Coming Out Simulator 2014

This is a highly personal (indeed, overtly autobiographical) piece, which I found touching and credible. It retraces the evening of a young man coming out to his strict Asian parents as bi. It very nicely captures the way we look back on this sort of "crisis" in retrospect, with a combination of real pain, but also elements of nostalgia and a keen ear for the absurdity of it. Exchanges like:
(Spoiler - click to show)"Which one of you is the woman?" "OH COME ON! That's like asking which chopstick is the spoon ..." made me smile.

Despite this humour, the game touches real issues facing young (or older) people about the circumstances and time in which they can come out to close family, and the support (or lack of support) they will get for it. It does so in a measured way, with a certain dry and wry humour and not too much angst. Although I'm not sure the game gives you enormous freedom of choice, the interactivity seemed to me to serve its purpose, and the interface is appropriate and slick. I think it repays the short time it takes.

This is probably the most fun I've had with a choice-based game. Despite the serious themes, the interactions - as if you are text messaging with the author - are brilliant. There are moving sketch comic illustrations. This game gives me the same warm fuzzy "I'm the author's best friend" sincerity that I got with Deirdra Kiai's I'm Really Sorry About That Thing I Said When I Was Tired and/or Hungry. This is like the IF equivalent of "Draw My Life". I want to be this author's best friend now as well.

Well, I have to admit, I never thought CYOA games can be this good. I usually looked down on them, thinking parser commanded games were the best, till I saw this game. The story and interface are great, something that you can't really find in these type of games.

In this game, the main story is about (Spoiler - click to show)a homosexual/bisexual person trying to tell his parents the truth about himself, which is of course, really hard for anyone to do, especially if they are really conservative Asian parents (no racism intended).

The story really touches me, and it shows that not everyone is the same. Some are... unlucky enough to get the Klinefelter syndrome (look it up on the internet!). Conversations are really interesting and really shows what happens in real life if you encounter those situations. (Spoiler - click to show)The mother puking just made me laugh!

Overall, this is a very well made game and is recommended to everyone who loves these slice of life games. I really hope to see more unique and interesting games by the author soon!