10. Exploring Humanity through Visual Storytelling

A Random Mexican-Standoff

In this unusual (mostly spoiler-free) episode, we sit down to discuss two amazing story-centric games "A Normal Lost Phone" {https://bit.ly/2OkwkNM} and "missed messages" {https://bit.ly/38VvUXr}. So join us as we try to talk about the different themes, mechanics and stories both the games have to offer but end up with Shreyas hijacking the episode midway. However, one thing is for sure - all of us enjoyed both the games and with how short their playtimes are there's no reason to not give them a go!

Legend: [N - Note] [S - Standoff] [V - Video] [F - Followup] [T - Topic]

Things we discuss this episode:

[T] 00:00 - Why these games?
[N] Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality {https://bit.ly/2ZqhCeg}
[T] 01:58 - The LGBTQ themes in both the games and our experiences with them
[T] 10:50 - How the games explore their characters (Warning: Shreyas' rant starts here)
[T] 15:40 - Summary of rant (which covers the entire planned discussion): Game mechanics, interactability and how it gets one invested in the characters
[T] 16:56 - How the games craft their stories
[S] Would missed messages have been better if structured like a normal lost phone?
[V] A defence of video games {https://youtu.be/Xs6qBDuY1ww}
[F] Shreyas would like to correct himself: He does not consider visual novels "not" to be games.
[T] 23:47 - How "missed messages" beautifully handles heavy topics like self-harm
[N] Rathi really liked that they touch upon the implications of providing superficial help to those in distress
[T] 25:07 - Shreyas randomly interrupts the discussion (and the weirdness that ensues)

Intro Music: ktvsky - Its just another day