That was quite something, congrats on finishing a game. I happen to have recently watched a video on dark art. It posed the question whether or not such art is moral, since it seems to perpetuate and affirm negative feelings, especially for some people affected by mental illness. It also discussed tumblr and how that can be quite a toxic platform in that regard. On the other hand its also useful for lots of people. That video definitely offered some food for thought for me, and this game reminded me of it.
That being said I feel like this game was a bit of a outlet for you, and I hope you're alright. You said it yourself, with the mark twain quote in the title, there's lies, damned lied and statistics.
Don't let your life be affected by statistics.
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thank you! something I was careful to do was present suicide in as non-specific a way as possible, and end on a note of positivity and gratitude for being alive, and rejection of suicide as inevitable or desirable. I mention the Werther effect in the text, and studies show that media depictions of in particular the Details of suicide (methods, etc) can exacerbate suicidality in a population - but the opposite effect also exists (called the Papagenu effect I think), and depictions of recovery from suicide can improve outcomes. It's a dark game for sure, but ultimately it's about recovery and survival from bad things rather than the bad things themselves. Xx
And tumblr was definitely a mixed bag lmao. I'm not on there anymore, the platform's pretty dead, and while it was mostly an instructional experience for me, I know and know of a Lot of people who had a bad time - but I think that's true of most social media in fairness. Thank you for playing!