{"id":54,"date":"2021-01-30T17:48:58","date_gmt":"2021-01-30T17:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/?p=54"},"modified":"2021-01-30T17:48:58","modified_gmt":"2021-01-30T17:48:58","slug":"savior-or-false-shepard-doki-doki-literature-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/2021\/01\/30\/savior-or-false-shepard-doki-doki-literature-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Savior or False Shepard: Doki Doki Literature Club"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This article originally ran under a different banner\/website in July of 2018 and is now being here re-uploaded for purposes of convenience and consolidation. Please enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author\u2019s note: This article does talk about subjects of depression, suicide, self-harm and abuse.\u00a0 If at any point in the article you experience thoughts of self harm or suicide, please stop reading the article and contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!! I HAVE BEEN HEARING THE WHISPERING ON THE STREETS.\u00a0 I HAVE HEARD THE RUMOR MILL TURNING AND I AM GREATLY OFFENDED.\u00a0 HOW DARE ANYONE ENTERTAIN THE NOTION THAT I, THE VIDEO GAME DOOMSAYER, DOES NOT ACTUALLY LIKE VIDEO GAMES.\u00a0 LIES AND HERESY!!!\u00a0 MY ANGER IS NOT OF RAGE, BUT FRUSTRATION.\u00a0 I see so much potential and in games like Double Kick Heroes and Just Shapes and Beats, to see them make foolish mistakes that ruin the experience leaves me disappointed.\u00a0 I do not tear these games apart due to malice, but in the hope that someone can learn from their mistakes.\u00a0 I will concede the argument that I should point out more games that get it right.\u00a0 That is why I stand before you to talk about Doki Doki Literature Club.<\/em>\u00a0 Normally I stay clear of visual novels, but what drew me to this game was the murmuring that this game was much more than what it appears.\u00a0 With the flood of visual novels, one must do something truly special to raise from the seas of mediocrity.\u00a0 On top of that, the game opens with a warning saying the game is not for the mentally unsound.\u00a0 Could this game contain the psychological horror I long for?\u00a0 I had to know more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story revolves around a high school and you joining the literature club.\u00a0 There you meet the four other female members of the club and spend time getting to know them.\u00a0 You can \u201cget to know\u201d a chosen member by crafting a poem from an assortment of words that the girls favor.\u00a0 Want to romance the shy girl?\u00a0 Choose mysterious words.\u00a0 Want to romance the \u201ccute\u201d girl?\u00a0 Choose words one could consider adorable.\u00a0 It soon became a puzzle to figure out which words get you closer to a specific girl.\u00a0 Similar, in some sense, to other visual novels of course, but the act of writing poems for a literature club, felt more unique than picking gifts or the right pick up lines.\u00a0 Very minimal gameplay, but enough to keep me engaged to get invested in the girls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The investment was well worth the wait, the longer the game went on the deeper the descent into madness.\u00a0 You learn most of the girls have some serious mental issues including depression and the tendency to inflict self harm.\u00a0 Then soon the game evolves from trying to romance the girls into trying the keep the girls alive from a deep seeded evil lurking beneath the game.\u00a0 All and all a great five hour experience, that I don’t wish to spoil.\u00a0 Along with being a free game that only requires a few hours, I believe everyone should give this game a try because it tells a story only a video game could tell.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As many of you know, I choose to champion games that tell stories only video games can tell.\u00a0 While the dramatic descent into madness in Doki Doki Literature Club<\/em>\u2019s climax and conclusion can only be told through the medium of games.\u00a0 The final act could not be experienced as a book, tv show or movie.\u00a0 Only a game.\u00a0 Much like Bioshock<\/em>, games like these stand out to me as reasons why our medium should exist as an interactive story.\u00a0 The marriage of story and gameplay create worlds, and more in this case, characters that feel alive and breathing.\u00a0 Maybe even to the point where it seems like they are aware of this existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BUT WHY DOOMSAYER!!! Why does this story not work as a book or movie?\u00a0 To ask me that my child is too ask me to spoil the entire experience.\u00a0 I am sure you have noticed skirting around the plot line other than you are a high school boy surrounded by girls.\u00a0 I do it, because I believe almost everyone should give Doki Doki Literature Club<\/em> a try.\u00a0 With so much medium buying for so many hours of our attention, this compact experience is one you will struggle to forgot, while only costing you a fraction of your time.\u00a0 With so many games turning into online treadmills design to keep you constantly logging in, I fear small short everlasting experiences will be lost to time. While I don\u2019t see publishers seeing value in this game, maybe this game could inspire some creativity in others, including you.\u00a0 Make you think outside the box.\u00a0 Give you the inspiration to do something creative in your life.\u00a0 Maybe inspire other great stories.\u00a0 Or maybe Doki Doki Literature Club<\/em> will just drive you mad.\u00a0 The outcome is uncertain, but what do you have to lose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now I would like to take this opportunity to step down from my soapbox and discuss the controversy behind Doki Doki Literature Club<\/em>.\u00a0 For those who had not heard, a couple of weeks ago, 15-year-old Ben Walmsley took his own life.\u00a0 Walmsley\u2019s father described Ben as a huge fan of the psychological horror visual novels, saying he would often find Ben doodling some of the characters.\u00a0 He also made some claims the game sent him text messages in the middle of the night.\u00a0 As someone who has played the game, I can say Doki Doki Literature Club<\/em> does not do that, but there might be unofficial fan made app that could do that.\u00a0 While it is easy to write off Ben\u2019s dad as someone who clearly doesn\u2019t understand and is just look to point the blame, I think this is prime opportunity to discuss suicide in our medium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now with suicide being a rising epidemic, I don\u2019t feel like we should be censoring any story involving suicide.\u00a0 That would be sweeping the issue under the rug.\u00a0 Stories like Doki Doki Literature Club<\/em>, remind us the mental health issue is a real issue that we should sit down and discuss.\u00a0 If there is a potential that Doki Doki Literature Club<\/em> or any other medium that discusses suicide could help someone who needs assistance with their mental health, I think it justify its existence.\u00a0 However, we as artists, need to do more to make sure people who are vulnerable to suicidal tendencies are given a multitude of warnings before engaging with our art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the start of the game, a message is presented a warning that players that suffer from depression or anxiety may not have a safe experience playing Doki Doki Literature Club<\/em>.\u00a0 Frankly, I don\u2019t think this warning is enough.\u00a0 The warning does contain a link that will take you to a site that goes into more details about the game\u2019s theme and trusted that players concerned for their mental health, would make the decision to not play Doki Doki Literature Club<\/em>.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think this is enough.\u00a0 I will concede the idea that this might be the one flaw with the game.\u00a0 Maybe this might be a bit much, but I would have liked to seen a video from the developer say their game contains themes that could disturb someone\u2019s mental health.\u00a0 If at any moment you have anxiety or suicidal thoughts, please put down the game and call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.\u00a0 If not a video in the beginning of the game, maybe a video in that link.\u00a0 It is our responsibility as artists, to inform our audience where they can seek help if we choose to engage in these topics.\u00a0 Our art can have an effect on our audience is power we that cannot abuse.\u00a0 If we want to engage in some serious topics, we should handle them with appropriate care.\u00a0 With that in mind, if you are experience thoughts of suicide or self-harm, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.\u00a0 The number will be included below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a01-800-273-8255<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article originally ran under a different banner\/website in July of 2018 and is now being here re-uploaded for purposes of convenience and consolidation. Please enjoy. Author\u2019s note: This article does talk about subjects of depression, suicide, self-harm and abuse.\u00a0 If at any point in the article you experience thoughts of self harm or suicide,… Continue reading Savior or False Shepard: Doki Doki Literature Club<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":55,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-reviews","category-news","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54\/revisions\/56"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gatecitygaming.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}