. I know Trans people who are just as bigoted as the worst of the "cis scum" that you rail against.

VOEC responds:

I do not rail against any "cis scum" (I also did not say that anywhere, so please don't false quote me).
And I agree, there is nothing inherently bigoted about cis people, if you would have read the description or some of my comment-responses you would have know that.

I give you 3/5 for gameplay, 4/5 for message, and 4/5 for design.

Specific comments:

-Gameplay isn't bad, but it's not terribly unique. It's just your usual dodge and shoot game, which is a solid base, but you don't go anywhere particularly exciting for it. The animation is nice and smooth, though, and the controls handle well.
-There's not a lot of gameplay and concept integration. The idea of dodging misgendering and picking up proper gender stuff is a good start, but it feels kind of generic.
-I'm sure this was part of the point, but the cisbot's constant flashing is really irritating. It's supposed to be annoying and all, but could we get it a bit more photosensitive friendly?
-I'm a little surprised there's no nonbinary option in the gender request screen. It's mentioned in the achievements, but I would have expected that as an option, followed by gameplay dealing with binarism.
-Music is a bit annoying, but you have a mute option, which far too many games leave out, so bonus points for that.

All in all, I was really excited to see another trans-positive game, but the game itself doesn't really communicate much in the way of complexity, and the gameplay on its own isn't that exciting. I'll bump you up half a star for effort, though.

VOEC responds:

The actually is a nonbinary option, but you have to unlock it by gaining a certain amount of points in story mode.