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6 "The ones who forgave, moved on and survived.

And the ones who didn't, kept holding on and did suicide." 9


Some RPG Maker game devs were harassing & cancelling me online. So I made this RPG Maker game to help me deal with it.

Synopsis:

False Narrative is a dark yet meaningful, psychological, story-driven game (with some action & exploration elements) about a game developer. As he silently reads people online talk and plot against him, for months. Slowly degrading his mental health. And pushing him out from virtually existing.

On one eventful day... this game begins.


Features:

  • A narrative based on crazy & true events (I personally experienced)
  • Multiple Endings (3 endings + Game Over)
  • Simple Action gameplay against a mob. (Including dashing & jumping)
  • Unique UI, Menus, and crazy title-screen.
  • Beautiful ladieshandsome men(In pixel art style, and in 3D realistic)
  • Retro Color Filters (Optional)
  • Location based 3D-Ambience and detailed sound-design (with Epic battle music)
  • Fluid environment animations and visual effects, over on a detailed map design.
  • Play the game non-stop. Because there are only two instances of loading throughout the whole game. (While launching the game, and after the opening cutscene. That's it.)

Gameplay:

First half: You simply walk around, explore, read dialogues, and progress through the story. 

Second half: Bloody action.

Note: You can interact with every passenger NPC, twice. (The more you read, the more you understand.) 


Multiple Endings:

Three endings + Game Over Screen 

(The first ending has an additional scene, if certain condition is met.)

You can read this devlog on how to reach each ending. (Specifically, update 10.) 

Content Warnings:

  • Offensive / Explicit Language
  • Cyber Bullying
  • Mental Health Issues
  • Self Harm
  • Suicide
  • Blood

Project Backstory: 

I made this game to deal with months long cancellation attempt on me. By some of my fellow RPG Maker game devs. (You'll know what it is about, if you look through all the content on this page. And look me up online. It's kept out of the game, to focus on the psychological and not the political. And to generalize the experience, so it can be related to for different times and experiences.)

The initial release of this game was completed within 10-13 days, during the height of cancellation. Where I saw no end, to these people ever stopping  (not even after I'm dead). And with my inability to ignore reading the negative things being said about me... I was growing increasingly unproductive, and unhealthy. 

And so, I turned to game making, as a way to both deal with what was going on, and to explore where all this leads. 

The backlash for the initial version was... quite insane, at first. Some people telling me to stay quiet and keep taking it; that this game was a mistake and I should take it down.  And some people saying that I've done the worst thing imaginable... by making this game. 

Thankfully, as normal-cool gamers started playing and reviewing the game. Like One-Man Indie and Cleff2Pieces. And reviews started coming in, that showed an understanding or appreciation of the game.  

Things finally, started taking a positive turn.  

I stayed offline for a month, took some rest.

Decided to reappear online, with a video. Addressing a... realization I had.  But remembering that I'm a game dev. I changed my decision to say it through game, instead of through video. And that realization, you can now experience in the 2nd ending of False Narrative.

As I added that part in... and asked myself, "What else can I add? Before I upload this." I added a bunch more things! More content, more context, more story, more endings, trippier graphics... and now I present to you, 'False Narrative: Survive Edition'

Thank you! For all your kindness and support!


Potential Bugs: 

  1. The game switches to the highest graphic setting on restart. 
  2. If you get stuck while dashing & jumping around. Then use jump, towards a walkable area. Or dash in the opposite direction. (Opposite to where you want to go.) 
  3. Playing the game from beginning, if it starts to get laggy during the first action sequence. Then restart the game, and you will see another option to jump straight into the same action sequence, and skip the rest of the game. Starting the game from here, will reduce the lag, and increase the performance.


Final notes:

Note #1: There is no saving in the game. Once you reach a certain point in the game, you will have a second option whenever you restart. Allowing you to skip most of the game during replays, and reach all the endings more easily. 

Note #2: I do keep a Patreon.

Note #3: I've made other games, you can find here. (After you're done playing this one.)

StatusReleased
PlatformsWindows
Rating
Rated 3.0 out of 5 stars
(27 total ratings)
AuthorSigmaSuccour
GenreAction, Visual Novel
Made withPixiJS, RPG Maker
TagsAnime, Atmospheric, Dark, eufree, Multiple Endings, pakistani, psychological, RPG Maker
Average sessionA few seconds
LanguagesEnglish
InputsKeyboard, Xbox controller
AccessibilitySubtitles
LinksPatreon, Twitter/X, YouTube

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Click download now to get access to the following files:

False Narrative - Survive Edition.zip 410 MB
False Narrative.zip 227 MB

Development log

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Comments

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(+1)

Here's my playthrough of your game!

Admittedly upon first playing it I thought it was gonna be a dumpster fire, but surprising I really enjoyed it.  As someone who's hung out in Kiwi Farms and 789 chan (when it was still around), you really captured how trolls act, they really are no-lifes who attack people because they have crappy lives and nothing else going on. Questioned someone from /vrpg/ and got them to say that it's anti trans cause your enemies are mostly trans people, (yes, that was me in that thread, don't worry bro I got your back), which I disagree, I mean you have a right to defend yourself, even against trans people.

Admittedly, I don't know the full context of the story and how much of it is made up, and I don't know exactly what you did to piss them off so much (I mean I know it was anti-LGBT and a single post, and I've seen that post, just not the aftermath), so that kinda hurt it...

But still! It was very compelling! Even though I'm pro-LGBT and personally disagree with the post, you have a right to speak your mind without being cancelled. And considering where your from, it seems like you really don't have a choice with what you believe anyways...

Anyway, enough rambling! I enjoyed it! Well done! Can't wait to play the latest game you've been working on as well!

(1 edit) (+2)

Aside from the narrative of this game, which I understand the intent behind and will speak about in a second, I want to first provide some feedback on the gameplay mechanics.

  1. I had a really hard time looking at the screen during this. Lots of fast movement, glitch-filtered objects, and jampacked maps meant I ended up with a minor headache after playing for ~20 minutes. The constant motion and visual overload made it a little tough to look at.
  2. The sword fighting is alright, but it doesn't really work well, as the tracking for when you can and can't swing is pretty hit-or-miss (same with talking to NPCs, actually). I know RPG Maker, and I know you can't really interact with events unless you're facing them and you're in a certain position when using non-gridded movement. So I get that one.
  3. The way in which text was presented was just hard to follow. At the start of the game, with the 3d model(?) artworks of the characters having conversations with text boxes, that was the least difficult to follow. Midgame when dialogue bubbles would pop up in random places during conversations, I had a hard time with that. Finally, at the end, the story about the girlfriend (which I will get into in a second) had three different message boxes each not refreshing when a message was sent. That was EXTREMELY hard to follow.
  4. For what it's worth, I like the characters you presented here. I've seen other people say that the characters in this game ended up being yes-men to your self-insert, which is partially true. They also said they felt like three sides of the exact same person/personality, which I did NOT think was true. I think you did a good job differentiating between your main characters--although, in a game where the main point is that you're just a human too, you ought to include some purposeful flaws for your characters, so that they actually ARE human.
  5. Minor grammar and dialogue flow issues bugged me ever so slightly. You might want to stop, using commas in the way I just did in this sentence (to show you an example).

On to the narrative. I did some digging online before downloading this game to figure out what the hell was going on with it, since I see your posts every single day on r/RPGMaker and I was very confused as to what your connection was to the community. I see the hate you're getting and I see where it would be tough to handle that, but I don't see making a game in which a character with your name (and I assume your appearance) murders your faceless bullies on-screen while showing dialogue from what I assume is Discord chats, message board postings, 4chan replies, etc. as you talk to them/kill them.

I know you represented slicing them up with the katana as "banning them" but that was not banning. That was killing. I get it, man, I really do, but you've put yourself in a worse spot after making this game. I know you wanted to clap back at the haters and "win," but you even said it yourself in game: you can't just keep fueling the fire and letting them force you to stay. Nothing stops you from unplugging and living your normal life. I wouldn't make another revenge fantasy like this, were I you. The self-insert along with that makes this a little eerie.

I'm also not a fan of the story at the end about the girl who killed herself after whatever went on here. Not only was it tough to follow, but implying that real people did, would, or should kill themselves over this specific sequence of events is a little rough. If that wasn't the intent, then I'm extremely glad, but if it was, I would really caution you against that kind of thing in the future.

Admittedly, I went into this game kind of ready to shred you for it. At the end, I realized both you and this game aren't that bad. It just made me want to tell you it's okay to let shit like this go. Let people say what they want, but don't let it get to you. Judging from what I saw in this game, I'm going to say that it probably already has, but in making this, you've displayed some genuine talent here buried under all of the issues I described above. Your optimism is extremely admirable, dude, and I wish you all the best.

(1 edit)
The constant motion and visual overload made it a little tough to look at.

Noted.


I know RPG Maker, and I know you can't really interact with events unless you're facing them and you're in a certain position when using non-gridded movement.

You should be able to interact with objects in the game without facing them. The tracking is still off, I understand. And will see to improving it.


Finally, at the end, the story about the girlfriend

The driver, you mean?


had three different message boxes each not refreshing when a message was sent. That was EXTREMELY hard to follow.

This is noted.


I think you did a good job differentiating between your main characters

This is good to hear. Thank you!


you ought to include some purposeful flaws for your characters, so that they actually ARE human.

Noted.


You might want to stop, using commas in the way I just did in this sentence (to show you an example).

Ahahahahaha. XD 

I'll consider it.


but I don't see making a game-

made a post, and hence a promise. That I would communicate through games, instead of through posts or videos. And this game is a result of that. Of informing the gamers who follow me.


-with your name (and I assume your appearance)
The self-insert along with that makes this a little eerie.

Almost all my games are like this. Including False Awakening where the protagonists repeatedly kills himself inside his dreams. (To better inform you of the sort of games I make.)


from what I assume is Discord chats, message board postings, 4chan replies

Discord & reddit.


murders your faceless bullies on-screen
as you talk to them/kill them
I know you represented slicing them up with the katana as "banning them" but that was not banning. That was killing.

This sounds like what you read prior to playing this game, influenced you. As you are using the exact wording the 'faceless bullies' described this game with.

I completely reject and disagree with this. However, you are free to believe it. 


but you've put yourself in a worse spot after making this game.

I disagree.


 I know you wanted to clap back at the haters and "win,"

Nop. The game doesn't succeed at doing those things, because that was never the goal.

This game was just to inform my followers of some stuff. And when I saw their let's plays. I understood they got the message.


Nothing stops you from unplugging and living your normal life.
I wouldn't make another revenge fantasy like this, were I you.

There are dialogues in the game, that tell you they have been attempting on getting all of my games here, taken down. (This is all before the existence of this game.) Apart from many other things they did, and were successful at some. Which are described in their dialogue.

For you, those may be simply words. For me, they were actions. I know and read their exact methods. The illegal and immoral things they were doing to get my games taken down.

And so I have zero shame for making this game. And informing the players through this, that this 'could' happen. (Just one example.)

I also needed to inform the players about all this. So when they throw my name around (in a positive light), they expect backlash. (Again, this is before the existence of this game.)

This game didn't change anything (I believe), except direct the focus of people from me, to this game. As a game dev, this is great for me and my games.

And so I'm super proud of it. Will keep shoving this game in front of people.

And will do it again if I find it necessary. (I don't see as a big deal, at all. So I'll do it even if it isn't necessary. XD )


Not only was it tough to follow, but implying that real people did, would, or should 

This is the exact talking point, of the people this game exposes. 

This game has no 'real' person. Almost all the real-dialogues, have been edited, mixed from a bunch of people (into a single NPC), pooled together, put in a different context. With multiple NPCs including dialogues from 1 individual.

And so, no. No one here is real. 

A lot of the things said, are absolutely real. The people who actually said them, took real action too. But the people in the game, aren't real. As they are presented as a collective. An amalgamation.


Not only was it tough to follow, but implying that real people did, would, or should kill themselves over this specific sequence of events is a little rough.

While I disagree with your interpretation. Even if we assume it to be true...

They repeatedly told me to kill myself. (Presented in the game.)

Said, that even violence is okay against me, because it's just 'self defense'. (Presented in the game.)

And you have a problem, when I flip the table on them. 

I don't find you to be genuine here.

Or you expect me to be docile, as to just keep taking beatings. Which I find abusive.


It just made me want to tell you it's okay to let shit like this go.

The third ending, is about letting go.

It's important to highlight, that the 'hate' is what I let go. 

If they go around and bother people who say they like my work. And then I take measure to inform my followers about what to expect. THAT, is my duty towards my followers. And not something to let go, or ignore.

The hate? I let go. As portrayed in the third ending.


in making this, you've displayed some genuine talent here buried under all of the issues I described above. Your optimism is extremely admirable, dude, and I wish you all the best.

Ah~ thank you. Thank you thank you. (╥﹏╥)

I don't usually put this detailed of a response, or counter. However, your response highlighted some false narratives about me, outside of the game. So I decided to address them up. Thank you for this opportunity. 

And thank you so much for playing this game, and for writing this review. 

(1 edit) (+3)

Finally got around to playing the game. 

Number 1: This ain't your fault, but I honestly got motion sickness. Turning the graphics down to potato helped, but the motion hurts my eyes. 

Number 2: My issue with the game as a whole

Sigma. Most (if not all) of your posts that I've seen have been positive, even when people are being jerks. That's admirable. 

But your games...

I have nothing against a self-insert protagonist. I wouldn't do it, but hey, that's just me. Responding to feedback in a game? Sometimes. For example, I believe you had a complaint that there was too much walking in your games, so you made that YT video. That was clever and pretty funny. 

The issue is I have, is your unclear endings, suggestions that real people committed suicide, and the one-sided presentation of the story. The fact is, I don't know exactly what went on. And if you had for some reason explained it to me, in a normal way, I would have been more open to it. 

But the blend of meta references to true events and false ones makes it really hard to relate. 

I'm a sensitive person. I try not to let hate on the internet get to me, but sometimes, it does. If, as it implies in the game, you struggle with depression/feeling bad because of people on the internet, I think that making this game and more games like it is a mistake. You're only feeding the flame and giving people more ammo to throw back at you. 

If you don't care, and I'm misinterpreting things, then I don't care. People say stupid things on the internet every day, with little to no consequence. 

I don't personally like this game. I would say that about a lot of games that are quite popular (EG, the Nier franchise). I feel that it crosses a line, and only makes me dislike both parties involved. 

Usually, this would be the part where I would say 'But, objectively, it's a decent game". 

Unfortunately, if you take out the narrative (no pun intended), there's not much. As mentioned, the movement of the train made me feel sick. The train mapping was good, but the constant popups and lights and movement detracted from it. 

The way the dialogue is presented, for me, was unnecessarily complex. My attention was split across the entire screen, which made it hard to follow. To be fair, I am blind in one eye, so take this paragraph with grain of salt. 

Combat got the job done. Wasn't fun, but worked. 

I think I'm done my mini-rant here. 

So, I think my final words would be, Sigma, I don't dislike you.  As I said, my interactions with you have always been pleasant. I don't like drama, and it was frustrating that just because I featured your trailer in my RM showcase, I got some of that hate. 

But in the end, I don't like this game, and I don't know if it's a reasonable response to a bunch of jerks online. 

TL;DR givin' it a 3/10 on the biased TRIDIUM meter. 

(+1)

Wait...

Tridium... I have to correct you...

Turning the graphics down to potato helped, but the motion- 

*pootootoo

It's POOTOOTOO graphics!


And also...

TL;DR givin' it a 3/10 on the biased TRIDIUM meter

*based

BASED Tridium Meter!


Haha, thank you for playing Tridium. o( ❛ᴗ❛ )o

Thank you for fighting through the game, with all issues you explained experiencing. 

And it's deeply valuable to me, that you laid your thoughts out here in detail. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you so much!

(+2)

No, thank you for always being such a good sport about stuff. 

Good luck on your current project. I played the demo and was quite impressed by the rendering. 

(+1)

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Below, are comments/reviews for the initial release

Above, are made after the release of the Survive Edition of the game. (Feel free to make a new comment if you already played and commented on the initial release!)

///////////////////////

(+3)

Well, that's one way of dealing with things, yes. People often forget that classic flash animations and flash games have used similar themes and imagery for a long time, and then they act like it's suddenly supposed to be controversial.

Creators on the net have often been crass and irreverent, but rarely malicious. Unlike those who say nasty things just for the sake of it.

(+2)

I got some hate too, so I know how you feel. Some moron on Twitter said my game was "unoriginal" just because of the name. Didn't even bother checking the game's description, and called me a useless nobody. This is coming from someone who themselves has only 5 followers...

(+2)

I played your game in likely an half hour.

There are some good, some bad things you came what you done in the RPG Maker community. I'll say it "notorious", "cancel", "hate", "bizarre", and "provocateur" in the narrative form of RPG Maker game and single installment of the your own "False" game series, which I cannot describe what happened or something very bad happen to around these people they communicating who hate some RPG Maker developers like you, but some of them liked you for your games. Surprisingly, the UI features, title menu screen, animations, and experimental narrative on how to deal with hate and death threats, is simply impressed as the False series; except the battle feature is picky and bland to (BAN) fight against the haters.

As I see to review your relatively short game: I cannot rate your game positively or negatively, but I will give you as a "special review" and describe as "semi-autobiographical RPG Maker game with psychological elements" for doing rights and wrongs in your game, as well as I describe SigmaSuccour as "Lars von Trier and Black Mirror in RPG Maker games" for its experimental innovation and psychological narrative as your game dev trademark.

NOTE: Sorry, it's pretty lag to play enough a little bit, but I did finished a whole game as well.

(+2)

Wah~ thank you thank you Frederick!

For playing through the game, and for sharing your thoughts on it in this review.

And, I'll do my best to optimize my games even more. So they perform better.

(+2)

You're welcome, but this is my first time of playing this one of your series. Not False Mercy, not False Memories. I lied of saying about playing your game series for days until your game released, which I decided to play False Narrative as your first game that I played for the very first time.

(+3)

Ahaha, thank you for being honest now, Frederick.

It's interesting how this game has been pulling people who always knew about my games. But never played them before.

(+10)(-2)

this is one of the most embarrassing things i have ever experienced.

Thank you for playing and commenting Anumania!

Feel free to go into details about your experience.

Deleted 235 days ago
(1 edit) (+5)(-3)

i didnt cancel anyone. i didnt even know who sigmasuccor was until like 3 days ago...

i have no idea what he did to cause this but this "game" is not a mature reaction to it.

(2 edits) (+7)(-3)

I'm currently playing this game, and is AMAZING. I can't really cope with all these hate Sigma has, but he surely can. I pray something like this never happens to anyone and if does happen, learn how to be as Stoic as Sigma.

Also I just wanted to say this during my playthrough because I haven't seen Evangelion nor Omori, and I don't really get why Omori has so much attention. It looks like a worse Undertale. I prefer to see Evangelion rather than play Omori also.

Anyways, this game is fantastic just from the start. Also gotta say (sorry Sigma) it is the first of your games I've ever played...

Congratulations of destroying the hate train!

PD: Let me say something more regarding your in-game interventions. If the problem is the community and you only want to make games, you have to make the games and then 'sell them' once finished. I do not really like what people do of showcasing demos or unfinished games by chapters. A game is like a finished book, not a unfinished book. Aren't we craving for Game of Thrones Sixth book just to be disillusioned of how the book differed from the series? A crave for a unfinished game doesn't mean we are going to fulfill the game. You have your idea and your hard-work or showcasing finished game like this, then go on!


PD:PD: Okay I finished it. It was very short, gotta tell. But a great way to harm bullies! Ban Them out from social media! (What do you think about a game regarding actual bullying AND HOW TO FUCKING DESTROY THE BULLIES?)

(+2)

This was an emotional roller coaster of a review to read through. Haha. XD 

And you say really insightful things here, PARCB.


Thank you so much!

For finally playing one of my games.

And for reviewing and rating.

(+6)(-7)

I loved it!! 

The title screens UI design felt snappy and nice, and I enjoyed the A/V effects there. 

Regarding the main game content and dialogs, wow just wow. I'm proud of you for dealing with whatever's going on by creating a whole game and expressing your thoughts on various things.  I don't know where people are saying things like that (though I have heard similar comments before), but if that's what they're doing, they're obviously kids or very very unwell.  And if they're not kids... they're very unwell.

Regarding the "violent" second part of the game, it's probably rather ironic that people who coalesce into mass-hate mobs online and make comments like some of the ones in the game, somehow don't consider that to be extreme verbal violence. Which it is.  Which may even lead to harmful events in the real world. Yeah, there's a point at which disagreeing or being critical of someone, actually becomes violent mass cyberbullying. And that's not ok. It was hard to read some of that content.

I really liked the AI art examples you've created! You kept good control of the character while doing so. I use some AI character art in my game- I think it's a great option for a solo developer working in RPG maker, so you don't have to just have RTP chargen portraits for everything. If you can keep style and form control over your characters when you do it.

The combat section was a blast to play! The mechanics were cool, looked awesome, and honestly I was unexpectedly laughing out loud just watching the sad forum dwellers explode with red "BAN" text, hahahahaha... that was hilarious man.  Also, earlier in the game, the tongue-in-cheek comment about furries was a nice touch, I laughed at that moment too. If you're in the rpg maker space, and you're not lighthearted enough to where you can't joke about the obvious, ever present community stereotypes, well, lighten up :D

Anyway man I enjoyed the experience, thanks for the content you put out, it keeps me motivated to continue working on my game, and you've made some really cool effects in the engine. Don't sweat whatever's going on, just live your life, take a walk, enjoy the sun, pray if you do, have a think, pet your cat, enjoy a vanilla milkshake. You know. Things normal people do. Not people on the train. :D

Warm regards

(+4)(-3)

This makes me so happy! 。゜゜(´O`) ゜゜。

Your review shows me, that what I wanted the game to do & deliver... it does.

And that's a relief.

That's SUCH a relief! Haha...


Thank you so much for playing Clockwork. For the rating. And for pointing out the things you have in this review.


Your last paragraph, made me tear up. And the fact you brought up praying...

...the backlash for this game (in the first 24 hrs) was so severe, so overwhelming and so nonsensical. I felt hopeless, and retreated heavily, into prayers. (Something I haven't been doing...)

And that improved my situation, a lot. 

And so, I'll actively do the other things that you suggest. To improve my health even more.


Thank you again Clockwork, for your wise words, and this absolutely wholesome review.

(+5)(-4)

!!  Thank you, you're so welcome, and I'm glad it could have such a positive effect!! Very happy to read.

You take care.

(1 edit) (+6)

Knowing I can dodge all the way to escape, I gave it another try. But felt disappointed after knowing the ending is the same even I don't kill anyone, or at least I don't spot any difference. I feel like its a wasted opportunity to bring out more message and talk to the player. 3/5

(+3)(-3)

Haha, thank you for playing it twice, Ronald. (⁀ᗢ⁀)

And for the rating, and this comment. 

(+9)

The entire context has been left out meaning the player has nothing to go on, seeing perceived personal attacks but with no back story. As such this game won't stand on its own. Without prior knowledge of the real-life events and the reasons for the perceived "cancellation", there is nothing stringing the story together. I won't bring them up as I have chosen not to take sides on this, and am judging the game on the gameplay and its own merits. As such this is a game that will only really work with an in-crowd and I am not entirely sure who the desired audience would be. It also has some disturbing hints to mental health issues and rights issues that actually made me pretty uncomfortable knowing the full context. The game is made in bad faith and that comes across throughout I am afraid.

(+2)(-5)

Thank you so much for playing, Ellie. Also for rating the game, and for taking the time to write this review. (Deeply appreciate this.) 

Hopefully, after reading your review players can go in with more leveled expectations from it. So, thank you, thank you, thank you, for this.

(+17)(-7)

Review:

The concept of addressing one's critics through media is not new, nor is it inherently problematic, however I cannot recall a piece of media as incredulous or bizarre as this one. 

As with all of SigmaSuccor's works, it is a game which stretches RPG Maker to breaking point, filled with squashing and stretching sprites, and more plugins than one really requires to tell the "story" the game is attempting to tell. Once you're in past the opening dialogue (told through a VN style interface) you reach the meat of the 'gameplay'.

This is where things get weird.

This game is insane. I don't use that as hyperbole, or as some way of trying to praise the psychological depth of the piece: It is actively disturbing that a human being put this together.

The title is incredibly fitting: The game perpetuates a false narrative, and nowhere is this more obvious than in the defensive party chatter, where the author has invented two NPCs who agree with him and his defensive responses to what one can only assume are the criticisms leveled at him by other developers. The format is novel, but the use of multiple characters there to provide the author with a sounding board read more as aspects of a single personality than an actual trio of people with their own thoughts and feelings. At one point Succor (a sort of bizarre Tulpa seen throughout the False X series) comments that 'women don't compare, they accept' - and this stood out to me as especially bizarre.

This tends to be the bulk of what constitutes the (False) narrative - the gang walks through a train and interacts with groups of people, all discussing the actions and behaviour of the author, as well as giving their thoughts on him as a person and his work. These interactions are then commented upon by the party, occasionally interspersed with humour, but more often than not devolving into rants and commentary on community criticism of SigmaSuccor and his work.

One highlight of these conversations was a rant about AI generated images, which frames people having an issue with that technology as a personal attack against the author. Another concerned perceptions of the author's work as pretentious, and his claims of depth (along with another rebuttal against those claims). Then there's the bizarre joy at being compared to more popular (and successful) titles, claiming that the author's work is simply incomparable to other video games.

There are also allusions to suicide; and a heavy implication that any criticism of the author's work could be inferred as mental illness on the part of the critic. Indeed, there is one scene where the party discuss that attempting to take action perceived as critical of the author could lead to suicide. This is obviously unfathomably cruel, given that all of the people in the piece are at least analogous to real people. This is not the first of Sigma's games to use these analogs of real people, or visualisation of the Internet as a "real" place (or even the use of unauthorised snippets of Discord/Forum text concerning the author).

All of these conversations between party members come across as incredibly defensive - and borderline delusional - but it's not the crux of why this piece is disturbing. Among the delusion and self-aggrandising comments about "service" to the community, or how criticism of the author could be a ploy to keep the author creating is something far darker and more sinister:

After reaching the front of the "Hate Train", insulting the person "driving" and demanding that they stop criticising you, and telling them that their issues with you will explicitly lead to their suicide, you start to commit acts of violence towards your critics.

In a moment not unlike a pre-teen making their teachers as wrestlers in some WWE game to beat down for perceived injustice, SigmaSuccor - a grown man - flips the narrative, claims victimhood, and decides that the best way to deal with people being critical of him is to murder them with a sword. This is shown as "cancelling the noise" - wielding his "power and influence" to silence critics.

Combat is simple, and killing an enemy plasters the word "Ban" on the screen where their body fell, so the theme of Internet-As-Reality continues. It's a simple affair and nothing poses anything approaching a threat (after all, why would it). You fight your way to the back of the train and the game ends with a monologue from a man in a tophat insulting someone - either the author or his critics (calling them a piece of garbage, repeatedly saying they'll get what's coming to them, calling them cancerous et cetera). 

The subject of this monologue is left deliberately blank, whether for plausible deniability or as a rare moment of self awareness. Given the remainder of the game it's more likely that this is directed towards the "driver" of the "hate train", the person whom Salik has - whether it intentional or not - decided that Internet Drama is worth them taking their own life over.

All in all, the game is short - taking roughly 30 minutes to complete if you read everything, and accomplishes very little in that time. Technically the game is (as always) a marvel, pretzeling the engine into shapes it was never intended to take, but the cloying, self-congratulatory, defensive writing coupled with the disturbing bloody violence towards the author's critics comes across as the ramblings of a man on the absolute edge of sanity. It is a disturbing artefact of RPG Maker Culture, very much of-its-time, and concerning a reality which - for some - is clearly beginning to take its toll.

There is a great irony in that this game was made as a way to address people being critical of SigmaSuccor's games being self inserts, and a greater irony still in the demands that this stop so that all parties can focus on game development. There is a level of hypocrisy here which is either post-modern brilliance, or the kind of thing usually scrawled on an asylum wall in faeces.

Why not give it a half hour and decide for yourself. 2/5

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Just finished reading your review twice, Knight Shift. 

And wow... thank you so much for your words here. 

  1. For breaking down the game
  2. For giving your analysis and thoughts on different parts of it. 
  3. And for being this thoughtful at it(Looking deeper and through what is shown and said on the surface.)
  4.  And also, clarifying certain aspects, that may be unclear. For someone who hasn't played my previous games.

This means a lot to me, Knight Shift. Thank you.

5/5 to this amazing review. 
(+6)(-4)

Thanks Sigma, I hope it's useful feedback :) 

(+9)(-19)

don't know who you are or what this drama is but this is the best game I've found on the first page of the newly uploaded tab. hope shit gets better and make more games if you feel frustrated again.