🎭 Dramacow Gamergate / Depression Quest Shitstorm

[Watcher]

You guys should consider a round of Oppression Quest

 

[Johnny Bravo]

You guys should consider a round of Oppression Quest

 

[Da Big Staw]

What really needs to happen is someone, ideally someone well known needs to make a new site dedicated to gaming thats not fucked up by this incestuous industry.

The state of "gaming journalism" is not very good. So I imagine creating a better quality site would not be very hard.

 

[Gothicserpent]

Okay, this sexism against men needs to stop and it needs to stop RIGHT FUCKING NOW.

Women have problems. Yes, we do. Men have problems, too. A man's problems are just as valid as a woman's problems. If you think otherwise, kindly shove your head up your ass (oh wait, you already have!). Someone tell me why it's unacceptable to say "women are just too emotional!" but to say "men only want one thing" is fine. Yes, let's boil all men down to their genitals, because it's not like they have aspirations or needs or ARE FUCKING HUMAN BEINGS, TOO.

You have no idea how much I agree with this.

 

[Artard]

It's likely someone here linked it to her on Twitter. It's unfortunate it lead to all this.

Wizardchan is mentioned on boards like r9k but not very often. It's unlikely Zoe Quinn came to Wizardchan and stumbled upon a thread of hers by accident. At the time we were talking about Wizardchan posting a thread about Zoe, and it's significantly more likely someone linked it to her as a result.

Actually it's mentioned quite often on /r9k/. I suggested earlier that she was probably ego surfing and came across a post (on Wizardchan, which is much slower than anything on 4chan and likely to be around long enough to be indexed by Google) and still think that's most likely. I don't really think the link between Zoe and the kiwi is all that likely, much less inevitable.

I'm not even sure I even want it on my computer, to be honest... just downloading it feels... dirty... I think I'll just read the reviews.

Browser based.

If this is the same as the one on Steam I lasted less time than Sikotik. If I wanted to listen to sad pianos I'd go listen to better sad piano music, and if I wanted to read that much I'd read something by a better writer.

 

[wheat pasta]

Okay, this sexism against men needs to stop and it needs to stop RIGHT FUCKING NOW.

Women have problems. Yes, we do. Men have problems, too. A man's problems are just as valid as a woman's problems. If you think otherwise, kindly shove your head up your ass (oh wait, you already have!). Someone tell me why it's unacceptable to say "women are just too emotional!" but to say "men only want one thing" is fine. Yes, let's boil all men down to their genitals, because it's not like they have aspirations or needs or ARE FUCKING HUMAN BEINGS, TOO.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

I'm a little drunk and quite pissed off, so I'm just going to sum up my feelings by saying that any group that attempts to achieve "equality" by pissing on another group is only adding their waste to the overflowing, polluted lake called Everything Wrong With Humankind.

If this is the same as the one on Steam I lasted less time than Sikotik. If I wanted to listen to sad pianos I'd go listen to better sad piano music, and if I wanted to read that much I'd read something by a better writer.

Dude, if you want to listen to sad music, listen to the fucking Mountain Goats. Their songs are the most depressing, beautiful shit ever.

EDIT: I must be too drunk for this. I'm on the page that describes your parents and the picture at the top of the page is of a fork. A FUCKING FORK.

EDIT 2: Made it to the day after the party. Can't take the fucking music anymore. The part about not being able to work on your project reminded me more of what it's like to have ADHD (which I do have) than what it's like to have depression (which I also have, but not to the degree of Bland Protagonist).

EDIT 3: Fuck it. I'm not going to let this game beat me. I'm going to keep playing, but I'm turning off my computer's sound and listening to my Celtic Pandora station on my iPhone instead.

EDIT 4: I adopted a kitty! Kitties are awesome, but the picture Zoe picked for this page is weird. It looks like the kitty is plotting my murder. Also it's an adult cat, not a kitten like the story says. Boo.

EDIT 5: The reviews I read on Steam describe Alex (girlfriend) as supportive, but she sighs a LOT when I'm around. Her dialogue (and mine, actually) is stiff and wooden. Zoe's prose isn't terrible - it's what I expected, but her dialogue reminds me of M. Night.

EDIT 6:

"The dentist said I'm apparently grinding my teeth too much when I sleep."

"Oh?" Malcolm replies, "Been stressed out lately kiddo?"

I'm dying of laughter.

EDIT 7: Boring online conversation with some dude named "attic." Struggling to stay focused. Ugh. This is worse than Sonic 06.

EDIT 8: Now it's the next morning. With "attic's" encouragement I decided to see a therapist and wrote down their number. Now it's the next morning and I can choose to call the therapist to make an appointment... OH WAIT NO I CAN'T. This is the point where I have to quit the game. As I said earlier I have depression and, while I was reluctant to take medication because I'm 99% sure my depression is caused by RL circumstances and not a chemical imbalance, I did see a therapist about it. BUT THE GAME WON'T LET ME CHOOSE THAT OPTION. SHENANIGANS! SHENANIGANS, I SAY!

 

[tehpope]

So Adam Baldwin entered the fray and Firefly creator Joss Whedon showed his support for Anita around the same time. The lines are being drawn. Something is going to happen.

Also there's a rumor that Zoe might donate to TFYC.

 

[Pikimon]

So Zoe Quinn fucked, lied, abused and manipulated the entire gaming industry to victimize herself and make money?

Why arent people ripping her a new asshole? Seriously she's part of the problem of why feminism is no longer taken seriously anymore.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

Okay so here's how I would make a game about depression. First of all, it would be a first person game and it would have graphics. These graphics would contain things and objects that you can interact with. Your character would have a "Give A Fuck" meter (working title). The GAF meter drains throughout your day and you have to do things to fill it again. Some ways you can replenish your GAF meter are taking medication, drinking, doing other drugs, talking to a therapist, masturbating, getting laid, playing video games, eating ice cream, petting a cat, and other shit like that. If your GAF meter gets too low your screen gets blurry and your mouse becomes less responsive, making it more difficult to complete tasks. If your GAF meter gets too low your character starts experiencing deprecating and suicidal thoughts, in the form of words and images which flash on the screen while menacing music plays. And then the game turns into Silent Hill or P.T. because I'm too drunk to think of anything better.

EDIT: The stuff you do to fill your GAF meter has different effects. Like masturbating fills it a lot, but it doesn't last very long. Taking certain drugs or drinking also fills it a lot but makes it harder to fill in the future. Playing video games only fills it to 50%, but it's easier than your other options and has no negative effects, other than draining your time and money. JESUS CHRIST ZOE. Y U NO THINK OF THIS IT'S BASIC VIDEO GAME LOGIC.

 

[PraiseHelix]

I just came across this article about Anita sarkeesian about how she was threatened with her life and she basically had to call the cops on trolls.

Of course the article immediately mentions Zoe and made me want to flip a table.

http://mobile.theverge.com/2014/8/2...n-says-she-was-driven-out-of-house-by-threats

 

[Watcher]

So Adam Baldwin entered the fray and Firefly creator Joss Whedon showed his support for Anita around the same time. The lines are being drawn. Something is going to happen.

Joss Whedon is a well known SJW on Twitter. It's unsurprising he has a hard-on for Anita.

Also there's a rumor that Zoe might donate to TFYC.

I'd fucking laugh if she did. The Fine Young Capitalists should reject her donation outright considering she used their contest in order to manipulate others into donating to her.

I just came across this article about Anita sarkeesian about how she was threatened with her life and she basically had to call the cops on trolls.

Of course the article immediately mentions Zoe and made me want to flip a table.

http://mobile.theverge.com/2014/8/2...n-says-she-was-driven-out-of-house-by-threats

It's unfortunately predictable these journalists didn't do the slightest hint of research.

 

[Jaimas]

So I've started playing Depression Quest. As someone who actually *has* a form of clinical depression, this should be an interesting experience.

Let us begin.

So I make it through the intro, learning about the cast and situation the eponymous "me" is in. So far, there's a few signs of depression and stress, but very little actual in-depth looking at it. Also apparently I'm a heavy drinker. Because that's a thing.

Proceeding onward. I go through various choices of being actually productive, or attempting to be, and inexplicably having no ability to work on things. Meanwhile the game chides my depression and tells me I am depressed and not seeing a therapist. I am told by the game that I hate myself.

I get invited to a "really awesome" party, and I decide to fuck the depression and soldier on, because I am Cis Scum and thus will accept challenges from a crap game that could have been on Newgrounds in the 1990s. The game will not allow me the choice of "act like a human being whilst tacitly understanding that this is coming from a burgeoning illness," nor will it allow me the choice that will allow me to either have fun and/or get laid.

So I try to go anyway. God this music is shit.

Again, the fun choice is not available, so my choices are "act like CWC with an attraction sign," the interesting "avoid human contact because I'm apparently crippled by issues far worse than clinical depression and dysthemia," cling to a wall and drink, or drink heavily and pass out. The game continues to note I am depressed, further aggravating the flickering text box. I choose choice 3.

Shit music remains shit. Apparently the game interpreted my "drink and pretend to socialize" as "imitate CWC at a bar and play with my phone like a dumbass and avoid human contact." The game tells me I have been playing Bejeweled, further indicating that I have no taste and should be put to death immediately. Alex is pleased and thus I have succeeded at fucking up slightly less than the game would prefer.

Mom shows up next day and sinister orchestral chords play. Once again, the text box tells me I am depressed. I can tell her everything's fine, attempt to be honest despite the text parser not letting me take the logical answer, or I can sperg out and change the subject. Once again, I choose the logical answer and go for HONEST CONTENT. This ends with her misunderstanding and making me STRESS SIGH, as the text box below continues to tell me the same thing it has every screen so far.

I am offered a cat. I am not allowed to take the logical options because this game has no idea how humans act, and apparently, neither does my character. I accept the cat because FUCK YOU, I HAVE A CAT NOW. The kitten is apparently the new protagonist of this game because I finally have someone I can root for in this cat.

Alex hangs out with us on the next day and apparently I act like Golden Knight sinning before the icon of Blossom and worry about our relationship because I am not capable of proper human interaction. Options that make logical sense and would reassure her are not available and I am railroaded into choosing equally non-human options of asking about our relationship like a dork, or saying nothing because this is how depression works, except it isn't. I choose the less stupid option in the former. Alex responds by asking why I asked. I am once again forbidden from picking normal options. I choose the first option, and she responds by saying she doesn't know if I really know her. Meanwhile, the flickering text box has let me know that north and south shall now be east and west, and has informed me that now I am lapsing into a depressive stupor.

A co-worker confronts me next day, and again - logical choices are hedged out. I choose the only option with self-awareness, and notice that I have problems. She suggests a therapist. I then meet my retarded brother Malcolm after a dental appointment, and tell him that I'm having tooth grinding problems.

I am given a number for a therapist by Amanda. I am not allowed to choose the logical option of calling immediately despite obvious burgeoning issues preventing me from acting like a human being. I sleep on it. The game attempts to get me to not call. I tell it to fuck off. I go to the therapist's office. The game has informed me that I have become so nonfunctional now that I am late for work. I am then stressed out the next day and the game will not let me do anything but use a computer. I talk with meaningless idiots. I acknowledge I am seeing a therapist.

The game tries to force me to stay home. I call Alex. We hang out. I get a medication for it and the game continues to be shit. The medication kills my boner, which apparently is a thing, because that's how causality works. At this point the game is ceasing to be remotely interesting and I hammer the next-button like it's the vengeful fist of a god. I eventually tell Alex about it. I apparently get good end.

THINGS I LEARNED FROM DEPRESSION QUEST PLAYTHROUGH:
* This game's portrayal of Depression is, at best, mixed. There are times it paints an almost accurate picture of the mind of a depressed individual, but most of the time it doesn't. The game goes out of its way to enforce how shit you are, when people suffering this level of Depression are incredibly rare. Someone suffering from Dysthemia, low-level chronic depression, or so on would find this game incredibly patronizing, if not hostile.
* It paints Depression as a one-size-fits-all condition easily dealt with with meds and therapy. This is not the case and anyone who is suffering from one of the many nigh-untreatable forms of Depression would likely tell this game where to stick its sanctimony.
* It has a paypal beg at the end. Classy.
* It's incredibly short. I completed it, even reading everything, in under 12 minutes. I can probably speedrun it in less than 2 minutes, which might be an interesting Let's Play.
* I'm darkly curious to see if there's the An Hero ending.
* The music is atrocious and loops constantly with annoying stingers that seem to be as obnoxious as humanly possible. I at some point shut the music off manually and played this. It improved the experience by about 44%.
* The YOU ARE DEPRESSED icons at the bottom of the screen would be vastly improved by being CWC heart meters. They're also fucking annoying because they flicker.
* This is not a game. It's an over-glorified Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Book with shitty music and no ability to do anything about the plot or effect meaningful change. The Green Slime is more of a game than this.

In conclusion: Fuck me, that wasn't worth it.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

After reading Jaimas' post and playing the game myself, I'm starting to think Zoe might not have played a game before. I'm not sure she knows what a game is. I mean, the Oregon Trail is 100x more of a game than this.

 

[Henry Bemis]

I'm darkly curious to see if there's the An Hero ending.

Again, from what I've heard, there isn't. Don't wanna set off any triggers, you know.

 

[Jaimas]

You guys should consider a round of Oppression Quest

Adjectives cannot begin to properly describe how accurate to Depression Quest that is.

 

[Johnny Bravo]

Seriously, she couldn't even Garry's Mod this shit. SHE COULDN'T EVEN USE GARRY'S MOD. FUCKING "THE STANLEY PARABLE" STARTED IN GARRY'S MOD. SHE COULD HAVE MADE A MINECRAFT ADVENTURE MAP OF THIS GAME. CHRRRRRRRIST.

 

[Jaimas]

Seriously, she couldn't even Garry's Mod this shit. SHE COULDN'T EVEN USE GARRY'S MOD. FUCKING "THE STANLEY PARABLE" STARTED IN GARRY'S MOD. SHE COULD HAVE MADE A MINECRAFT ADVENTURE MAP OF THIS GAME. CHRRRRRRRIST.

She also could have used something even simpler: RPGMaker. Seriously, any of them, even RM95. If you don't think you can make an effective game about psychological issues with that engine, you're an idiot, because games like Yume Nikki could already do it, and games like Live a Live on SNES already did similar with about as much power. Even the old versions of RM95 have a programming language that can be learned in a few hours of study.

Adventure Game Studio would have been a good choice as well, but the common thread for all of these is that they would have required effort.

 

[Ti-99/4A]

Why put forth effort when you can just fuck 5 guys and scream oppression and patriarchy till the cows come home?

 

[Watcher]

Adventure Game Studio would have been a good choice as well, but the common thread for all of these is that they would have required effort.

Oh shit I actually own a game made on AGS. Primordia

really well designed point and click