PixlBit

The only game of this genre I enjoyed just as much as FF tactics was Ogre Battle. Vandal Hearts 2 is pretty damn good too and the story line is veryy mature and dark.

1# According to Joe and Amy Wilson, the situation has gotten better,James. The DA dropped the charges against Christian pretty quickly. I'm also sure the principal and teachers will be forced to actually do their damned jobs now. They're a hair width away from being axed and they know it! It's just sad they only "care" when threatened to lose their jobs.

2# Yeah,horror and political correctness do not mix well at all!

3# I think it's okay for games to deal with real issues. I just kind of feel "meh" when a person can put a very minimal effort into an interactive piece of entertainment and have it get instant praise just because the protaganist is depressed,gay,or trans. Such minorities deserve a better effort from their game making advocates trying to raise awareness. But hey, Actual Sunlight might be someone's first foray into game design. Perhaps I shouldn't be so grumpy!

Booty,where? Oh, uh...thanks,Alejandro! 

Just my opinion,keep that in mind

 The thing is with Heavy Rain was the writing was good and you were trying to catch a killer. There was tension and build up. I'm not really against visual novels. If that were true I would not have enjoyed Persona 3 & 4 or even Agarest war for that matter.

 No doubt Actual Sunlight has a right to exist. But it was simply my impression that most people have dealt with depression or know a loved one who has. I do not think it's overly difficult to imagine being miserable or contemplating if suicide is the only way out. Even well adjusted healthy people have been there at one point in their lives.

 I suppose if I was to make a game about depression it would be about ways to overcome it or ways to also help other people with their hardships. Personally I find Actual Sunlight to be kind of defeatist and even offensive. I'm also mad a person can put in bare minimum effort into a game but so long as it is about depression of the main character being different (Gay,Trans,or Disabled) everyone praises it to high heaven. The whole process smacks of dishonest ego stroking. In other words, "I like this game so I'm a good person!" I'm sure the maker of Actual Sunlight had noble intentions but I think many (Not all) of the people who support games like this are not as genuine as they appear. To them these games are a trend and a way for them to come off as "progressive" by showing their approval in public. (Again, this coming from someone who really is bi-polar.)

 It's okay to make a game about our own life experiences but for goodness sakes, put some umpth,heart, and sweat into it! Even if you just want to tell a story, tell an engaging story with engaging characters! Nothing that is boring and minamalist will withstand the test of time. Sure, it may actually end up in a mueseum but that doesn't mean that gamers still love playing it!

I'm glad that wire-tap charge was fake! Thanks Joe,that made my morning. Even without looking it up something about that accusation seemed very bogus. I could smell the wrongness in it!

  As for other "good yet depressing games" I would like to throw Dark-souls in there too. As in it doesn't take place in a "happy environment" and despair permeates much of the experience.

  I simply believe a game can bring up real life moods and themes without those moods and themes being the only focus. I mean symbolically you could argue a journey through Anor Londo is a depressed person's voyage through their own mind but what's great is it does not have to be that if you do not want it to be. Actual Sunlight on the other hand can only be interpreted one way.

  Regardless, I agree! Anyone should be free to make a game. Heck, if I believed otherwise I'd be a hypocrite on account having that freedom let me create my own game. 

Yup,Drac fed really fast just to stave off starvation. No groping and no "rapey stalker smile". It's sad but I think today games like Dark Souls and Dragon's Dogma have more of the Castlevania spirit than this game does. Dark souls has Castlevania's challenge and its' love of decrepid yet beautiful gothic environments whereas Dragon's Dogma literally makes you fear night fall just like Simon's Quest did. On the bright side, I think Iga will do a kick-starter and it will reach it's funding goals rather quickly! 

1# I'm old fashioned when it comes to games,perhaps too much so! For example, I liked Silent Hill 2. Akin to Actual Sunlight, it addressed a lot of real life issues. But in SH 2's case I appreciated the fact it was still a game and that you did not exactly know everything from the beginning. Yes, we knew James was troubled but we had to play through the whole game to understand "why".

Actual Sunlight simply strikes me as bland and a tad pretentious. There's no mystery,no urgency, and not much puzzle solving or exploration. It's one defining merit is simply "This is what depression is like" and I do not understand why certain people are so smitten by that.

It has an ernest message and it has good intentions behind it but it's not something I could enjoy personally. But hey,I cannot speak on behalf of everyone!

2# You're right of course. Their contest,their rules! It's just my opinion "their rules" are really hindering the creative possibilities. Sometimes good messages are put across by ocasionally being "politically incorrect" too. Sugar coating and censoring everything has never helped art.

3# It's crazy,isn't it? The sheer apathy of the principal and judge made me want to punch something. And accusing the kid of wire-tapping? I just....ugh....

BOF II was probably my preferred overall but BOF III definitely introduced some of my favorite characters. (Momo and Rei being some of them) I also have a thing for Bleu/Deis! (The nagah woman who has appeared in multiple entries)

Yeah,the principal is a douche fuck,Dan! Thanks for signing the petition!   

1# After a cool down period I agree on the people who made Actual Sunlight. I do not think they "meant wrong" though personally I do not always like playing games dealing with stuff that strikes that close to home. And if they do, I prefer there being a bit more to the game-play and perhaps an actual story line that's more intriguing than a typical "Day In The Life Of" biography. I also believe the time used to make the game in question could have been used helping a loved one suffering from actual depression. I'm not implying we should sweep that issue under the rug but I'm not sure if the interactive medium is the best way to explore it. But maybe I'm just being overly emotional and bitter about it. Personally I do not always prefer "opening up" about my experiences with bi-polar disorder but it might help other people. (And maybe this game will help other people as well!) 

 2# I dunno,Joe. What I found said "cannot consist of" as opposed to " not condone". Those are two different things. "Not condoning" merely means you can have sexism,homophobia,racism or other negative issues in your game so long as you portray them as such. (Negative) "Not consisting of" can be interpreted more broadly as stating you cannot even explore those themes in the first place. Both are censorship but I'm more in support of the "not condoning clause" than the "Not consisting of" clause.

 3# Thanks,bro! Any additional signatures I can get on that petition are appreciated!