Post by CherryBlast in Love, Sam comments

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(Contains major spoilers of the game)

Hello, I knew this game because I watched my favorite let's player play it and let me tell you how great this game is! I was caught of guard at the ending in a good way, and watching a replay made me understand the game more and how everything is not what it seems. I also love its simple setting: A person living alone in a room, sitting on their desk with a diary that tells a story about Highschool crush, until creepy things happen.

I like how I can differentiate the 2 journals (the one on the corkboard and the white one) and how different their handwriting, drawings, and writing style. So Kyle is apparently the owner of the white journal which shows how poetic and emotional he can be about his crush Brian, but it also shows how obsessive and creepy he is, showing he wants to know everything about Brian's thoughts and taking pics of him–his art is cute too but it can get scary with the Sam + Brian, trying to trick himself that she is the bad guy not him–and other creepy drawings showing his stalker nature and how much he despises Sam. Meanwhile, Sam's diary contains notes of her on what happened during the day. Her diary has dates on it while Kyle's has no date (assuming Kyle's diary isn't real, but a metaphor of his own thoughts). Sam's diary is really sad, it may show what actually happened ever since she moved to Rosen Peek, but its implied she writes about what happened before moving (Because Stacy read her diary and how she knew Sam's dad is a child molester). Sam's diary is also filled with her insulting Stacy (and one time with Kyle) all the time which is really funny; and oh yeah, Sam is also developing feelings for Brian too.

This game is really great at showing a fine line between an innocent crush and being borderline obsessed. It really highlights it from Kyle's psychology homework and the online love quiz. For a slacker, Kyle's really good a figurative speech (I think Kyle's implied to be that because Sam says Kyle likes to skip class with Brian)

Overall, I really enjoyed this game and loved how the story's told :D

By the way, may I ask if you're okay with constructive criticism? I noticed I saw a few inconsistencies in the game and I just wanted to point it out ^^

Korean Linguistics Lab2 years ago(+1)

Hello CherryBlast, and thank you so much for your comment. Its awesome to still have people leaving reviews about my game haha. And of course its a great delight to absorb some criticism from anyone who played my game, so please dont be shy!

CherryBlast2 years ago

Omg, I wasn't expecting the quick reply (because the last one was a year ago). About some of the inconsistencies, I noticed in Sam's diaries have dates and some of them are wrong. The high school timeline started in 2006 so I checked and some dates don't align. For example: Sam's first Rosen Peek weekend is on Aug 24 but in the 2006 calendar, it's Thursday. Another is Stacy's house party, she wrote it the same day the party starts on Oct 4, Sam says it's Friday but at that time in 2006 it's actually Wednesday. And I'm not sure how long the party lasted, but Sam wrote another entry 3 days later (after the party) Oct 7 where Brian took care of her and brought her into her dorm and asked if she's ok. Did Sam blackout for 3 days? If she did... dang, I feel really bad for her :( Plus I think she probably lives alone in her dorm and maybe Brian left her when she fell asleep or something. In Nov 2, Stacy and Kyle argue, I assume it's the same day where Stacy gives a note to Kyle about her snitching everything to Brian (who she thought, Kyle drew S + B hearts all over school so Kyle can have Sam-- but we know it's Brian he wants). So then even after Stacy telling everything to Brian, did Brian really care about Sam and really saw her as a good friend? Or was Kyle right about Brian only being nice to her since she's "a clueless new girl who would do anything for guy who is nice to her to make her less lonely"

So yeah, that's it. I just like to analyze games/stories so that's why I noticed it XD

What makes this story special is how the story is executed. Even all the other players can understand the game as it progresses. It makes us wonder what the characters think of one another. For example: Kyle really loves Brian and loathes Sam for "taking him away" while Sam just wants a fresh start in Rosen Peek only to be ruined by Stacy but Brian steps in and becomes her friend, and eventually Sam starts to like him. Sam's life is ruined again by Kyle after hearing Brian took her to Colton Hill (his favorite place to spend time with Brian).

Brian may be mentioned a lot, but we don't know much about him other than being the best of the best at school, and is implied to be pressured by his father a lot to do good at school. And he is also implied to be a "Stepford smiler", meaning he is trying to look ok despite everyone depending and looking up on him.

I wish this game was given a lot more attention because everything about it is well written!

Do you plan any future projects or new games to make? I kind of want a sequel to this game (may or may not be centered around Brian or Stacy since we haven't see the game in their perspective)

Korean Linguistics Lab2 years ago

Sorry for the late reply.

I can't stress enough how thankful I am for your feedback about my mistakes! Funny thing is that I tried to avoid those exact kinds of mistakes when making Love, Sam, but I guess i'm too clumsy : ( I'll make sure to fix it on my next update. I admire how thorough you are haha.

And to answer your question about Brian and Sam: Sam could definitely help Brian increase the odds of achieving his goal, but it doesn't dictate Brian's actions toward Sam. Sam is an outsider who is likely just passing by and is a genuinely sweet person who is willing to listen to what he has to say, so it's easier for him to open up to her about himself and his feelings. But Kyle is right about one thing; Brian is not an easy person to read. I intentionally made Brian this way since emotions and relationships are not black and white, just like what Kyle had toward Brian: it could be A or it could be B or it could be little bit of both. So it's up to you to decide what Brian's true intentions were with Sam.

I really enjoy the horror genre in general cuz it is a great conduit for delivering the complexity of human emotions, and through Love, Sam I found a way of expressing my own thoughts on that matter in the most efficient way I can think of. So yes, i'd like to keep making horror games with different stories to tell (maybe even Brian or Stacy's? hehe). It will surely be a fun process with players like yourself there to enjoy them!

itch.io

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