Nice little idea. Slightly disappointed you can't 'edit' the pronouns and use them - eg shooting the 'tom' off 'tomboy' and collecting the 'boy' part, or the 'he' from 'she'. That would add an extra layer of skill to it (though it's hard to think of many suitable words you could turn from male to female that way - Herr to her, perhaps)
Reviews for "Social Dysphoria The Game"
VOEC responds:
I had that idea, too, but it would have been beyond my programming abilities. Also, as you mentioned, it would have been a bit unbalanced since not many pronouns can be modified from m to f.
Disclaimer: I'm going to review this seriously. I know full well that this was not meant to be a seriously-taken game, but that's how I roll.
Ok. Let's break it down.
Gameplay-wise, it was terrible. I'm not going to sugar-coat it with a storyline excuse, the gameplay was dull, colourless and repetitive. You did shake it up with the lasers, but they were easy to avoid. Overall, if this was a serious game and was any longer, I would give up on it after the 2nd level.
On that cheerful note...
Story-wise, it was well suited for the project scale. It was simple, but just so slightly off the point. I think some people will be confused at what the message is, simply considering the cisbot to be a blind twit. However, once the word "lesbian" came up, I'm confident at least a few people will get the message eventually.
So after a short examination of your game, I'd think, considering the tiny scale of the project, you did pretty well. I feel that you could have been a bit less lazy in the gameplay and made something change in the 2nd and 3rd stages, and I know that you're capable of doing so.
Good game, if you don't mind a small, simple game.
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.
A fairly well crafted game, I'd say. It does a good job of doing what it sets out to do, namely highlighting the abuse and generally poor treatment of transgendered individuals by some of society's less understanding members. Not much to do within it, but that's not unusual for flashgames. That being said, gameplay does tend to get a little dull before long, but I can't really fault it for that due to the underlying messages. I'm at a bit of a loss as to what else to say, however. Overall, though, I'd say this was a pretty good creation.
Found this game strangely cathartic. Gets a little bit repetitive after a little while but it's a genuinely interesting concept and a good way to relieve stress related to dysphoria.