Going Out Out

See you pulled the classic scarecrow mascara show. What could pull at the heartstrings more? lol Not a fan of ambiguous choices but for the short length it gets away with it. I give it 2 ::head pats:: of approval.

i am so so proud of what youve done here, you managed to portray a story that hits so close to home. phoenix is beautiful and she needs to realise that. i got so upset when i got the bad ending that i had to keep going back until i made her happy. im so proud to call you a friend, i cant wait to see what other projects you do! i love you!!! ₊˚⊹♡ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

Shit- I want that pride glitterrrrr!!!

Striking, unique, powerful... hits home in many ways. You've did an amazing job with this one! :) <3

Such beautiful work. It conveys so many powerful emotions in just a few lines of dialogue - some of the struggles in this game are so painfully relatable to me and I'm sure millions of others too. It really manages to build this powerful atmosphere of a social sticky situation and then break it down into pieces. It was a lot of fun to find all the endings - and they carry some really powerful messages too.

This was such a gut punch, my god 😭💦 Like. Really hitting to the core of me. As someone who has never been confident in how they look and wanting to change literally everything about themself (and who already deals ENOUGH with anxiety LDKAJFDS) I related so hard to Phoenix and I spent half the game wallowing in her misery and half of it desperately hoping that I could somehow... somehow... help her push through everything that was going on in her head. This was just such a visceral experience. And I also really enjoyed how you gave such a variety of different subconscious thoughts for why Phoenix feels the various ways about herself that she does. Because there are literally 50 million different external factors affecting us at all times and trying to tear us down -- some of them related to family, friends, work, the things we see and read, the things shoved into our faces constantly on social medial. There's no escaping it sometimes??? And so it's no wonder when even when we think we're doing fine and can handle things, it'll all come rushing and bubbling up to take the wind out of us at the most inopportune moments, just like Phoenix's sudden shift in mood here right before she was about to go have a fun night with friends.

The art was absolutely gorgeous. I'm in love with the composition of having Phoenix in the mirror and clicking around the different areas that are stuck in her own mind and that she can't let go of, while then having the occasional interruption from her friends in the phone on the right. LOL I HAVE TO ADMIT. AT FIRST. THE TEXT MESSAGE NOISE MADE ME SUPER ANXIOUS EVERY TIME IT WENT OFF LAKDJFAD Perhaps I have a weird relationship with text messages and ppl contacting me already LMAO But here also, it was like this incessant interruption that when Phoenix is still unable to break free of her thoughts, feels like it just keeps hammering away. But if you're able to help Phoenix start to push through and listen to the excited and encouraging messages from her friends, then it starts to feel like a beacon that's guiding her along, helping get her through the rough patch. The wonderful and accepting words of her friends reminding her not only that she has so much support and is loved so much, but that what she's telling herself is a lie and though it's difficult, she can work to defeat it.

JUST SO GOOD. AND MAKING ME SUCH A WRECK, TOO. Dang. I just. Really appreciated this. And the music!! There was something about it. Like. At the beginning, when Phoenix is trapped in her self-deprecating headspace, it felt very morose and heavy, but as it transitioned to (well I got the good ending) her hope beginning to return and the excited voices of her friends, it started to feel more and more uplifting despite it not even changing. MAYBE IT WAS JUST ME but it was just a great piece that fit so well. The voice acting was phenomenal, too!

ALL IN ALL JUST FANTASTIC. An experience that was at times painful but also so so encouraging and uplifting and hopeful. I really loved this so much! 💕

OMG i feel so bad :( i choose everthing that made her feel worse in my first play thru, i just wanted to make her feel better T0T

omg i just realized it was only one va and i'm speechless... (it was so good?????? the scream in the bad ending, omg..... and the cheers in the good ending... omggg.....)

this whole game was RAW. my mom have some struggles with self-image sometimes and here you showed them exactly how they appear: as simple thoughts. suddenly you "realize" details in your body and you can't help but remember people's commentary (the mother one... goodness) and it can get pretty overwhelming. it's so sad that so many gorgeous women think of themselves as ugly and undeserving of love... i think you really managed to capture all this in this little game.

i really liked this. thank you for this <3

(p.s. i think u look gorgeous too.............)

Lesbian here, seal of approval. Knew it the moment I saw the hand holding the phone had all long nails but two. (Bonus: pretty woman 10/10, brain cells happy)

LOVED this entry. It's so real, I like that you were uncomfortably honest with the subject matter, it was told in a way that can only be told if you have first hand experience and most women do. 

This was equal parts uncomfortable and comfortable. Voice acting was so gooood gosh we do not deserve VA's mannnn.

Phoenix is legitimately gorgeous and she looks BANGER~! But I know she needs to believe it first, and that's the hardest part. No matter how beautiful we see her, unless she feels like she is, she'll never be happy.

Self love is something I also decided to tackle in my O2A2 project and games like this speak so many people because we all struggle with our self image in one way or another. It's sad, but if we are aware of the issue we can fix it.

I like that the endings all are so authentic!

I love how cleverly constructed this project was in the first place. The mechanics of clicking and further inspecting Phoenix in the mirror GOSH so real it hurts.

The quivering texts was such a great idea! Honestly just a brilliant project and equally brilliant execution! Amazing jobbbb!

This was at the same time hearbreaking and heartwarming!!! Kudos the voice acting which was excellent, and to the music which accompanied the game perfectly!

The art was absolutely gorgeous too, wow! And the point-and-click part was at the same time cruel and yet so real, so authentic! I never used point-and-click gameplay used like that and yet it conveyed Phoenix's insecurities so well!!! That she could connect what she finds beautiful about others with her own body (and thinking that, perhaps, others could find these things as beautiful on her) was really moving!

Congrats on the entry, it was a very good and emotional one!!

I just want to give Phoenix a big hug. I was so glad to see her supported and hyped up by her friends because she honestly rocks that outfit!!

The mini game reflected on her body as she judges herself in the mirror (while painful) is real effective and relatable. I absolutely love the moody art! The (GORGEOUS!!!) sprite and background work really well together, contrasting the phone screen! Did I mention I love Phoenix? Because I really love Phoenix!!!!!

Amazing work on your first solo game, excited to see more content from you!!(≧◡≦).｡.:*☆

you were so real for this… BRAVO!!!

This was such a well-written and designed game, and painfully relatable! I think most people have suffered from body-image issues at some point in their life, in one way or another, and it's extremely painful when you suddenly become so conscious of your own appearance and so uncomfortable in your own skin. While I wanted to protest against how Phoenix talked about herself, I also knew how she exactly how she felt. There's so many little details in this game too - Phoenix's relationship with her mom, the fact that she tries to dress to hide her weight, etc. It's ironic that Phoenix believes that other people (her mother, her ex - people who at least look a little like her) are beautiful, but she doesn't believe that she's beautiful. It's ironic, but very true. 

I really like how the choices are deliberately vague. Each choice is just one word, and there's no real way to tell how Phoenix will play out that choice in her head. But that's the way these bouts of self-doubt can be! Your mind grabs onto certain thoughts in a largely uncontrollable way, and those thoughts can improve your mood, but they can also lead you down a rabbithole of negativity. In my first playthrough, I picked a mix of "positive" and "negative" choices, and subsequent playthroughs required some trial and error, as I pieced together which choices would lead me to the good ending. I think that this was really cleverly designed, as it forces you to navigate the maze of Phoenix's negative self-talk in order to reframe her state of mind, much like how you need to do that in real life! (As an addition, thank you so much to the dev for adding the "quivering" text effect for the more negative choices. It reinforced Phoenix's doubts in a very visual way while also acting as a very nice quality of life feature, telling the player whether the choice would lead to the good or the bad ending!) 

SPOILERS HERE

The endings are so well thought-out as well! In one, Phoenix's negative self-talk wins out and prevents her from going out. In another, Phoenix's negative self-talk gets so bad that it spills out into her texts, putting a damper on her friendships (so real). And in the last, Phoenix is able to talk herself up enough to go out - and when she finally goes out, she's met with overwhelming appreciation and love from her friends. I think that it's interesting that, with every variation, Phoenix's friends are equally supportive, but that's not enough. Phoenix needs to have confidence in herself in order to get the courage to put herself out there. It's very real and true (although obviously, having good friends helps a lot, too!) 

This game was VERY well designed overall. I loved the minigame and thought it suited the theme so well - Phoenix looking at herself in the mirror. The art is absolutely gorgeous (Phoenix is so pretty!!), and the color design was so clever! There is a slight blue tinge over the majority of the sprite (to give a melancholic atmosphere) while the phone image is fully saturated/given a warmer tone. It really contrasts Phoenix's negative self-image with how she really appears (it's also a VERY clever usage of the 1 sprite O2A2 rule!) The voice acting was WONDERFUL, and the actress portrayed all of the different characters so well! 

Really great work, tief!! (You look great today, too!)

There are some BIG feelings here, especially with a topic so real. I think it perfectly shows how important it is to be kind to yourself!

There is a lot of societal expectation behind us when it comes to how we should look, act, talk, walk, eat, and everything else under the sun. I really love that Pheonix had good friends to help her sort through things, and I hope anyone who goes through similar internal struggles tells your mind to heck off and just go live life!

We all have a short life to live, so we should do it having fun regardless of what we look like - ESPECIALLY of what others think we look like.

Excellent game <3