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eevee293 days ago(+1)

our cat threw up while we were playing this which i think interfered with the vibes slightly

also my spouse was the one playing so here is their Guest Comment:

"I liked how the up and down motion felt, as it did feel buoyant to control. So, even though there was not a whole lot of interactivity, what was there was nice.

I feel like... well, I have experience with trance state type work, and I actually didn't grasp it was a kink for a really long time. It's something I like as a concept normally and in safe for work contexts. But, I myself find it very hard to get into trance state when I'm around others, and even generally. So, playing with our cat interrupting us, did kind of make that harder... and also, playing alongside someone (anyone really) makes it hard for me to connect to works that are about altered states of consciousness. 

I feel like I can struggle when I don't know "who" is talking to me. The video game was talking to me, but who was that? Who was the voice? I mean, my guess is "you", but without knowing who "you" are, that kind of thing ends up feeling unsafe for me to connect to as well, and interferes with the hypnotic process. This feels like a bit of a shame, and I was thinking about what would have made this something I might have been able to feel... and what came to mind for me was "if a character had been doing this to me, and I had any idea who the character was, then I might have felt more emotional investment in this... but as it stands, I have no idea why I want to be a pooltoy or a toy at all, or what any of this has to do with me emotionally". So that felt a bit sad. I grasp this kind of thing can work for others who don't really want to connect with a character, or who have no problem reading the voice talking to them in a way that removes whoever is on the other side of it... but due to my own blocks with accepting hypnotic regression, I just couldn't connect very well. 

Regardless, I did like the concept of the game, and I thought to myself that I could easily imagine others having a good time with losing themselves to it. So, I hope you had fun making it and I hope others enjoyed it too."

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Kistaro292 days ago

In writing the hypnotic script, I went out of my way to avoid referring to the Unseen Narrator as a character – no use of “I” or other reflexive pronouns – because I didn’t think I had space to develop a character people would feel connected to, but pointing it out like this makes it clear that was a straight-up error on my part; hypnosis depends on rapport and it’s easier to develop that rapport with someone.

I’m already planning a mod with a new script rewritten around different themes, based on the prior work of another regular participant in this jam, which would have a character-centric presentation, but it will also push harder into its kink themes. Writing for a game jam creates some odd constraints – I was leaning on “curiosity” and “openness to trying new things” as a core motivation to wanting to participate, because its content revolves around specific kinks I don’t expect the majority of folks to have! When writing a version that doesn’t need to be evaluated by 75 people who are, statistically, not likely to be into my specific thing, I can assume more personal interest and get much further into kink-related suggestions that, even with all the “only if it’s your thing” safeties in the world attached, I was unwilling to push into game jam content. I felt like going all the way to “this isn’t just about hypnosis abstractly or specific hypnokink aesthetics, this is literally designed to hypnotize you” was pushing the line far enough as it was; I was concerned (and still remain concerned, in all honesty) about consent issues with dragging people trying to just review 75 or 76 games into a more personal experience with hypnokink than they had intended to sign up for.

I’m sorry to hear about your cat – I hope they’re feeling better now.

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Floraverse289 days ago (1 edit) (+1)

Thank you for elaborating on this and sharing your thoughts! (Commenting from my account and not Eevee's now)

"hypnosis depends on rapport and it’s easier to develop that rapport with someone."

This is exactly what I was feeling! I'm just so resistant to connecting in trance states when I don't know what I'm connecting to and don't know how to trust them, and I definitely feel like I would've liked an emotional connection there to a degree with the "someone".

I think everything you're saying makes sense, about this being a game designed to hypnotize, and this bringing up questions of consent and discomfort around that with a jam where it's expected others who may not be into it will be reviewing it and playing. I could definitely see how that would make it harder to lean into the script. I felt that to a degree, wishing for more and wishing it went deeper!

I'm happy to hear about the character-centric presentation thing you're planning with a mod. I find that personally I connect the most with the work when people really go hard into their thing, and I like seeing that. I wish you luck with your future work on this and whatever else you explore!

(edit: Also thank you for the hope regarding our cat! He's doing better overall lately I think.)

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