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Actually, it looks like I can't message you. But if you will email katiespam2017@gmail.com, I will coordinate things!

I'm sure that would be fine! I'll message you so we can email and I can get Damage Boost to answer more about the logistics.

Hello again! I wanted to let you know, I'm going to be on DamageBoost Podcast talking about "Love, Sam" and what it is that makes it so effective. Would you be interested in being interviewed on the podcast? I really think it's criminal that there aren't more essays/thinkpieces/content people who love this story can read.

I majored in creative writing in college and am hard at work on my own YA fantasy novel (and have been for a long time!). Your game moved me in a way I hadn't been moved since Doki Doki Literature Club, and before that by Undertale.  I am impressed at how the symbology is neither subtle nor ham-handed: it is there to be seen if people want to see it. It takes a certain kind of confidence to say, "Yes, I will have my character hide in the literal closet," and then let the more subtle aspects come from what leaving the closet looks like (the player must not be seen leaving, but they *must* leave). 

I was impressed by how masterfully this game uses the nature of the medium to its advantage. The diaries are obviously by different people, but everybody "knows" that anything established in the first five minutes of a game is canon, and the first five minutes of the game implies that the two diaries are the same. This aspect is particularly what I've been thinking lots about:  what level of thought went into the introduction of the two diaries to make them *imply* being the same, without ever actually saying so? What configurations did you try before saying, "Okay, yes, this sets up the expectation I want."

Thank you so much for answering! This game hit so well on the red-hot core of shame, and I think the shame of an unwanted crush is well-highlighted by the shame of *actually* having done something terrible. It allows us to explore the peak of the emotion more effectively.

Further question: What impressed me most was how the diaries are so clearly related, yet never in a way that compromises the plot's integrity. (For example: One diary discusses helping Brian with his poetry homework, the other then has a poetry puzzle.) It seems so obvious that the two diaries are in communication from a narrative standpoint, but it doesn't feel ham-handed, and the twist remains completely believable in retrospect. 

How did you go about coordinating the diaries to one another? What was your process for making sure there weren't plot holes or continuity errors? The story is so damn *effective,* and it seems like it must have required a lot of careful coordination.

I saw a play-through of this game today and I am deeply moved. (I can't play scary games myself, but I love watching them!) Have you done any interviews about the writing of the story? The intricacy of the writing is absolutely astounding and I would love the chance to hear about your process!